Teaching “Pro” File – Mark Harman
He’s the longest continuing USGTF employee in the organization’s history, and says he’s fortunate to know so many great members over the years. For Mark Harman, it all started in 1991 when he was an examiner at one of the very early certification courses held in Lehigh Acres, Florida. Two years later he became the USGTF national course director (now director of instruction), a position he’s held ever since.Harman took up the game at age 12 and dreamed of a professional playing career. But the game came hard for him, and in his final year of college golf his scoring average was 80.1. He took a job in the business world as a finance collector and computer programmer, but golf was never far from his mind. He played virtually every day after work and on the weekends, and worked his way down to a scratch handicap. Through a mutual friend, he met Geoff Bryant, founder of the USGTF and at the time owner of the Florida Golf School. Bryant took a chance on Harman, and the rest, they say, is history.
Harman continued to work on his game in the meantime with several professional accomplishments, including winning the United States Golf Teachers Cup seven times. He also considers himself a rules geek and has gone through the USGA rules class, and is a frequent contributor to USGTF publications. Today, in addition to his work for the USGTF, he teaches at a PGA Tour Superstore and at Southbridge Savannah Golf Club in Georgia. This fall, he will once again serve as tournament director for the U.S. Cup, and looks forward to seeing everyone after a year’s absence.
Amidst greater restrictions and lockdowns currently in Canada due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Canadian Golf Teachers Federation has found a way to not only continue operations, but thrive as increased interest has taken hold. CGTF courses are now held online via Zoom. This interest serves to verify that teaching golf continues to be a viable career even during troubled times, and to cement the CGTF as the leader in the field of golf instruction in Canada. More information about the CGTF can be found at http://www.CGTF.com. 
USGTF president Brandon Lee recently met with Gary Player and Charles Schwab at the Loxahatchee Golf Club in Florida this past month. The group teed off for a friendly round of golf while discussing the growth of the golf teaching industry. It is through the encouragement and applause of legends in the world of golf that we strive to continue to preserve our honor as the world’s best teaching professional training institution.
Player is a nine-time major championship winner, while Schwab is the founder of the Charles Schwab Corporation, the largest discount securities dealer in the United States. Although he retired as CEO in 2008, he remains chairman to this day. 
Since its inception, the USGTF has provided golf teaching professionals with opportunities. Today’s USGTF continues that tradition and has a section on our website in order to serve our members to the fullest extent possible in this regard. New features have recently been added so that your search is easier to navigate and to narrow your search to more relevant opportunities. The most recent postings and the complete list of opportunities may be found at 
By Mark Harman, USGTF Director of Education
Steve Haigler, a high school teacher in Tampa, came to my six-week golf school about eight years ago. He started with the maximum handicap of 36. After completing the class, he applied all he learned and started to really improve. Today, he plays to a 22 handicap and regularly shoots in the mid to low 90s. Steve later followed in his instructor’s path and started playing with hickory golf clubs as a member of the Florida Hickory Golfers. That makes the improvement in his handicap even more significant because of the difficulty playing with clubs used 100 years ago. Steve has traveled to Scotland to participate in several World Hickory Opens at courses like Carnoustie, Gullane and Panmure, where Ben Hogan practiced for the Open Championship. He also played on the U.S. hickory team in 2018 that competed against teams from Europe and Scotland at the Old Course in Musselburgh, contributing to the U.S. victory in the matches. He has certainly taken to the game and can be seen regularly on the links at the MacDill Air Force Base golf courses.
Ken Butler was born and raised in Scotland, the “home of golf,” where he learned the game of golf early on. He says golf and soccer have always been in his blood. Competing competitively, he made his way to the United States in 1984. He stopped competing in late 1980s with a severe back injury that still nags him today.