Thomas Brinson is the PGA Director of Golf, Alex van der Linden is the PGA Director of Golf Instruction and Ray Davenport is the Director of Athletics at Governors Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Thomas Brinson, Alex van der Linden and Ray Davenport on the importance of teaming up for your students:
Working with members on all aspects of their golf instruction and fitness is vital to their long-term growth and progress. One program we recently implemented enables students to have a fitness session that focuses on their mobility and muscle activation, prior to them spending time with one of our golf instructors to address the more technical aspects of their golf swing. Our personal trainer works with the student for 30 minutes and will then be present for the initial portion of the golf session to ensure the student is able to achieve the desired positions and movements of the golf swing. Their strengths and weaknesses are discussed and any existing limitations are noted by both coaches. The initial dual session is also important to attain pertinent baseline data from FlightScope and BodiTrak that will be used to formulate a game and body improvement plan going forward. We strive for each session to be specific to one aspect of the swing. In the past, we have had students in common, of course, and even collaborated on the range simultaneously with some of them. But we have not offered these unique back-to-back sessions until now. Inspired by facilities we’ve seen that have hitting bays and golf fitness tools in a common area, we felt that tying the sessions together in such a manner would render maximum benefits to our students through the most effective communication and collaboration by our coaches.
Thomas Brinson, Alex van der Linden and Ray Davenport on the business impact of teaming up for your students:
As a new program in 2021, we offered these opportunities on specific days each week but are expanding the options as members understand the benefits and demand increases. Many of the students we have engaged through this program thus far were already working with one of our professionals who recognized the potential benefits to be gained by the student in working with the experts on the other side of the program as well. It’s an important and effective collaborative endeavor. As we set up our fitness room with hitting nets and prepared for this new program, much interest has come from individuals who hadn’t been working with any of our coaches and now want to dive in for the complete package, a very positive indicator of member interest. We also hope the popularity of this program and use of the makeshift space creates a desire among the members for a permanent indoor teaching studio in the future.
If you would like to email the authors of this Best Practice, please email Thomas@governorsclub.cc, alex@governorsclub.cc, or ray@governorsclub.cc.
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