Randy Chang, a nine-time Aloha PGA Section and Southern California PGA Section Award winner and a GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, is a member of the Southern California PGA Section Board of Directors, the Owner/Operator at Randy Chang Golf Schools and the PGA of America Director of Instruction at The Journey at Pechanga in Temecula, California.Randy Chang on the importance of adapting your coaching model for groups:
One thing I’ve seen the past few years is the various groups that have come through looking for coaching. There are families, where some members have been playing for years while others want to get into the game. There’s a push for junior programs and junior classes, with parents hoping a social element becomes an extra element borne out of the session. There’s been beginner demand and intermediate demand. And while individual session demand has been strong, the group session demand here in California has been robust but at times difficult because of the staffing needs it requires. In short, this industry needs more teaching professionals willing to teach groups on a full-time, regular basis. We think we’ve found success here at Journey at Pechanga with a formula that can be duplicated elsewhere: by having a couple key tenets to our coaching model that we use for group sessions.
Randy Chang on the business impact of adapting your coaching model for groups:
One common misconception is that you can earn more money coaching individuals than groups. In fact, you can make anywhere from 30 percent all the way to more than double your normal fees by doing groups/clinics. Two people at $75 per person for one hour vs one person at $100 is not only more money entering your pocket but more lives touched by this great game. So how do you make group sessions work, and importantly stick? We’ve found that all staff using consistent language when speaking and having a consistent philosophy – for us “Simplicity, Understanding, Retention and Fun” – will keep them coming back. An example of a consistent teaching philosophy is how we prefer the “traditional swing” vs “Stack and Tilt.” Nothing against “Stack and Tilt,” we’ve just found it harder to teach and can lead to more issues and frustrations with players. We stick to things in our teaching world that no one will argue about – the grip, getting the club back to impact with center-face ball-club contact, the “L” to “L” swing motion, a “Y”-shaped setup, and more. From there we all have our little niches and little personal touches we put on the game, but we always stick to the inarguable and go from there. Then, we use fun competitions and “tests” (like two-putting from 10 feet for a prize for beginners) at the end of each session to keep individuals wanting to come back while also personalizing it to make sure they meet the players wherever their skill level is. We make sure that we create manageable yet attainable goals, and we do it all in a fun environment. That’s the formula that has worked for us and enabled me to expand my clinic and group session structure by having additional professionals help me out during each session. See if you can adjust your coaching model for group sessions and clinics. If done right, they can be huge money makers and game changers as well.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email randychangpga@yahoo.com.
