By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
Allen Burton was introduced to the game of golf when he was just 11 years old after watching some boys in his neighborhood hit plastic golf balls in their backyards. After never hearing of the sport for the first decade of his life, Burton was instantly curious.
“I was playing baseball, football and basketball with a passion for sports and competition,” Burton recalls, “but I asked my parents what my neighborhood friends were doing. They explained to me that they were playing golf. Not wanting to be left out, I asked if I could learn to play; so my mother offered me her set of Wilson Patti Berg golf clubs, and off I went to the neighbor’s yard where my friends were playing.
“My soon-to-be 90-year-old dad is a golfer who plays quite often to this day and was instrumental in me getting a proper start in the game. His constant encouragement and willingness to take me to the local public facility—Lakewood Golf Course in Cramerton, North Carolina—gave me the opportunity to fall in love with the game and its challenges.”
By the time he was in 9th grade, Burton was playing competitive junior golf. He was number one on his junior high school team, and later repeated the feat in high school. He medaled in numerous matches and won many local, state and regional junior golf tournaments. However, he missed the opportunity to play at the collegiate level when he chose to play music as a career instead of going to college.
“My musical journey ran parallel to my love of golf into my final year of high school,” Burton explains. “However, I lost my desire to play competitive golf for a few years while I chased the dream of being a successful musician. I’d return to the game of golf with a renewed passion in my mid-20s and again began competing in local, state and regional amateur tournaments.”
Burton’s journey to becoming a golf professional was an unusual one. Coming from a successful background in music retail, he decided in 1997 to open a small boutique golf store called All Fore Golf in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he conducted custom club fittings and sold most major lines of clubs, accessories and apparel. This provided an opportunity to meet local golfers, and it’s where he discovered the demand for good golf instruction and coaching.
After volunteering as a golf instructor at a local golf course, where he helped conduct Saturday morning junior clinics, Burton’s passion for teaching was recognized by head professional Paul Killough, and he started running the clinics himself. It wasn’t long before Burton was teaching private lessons and cultivating new programming for beginner golfers and juniors. Burton was now getting paid to share his passion for golf and his increasing knowledge of the golf swing.
Burton would close the retail golf shop and accept a director of instruction role with the Nike Golf Learning Center at Renaissance Park Golf Course in Charlotte. There, he learned under the direction of Ted Eleftheriou, PGA. Eleftheriou provided the structure that Burton needed for running it as a business – marketing, student retention, program management and much more.
When American Golf closed the Nike Golf Learning Centers in the Charlotte market, Burton took a position with Chris Leatherman, PGA, at the Leatherman Golf Learning Center, where he implemented junior golf programming and taught private lessons and clinics.
After three years at Leatherman Golf Learning Center, Burton and his fiancé moved to Hickory, North Carolina, where he took on an assistant golf professional position under Ted Brewer, PGA, at Catawba Country Club (in Newton, North Carolina).
“My passion for teaching had never been higher, so I was working 40+ hours in the golf shop and scheduling lessons upwards of 20+ hours a week and on days off,” he tells us. “Although I enjoyed my time at Catawba Country Club, I wanted to teach full-time again. Rock Barn Golf and Spa came forward with that full-time opportunity, and I was hired as the director of instruction for the Rock Barn Golf Academy in 2008. I engineered the academy’s instructional programming from scratch and soon met PGA Tour player Bobby Clampett. I spent the next few years teaching with and learning from Bobby at his early Impact Zone Golf Schools.”
In 2014, Burton was given the opportunity to teach full-time at Lake Hickory Country Club under PGA of America Director of Golf, Duke McLauchlin. His official title was Director of Instruction and the Allen Burton Golf Academy was founded.
Today, Burton celebrates 11 years of the Allen Burton Golf Academy at the Lake Hickory Country Club. His instructional programming includes private instruction for all ages, spring and fall semester junior academy programs for kids from 5 to 17 years old, summer junior golf camps and several adult golf school options.
Looking ahead, “I see a strong growth in indoor golf simulator environments, where golf can be played or practiced quickly, conveniently and without the hindrance of inclement weather,” he says. “I also still see the need for personalized one-on-one instruction. Golfers are all unique in their physical abilities, and learning styles differ greatly from person to person. And with that, I believe it requires a very specific, personal and holistic approach to help each golfer maximize their full potential.”
