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31 Aug 2012 Corina Pelloni

Why I Teach Golf

When I was 21, just after I began my studies in education, I had a brief conversation with a close friend that altered my life. A couple of years earlier, with a small degree of enthusiasm, I decided to pursue a career as a schoolteacher. It ran in my family and it was a profession that did hold some appeal: summers off, decent benefits, significant opportunity, reliable income, etc. But in my heart I knew it wasn’t really what I wanted.

The game of golf had been a passion of mine since I was a young teenager. My appetite for the game showed up in a number of ways: reading whatever I could about the best players, daydreaming about golf, playing as much as possible (mostly in a field outside my front door – in the middle was a large oak tree which served as the perfect target), and learning the ins and outs of technique – most of which was self-taught (I couldn’t afford to take lessons).

I started playing some competitive junior golf and turned things up another notch with my desire to get better and better. It became the driving force in how I spent my free time. I went to college and played some more competitive golf, won a tournament, and continued to improve. It was at that point that I decided to turn my back on the game somewhat and pursue my career as a teacher. But then I bumped into a friend and we had the conversation which resulted in my “path of life” doing a 180.

His words were simple, and I suppose, not all that surprising: “You love the game, Andrew. It’s what you should do. It’s your passion. You should go for it. See where the game can take you.” As soon as he said these things I knew he was right. It was all I wanted to do and it made sense. Why not go for it? You only have one life, right? Why not roll the dice and follow your dreams.

To make a long story short, I went for it. I relinquished my spot in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and I enrolled in a Golf Management Program in Alberta that was geared to train aspiring golf professionals. I obtained a job scrubbing clubs at a course the following summer. I was on the road. Not for one second have I been sorry I made that decision.

Bottom line, I teach golf because I absolutely love the game. I love to play. I love to be around the game. I love learning about it. It’s a huge part of me. There probably isn’t an hour that goes by when I don’t think, in some way or another, about the game. I’m hopelessly addicted. I’m sure many of you can relate.

But, unfortunately, for a golf teacher, just loving the game isn’t enough. You need to be able to connect with people in order to make this profession rewarding. You need to understand people, to be able to get outside your own scope of thinking and delve into the minds of others – with sincerity. Thankfully, through my upbringing and life experiences – some good, some bad – I’ve developed a love for getting to know people. It’s another major reason why I teach the game. I enjoy getting to know the quirks, the insecurities, the weaknesses, the strengths, the character, and the faces of others. Getting to know others and observing how they cope, learn, adapt, laugh, and get angry, allows you to learn a little more about yourself.

Of course, with this profession we are also given the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. It may not grant them the fortitude and the wisdom to overcome the most challenging issues facing them. However, engaging them in a pastime can have a dramatic effect, not just on their golf games, but in how they live their lives. It frees their minds for a while. Because everyone – doctors, housewives, electricians – needs to rest, take a break, from the “real” issues of life. It’s healthy. It’s how we were made. It’s what we need. To be able to offer that to them through teaching them something about the greatest game on earth is an honor. It’s a privilege – and I’m thrilled to be able to do it every day.

31 Aug 2012 Corina Pelloni

From Humble Roots We Have Blossomed In Our Profession

As golf teaching professionals we have it pretty good. Our students put us on a pedestal just because we can hit a little ball straight. We’re thought of as highly as their doctor, financial adviser or lawyer (well maybe not lawyer). Let’s just say we hold a pretty lofty position in the public eye. Ah, but it wasn’t always the case. In the 500 years that golf has been played, it has only been about 70 years that professionals have been allowed to enter the clubhouse of a private course. In the early days of golf, pros were considered to be less than second class citizens. To trace the roots of our profession, we must return to the year 1740, a period of relative prosperity in Scotland. Many a merchant made fortunes trading wool and cotton and began to enjoy the privilege and respect of their new found wealth. Bonding together and having the time and money to spend on leisure activity, they began playing golf on weekdays, something humble townsfolk could never afford to do.

Golf itself was an expensive proposition primarily because of the cost of the feather balls used at the time. Thus, only the wealthiest played regularly. Naturally, such a class of citizen would not do such menial tasks as take care of the golf course or carry clubs. They hired townspeople to serve them. For many of the locals it became a useful way to supplement their incomes. Eventually, the more enterprising, took to caddying regularly, tending to the course, making balls and building or repairing clubs. It was only a matter of time before the servants began playing golf themselves. I mean if you hung around a golf course all day, could you resist the temptation to try playing? Unfortunately, earning a living off something as frivolous as golf did little to elevate the status of the men who did. On the scale of social distinction such people were lower than common laborers. As golf grew more popular among the elite, golfing clubs began to form and more new courses began to appear across Scotland. The growth required more equipment, balls and people to service this expanding economy. Enter the golf professional.

The father of our grand trade is widely acknowledged to be Allan Robertson of St. Andrews. Robertson was best known as a producer of feather golf balls but he was also the finest golfer to break 80 on the Old Course. One of the ways professionals made money in those days was in head to head challenge matches. Legend has it that Robertson never lost such a match. It was during Robertson’s later years that the popularity of golf exploded due to the introduction of the inexpensive gutta percha ball in 1848. More people than ever began playing but only a handful, the professionals played it well. Their superior ability however, did nothing to improve their social status. Golf professionals knew their place and abided by the expectations of the general society.

It would remain so for another seventy years. To their discredit a lot of early pros did not help their image. They were often hard drinkers and generally unkept. In fact for the British Open in 1860, practice round spectators were so appalled at the appearance of some of the pros that the tournament committee bought each a suit of clothing to wear on tournament day. Fortunately, the golf played by the eight contestants in the inaugural Open was outstanding, bringing large crowds and high praise from the local newspaper.

As the game grew, more sophisticated professionals appeared on the scene. Old Tom and Young Tom Morris, Willie Park and the great triumvirate of Harry Vardon, James Braid and J.H. Taylor dominated golf from 1860 to 1915. Taylor was the first of these golfers to take the lead in trying to elevate the social status of his fellow professionals. He was instrumental in forming the first Professional Golfers Association in 1901 calling for improvement in wages and working conditions. Things started to get better but amateurs or sporting gentlemen as they were referred to still controlled golf and the fate of their hired hands.

The American touring golf pro was probably most responsible for raising the golf professional’s status to the lofty position we currently enjoy. I would have to say it was primarily one man, my personal hero – Walter Hagen. At the 1920 British Open, Hagen was rebuked by a steward for entering the clubhouse to change shoes. Apologizing for not having known the rules, he then told the steward that for the remainder of the stay, he would be changing in his limousine, which would be parked in front of the clubhouse each day. It was a bold move but typical of Hagen. The British people fell in love with him, yet in subsequent trips he was still banned from the clubhouses. Then at the ‘24 Open he finished second and for the first time was invited into the clubhouse for the presentation of the trophy to Arthur Havers. He politely thanked the committee and declined. He then turned to the crowd and told them that in the entire time of his stay he was not allowed in the clubhouse, so instead he was inviting everyone to the pub where he was welcome all week for a drink and to thank them personally. The gallery followed him to the pub leaving only the tournament committee and Havers. Certainly there were a lot of factors that changed the fortunes of golf pros besides Hagen, but he was probably the first to expect a certain level of respect. For that I think we should all be grateful.