Jamie Hoke, a 2024 Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, is a PGA of America Teaching Professional at The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania.
Jamie Hoke on the importance of implementing games in your coaching that engage youth golfers:
One of my biggest coaching successes to date has been the design and creation of Legends of the Links trading cards that I use in my junior golf programming. These trading cards have golf skills challenges on them that kids can use to practice on their own and compete against friends and family. The program allows kids to collect cards during our junior golf classes by completing corresponding skill challenges, and once they collect enough cards, they can battle each other with them. Utilizing these cards in my junior golf coaching has brought a lot of excitement to the program and gets kids motivated to attend class week after week to see what cards they can collect next. After all, Legends of the Links was created to transform golf practice into a fun, goal-driven and engaging activity. With the extensive time it takes to see improvement in golf, implementing this card game has removed any tediousness that some kids experience when learning a new skill, especially one as challenging as golf. The cards have also acted as a memento of their accomplishments during the clinics that they are proud to show off to their parents and friends. Now, when parents ask what they did at the clinics, they can show mom and dad their new cards, and they’ll have a better understanding of what skills they were working on.
Jamie Hoke on the business impact of implementing games in your coaching that engage youth golfers:
By using games to work on key golf skills, my young golfers’ practice is no longer a chore, but something they look forward to doing every day, or at least more often than they did before. Making practice fun means improvement comes with less of a timetable and more enthusiasm and fun than ever before. These fun challenges catalyze growth in my junior golf programming, thanks to the kids sharing their experiences with friends. Furthermore, with head-to-head competition being another proven method of effective player development, these cards offer 56 unique golf challenges that students will seek to attain in their journey to better golf and battle with friends. The tag line on my website is Turn Practice Time into Play Time, which I believe says it all. We are now seeing families come to the club more often than ever because the cards give parents fun and creative games to play with their kids, rather than just hitting ball after all. Families are now coming to the club for lunch and dinner more often because they view the practice area as a fun activity to enjoy together.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email HokeJ@unionleague.org.
