Caitlin Cannon, the 2023 Georgia PGA Section Player Development Award winner and Three-Time GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, is a PGA of America Teaching Professional at Atlanta Athletic Club in Duluth, Georgia.
Caitlin Cannon on the importance of implementing programs and technology that members want in their game improvement process:
With five years of teaching experience at Atlanta Athletic Club, I have had great success with our women’s programming. We have two 8-week Operation 36 sessions per year, which consistently host 80-100 participants in each session. This program includes a weekly group lesson and several playing opportunities on our Par 3 course. I believe it’s the laid-back, unintimidating environment that is the key to the program’s success. After all, Operation 36 has been a proven method of transferring the lessons learned on the practice range to the golf course. Group clinics on the range are very beneficial to our programming success. We’re seeing record numbers of women and juniors on the course, rendering huge opportunities for professionals at any club to target these groups for clinics. In fact, I encourage all golf professionals to conduct group programming for women and juniors at their club. It’s more affordable for the golfer and more profitable for the professional. On top of that, I think it’s an easier hour working with six golfers than with just one. When conducting my private lessons, I incorporate V1 video software, Coach360 and Trackman. After all, I find that students respond well to seeing videos of themselves, and I believe that visual learning through these technologies is a powerful teaching tool. I think, as golf professionals, we need to be very adaptable as we welcome this new wave of golfers and accept all of them with open arms.
Caitlin Cannon on the business impact of implementing programs and technology that members want in their game improvement process:
Since the Operation 36 program’s inception, we have seen record numbers of women hitting balls on the range, playing on the course and joining our nine- and 18-hole groups. This growth has also moved us to add summer and winter scramble leagues, as well as clinic programs during the off-season. I also credit the success of these group programs with helping me earn the 2023 Georgia PGA Section Player Development Award, as well as three GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional awards. As golf continues to trend upward, it’s never been a better time to be a PGA of America Golf Professional.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email crc@aac1.org.
