David Curtis, the 2022 Southern California PGA Section Desert Chapter Teacher of the Year, the 2020 Chapter Professional Development Award winner, the 2019 Chapter Junior Golf Leader Award winner and the 2017 Chapter Assistant Professional of the Year, is a PGA of America Teaching Professional at Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort in Rancho Mirage, California, Classic Club in Palm Desert, California, and Yocha Dehe Golf Club, Brooks, California.

David Curtis on the importance of making things simple if you teach at multiple locations:

I teach mainly at two locations during the season in the Palm Springs area, with a monthly golf school at a third location in Northern California during my offseason. That routinely leads to the question of how do I pull it off. For me, it’s time management and marketing. I basically run my own ship with aid from each club’s marketing department. Many of my clients not only want sessions from me, but also want to know which location I will be at on specific days. For me, I took matters into my own hands and started using an online scheduler for both locations to make it easier for my clients to know where to find me and at what day and times. Bottom line: it’s all in the calendar.

David Curtis on the business impact of making things simple if you teach at multiple locations:

My season here is typically November-May. Around September, I will begin reaching out to my courses and colleagues to see if there are any bookings or corporate events that have been scheduled in advance that could interfere with any golf schools I plan to add to my schedule. Also in September, my schedule for the Westin and Classic Club golf courses opens up, so my clients can book golf schools, clinics, playing lessons, and/or schedule private lessons. I work collaboratively with the head professionals and marketing teams at each location to make sure the email blasts are sent out on time, with correct information about my instruction programs for the season. Each email blast gives me a mixture of 30-60 lesson bookings and inquiries. I really train my clients to use my online scheduler to be the main platform for self-booking lessons. A typical week for me can get busy really quickly. For example, recently I had a Monday through Wednesday, seven-person golf school at the Classic Club. This included breakfast, instruction, lunch, and on-course lessons from 7am-4pm. Then, Thursday through Sunday, I transitioned to the Westin for lessons between 7am-4pm, including a clinic I hosted at 2pm. That week alone generated over $12,000 for a 3-day golf school. There were 25 lessons that week which brought in over $3,000, and six clinics that brought in over $1,000 (averaging five to six people per clinic). Planning ahead and setting my schedule helps create what I like to call “the quadfecta.” The owners and management company see lesson revenue coming in, clients are happy and improving their game, and I am sharing my passion and growing the game of golf. After 23 years in the Palm Springs area, I have learned to make myself available and present during the high season and holiday travel time. Needless to say, time management is of the essence, and the marketing boost from each club has been a huge asset to making me able to teach this heavy load of clients.

noreferrer”>

If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email drcurtis@pga.com.