By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
John Platt has built an impressive resume over his storied career. After earning the 2011 Illinois PGA Section Teacher of the Year Award and 2021 Section Youth Player Development Award, Platt has been named a 2024 Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Elite Growth of the Game Teaching Professional. He was the 1999 NCAA National Golf Coach of the Year for Division II/III and is a member of the Callaway Golf Hall of Fame.
Now the PGA of America Director of Instruction at Mistwood Golf Club (a GRAA Top 50 Public Facility) in Romeoville, Illinois, John Platt is the subject of the month’s Five Questions feature.
Golf Range Magazine: When did you get your start in golf, and who got you into the game?
Platt: I didn’t start playing golf until my freshman year in high school, so I was 14 years old. My parents’ friend, Mr. Don Nichols, who was my high school coach at Joliet East High School in Illinois, first piqued my interest in the game.
Golf Range Magazine: Did you play golf in high school or college? When did you know you wanted to be a PGA of America Golf Professional?
Platt: In addition to playing at Joliet East High School, I played golf at Illinois State University. After serving as the assistant coach at ISU for a year after I graduated, I decided I wanted to get into the golf business. So, I moved to Florida to work at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and pursued PGA membership.
Golf Range Magazine: What’s trending in the programming and coaching at your facility?
Platt: I have a successful program at Mistwood Golf Club called “CAP” – Committed Athlete Program. The program consists of 90 kids. Our college-bound students participate in the “APEX” portion, as we have 25 of the best players in the area and statewide. We work on everything for their game – short game, putting, full swing, fitness, and we use mental coaches and the latest golf coaching technology available. Through this program over the past 12 years, we’ve had over 250 players qualify for the state tournament and over 200 move on to play college golf.
The program kicks off in November, and the winter session ends in March. Fortunately, we have a 12-month facility here at Mistwood and a golf dome off-site, just 12 miles away. We head to the golf course in April, and the program ends mid-August when high school starts in Illinois. This past season, the program had six of the top seven positions for the girls’ state tournament, and we had the state champion the year before.
Golf Range Magazine: What is your favorite part of the game of golf? The business of golf?
Platt: My favorite aspect of golf is the competition. I love to watch my students play in tournaments and then work on areas that need improvement after the event.
It’s hard to talk about the actual business part of golf for me, because I love working with people. I just don’t consider it work. I love coming to work every day and seeing something new all the time. Yes, it’s a business, and I get paid for my services, but my office is on the range, and I would not trade it for anything else.
Golf Range Magazine: What does the future hold for you in golf as a proven leader in coaching and instruction?
Platt: The future for me is to learn as much about the swing as possible. I have been around a long time and have seen just about everything, but I’m sure new technology will be coming, and I will be ready to learn.
As I look to the horizon of golf instruction, I will focus on keeping the junior in the game of golf. Having coached high school and college golf for 33 years, I remember that years ago, we had good players, a lot of average players and some bad players. But, what I see now is a really good player or two, some average players and a lot of bad players. We, as PGA of America Golf Professionals, must encourage our youth golfers to get better, as this will only help grow the game through coaching and instruction.
