Booth Kates USGTF Level IV Member Hot Springs, AR Director, AFGS, Southhaven, MS

While a youngster growing up in New Jersey, I was presented the opportunity to take golf lessons at a local summer camp. It was fun and provided me with endless hours of enjoyment. I participated in some local junior tournaments, watched Arnie devour the competition, and caddied for a few local PGA pros. I played sporadically through high school, then quit after qualifying for my college team.

My enthusiasm for the game of golf was renewed in 1992 while on vacation with my son, Ryan, in Palm Beach, Florida. Although I hadn’t participated in years, he challenged me to take him to play. We settled on a small executive course in Boca Raton. Using clubs borrowed from my parents, Ryan and I attacked the course with enthusiasm. The memories of a childhood were vividly reawakened as we enjoyed the entire experience, laughing our way around the course as the beauty of the day overwhelmed us. It was then that I realized the misfortune of having spent years without golf in my life. It was more than a game of competition. The social aspects were overwhelming. Friendships and business relationships could be made that were enduring, gratifying, and valuable. Lessons of life were learned from playing a simple game. The character of a personality was revealed in minute detail. Strategy, competition, and management skills were uniquely intertwined in the fabric of the game.

I returned home and immediately devoured everything I could about the game. Club and book purchases, magazine subscriptions, and vacations to Myrtle Beach, S.C. all followed in synchronized order. I played and practiced with a vengeance. I studied the swings of past greats, read the theories of new champions, and consumed the teachings of the future “gurus “.

Working in the casino industry at the time gave me the opportunity to establish new and important relationships with business associates and friends. I soon found myself being asked to help others with their swing mechanics. Golf clinics I conducted were becoming an integral part of our employee outings. I began to realize that I lacked some skills necessary to teach the game at this level. It was one thing to work informally with friends and acquaintances, but something else to produce and present high-quality lesson plans.

In 1998, at the urging of my wife, Susie, I attended the USGTF certification class in Port St. Lucie, FL. It was here that I studied, evaluated and learned the value of good teaching. Bob Wyatt, Leslie Duke, and Mike Levine all aided my experience. More recently, Mark Harman and Dave Shaver made additional contributions during the Masters Certification course I passed in 2002. I must thank them all for their dedication, knowledge, and persistence.

The USGTF holds numerous events throughout the year enabling members to upgrade their teaching credentials, socialize at seminars, or play competitive golf. These events are coordinated to allow us to engage one another in social and business discussions necessary to expanding our skills as teachers. The annual World Golf Teachers Cup presents all teaching pros from around the world that unique opportunity in a first-class environment.

I retired from the casino industry in July 2001 as a Table Games Shift Manager with Sheraton Casino in Tunica, MS. I now hold the position of Director of Golf at America’s Favorite Golf Schools in Southaven, MS. and teach privately in Hot Springs, AR. I thank the organization for giving me the opportunity. New openings abound for those who desire to enter the profession. I know. I'm one of them.