By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
For all its traditions and the seasoned professionals who’ve elevated the game to the success it’s seeing today, golf going forward will only be as good as the coaches and leaders who’ll drive the industry into the next 25 years. At the legendary Aronomink Golf Club, Tessa Teachman is a PGA of America Assistant Golf Professional. Teachman, who was elected to PGA Membership in 2022, recently won the 2024 Philadelphia PGA Section Player Development Award, earning special recognition for her “extraordinary and exemplary contributions and achievements in the area of player development.”
Teachman started playing golf with her father in their upstate New York backyard when she was just three years old. He was an excellent golfer, she says, who was on the LSU golf team during his college days.
“My father spent a lot of time nurturing my love for the game,” Teachman shares, “and is a huge reason why I still enjoy golf the way I do.”
Tessa played at a very high level throughout her junior and amateur career, even attending LSU, like her dad, where she played golf for the Lady Tigers. She was a four-time Academic All-American and had great teammates that resulted in two third-place team finishes during her four years in Baton Rouge. After graduation from LSU, Teachman successfully qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin, where she missed the cut by a single store, posting a pair of 75s. She appeared on Big Break Myrtle Beach in 2014 and spent five years pursuing her dream of playing professional golf on the Symetra Tour (now the Epson Tour) and the Ladies European Tour for three of those years.
“My last year playing on tours came in 2018, when The Quarry Golf Club in Naples, Florida took a chance on a very green golf professional and gave me a job,” she shares. “There, the PGA of America Golf Professionals who were my coaches and friends became great mentors and networking assets. I fell in love with teaching, which constantly leads me to continuing education. Reaching out to my former coaches and friends has allowed me to continue learning and to be a better coach, mentor and professional.”
Teachman has facilitated about 25 different programs during her few years as a PGA of America Golf Professional, ranging from Beginner 101 classes to Advanced golf schools. Some of her favorite clinics focus on a well-rounded approach to golf – mental strength, TPI assessments, Yoga for Golf, Breakfast Club (morning golf clinics followed by mimosas), Operation 36, group-specific clinics and Sharp Shooters for short game work.
She implements technology in her coaching and instruction, using Trackman and video in all her clinics, and has included training aids, videos, reference materials, apps for tracking stats and mental strength workbooks in her clinics.
“One of the most important facets of my coaching and instruction is a follow-up email or lesson notes,” Teachman explains. “I make sure that each person has a firm understanding of the information covered and access to it in the form of a cliff notes email or handout for each topic to reference during their practice between lessons.”
This follow-up and care for her students makes Teachman a coach, and not merely an instructor. Her students are not just numbers to her, and the attention she pays them goes beyond their lesson time, maximizing gains and progress in their golf games.
Looking ahead, Teachman says targeting women and juniors are vital trends that must be maintained for the growth of the game. Women are the fastest-growing segment in golf and often make the most financial decisions at a golf club.
“I have had a lot of great clinics and lessons with young females, mothers and wives who want to learn how to play for two primary reasons – 1) to make an impact at work, and 2) to be able to play with their spouses and family,” she says. “I think nurturing this segment can have a huge impact on a golf club and golf in general, and I love to see the excitement of exposing more people to the game of golf.”
Similarly, junior golf has grown to levels that Teachman couldn’t have imagined when she was a junior golfer just 20 years ago. There are many more opportunities for juniors than ever before – PGA Jr. League, Operation 36, golf camps, clinics and exposure for junior girls to see other successful female professionals – it’s all near to her heart.
“I was fortunate to have wonderful instructors (male and female) who made a huge impact on my game and my life,” she recalls. “I hope to have the same impact on helping others foster a love of the game and find the joy in hitting a solid shot and watch it grow from there.”
Teachman bases a large part of her coaching philosophy on having a firm understanding of why we do things in golf and within the golf swing. As complicated as the game could be, she does her best to make it easily digestible, with an emphasis on teaching for understanding and creating relationships around golf, instead of just teaching lessons.
