Bob Usher

Please indicate past awards won/recognitions:
PGA Section Teacher of the Year, GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, Other (Indicate specific awards below in 3-a)

Other awards won:
2024 South Florida Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2023 GFAA Award Winner – On Course Category 2023 GRAA Top 50 Range – Private Category 2023 GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teacher 2022 GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teacher 2022 GFAA Award Winner – On Course Category 2022 GRAA Top 50 Range – Private Category 2022 Southwest Florida Chapter PGA Player Development Award 2021 GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teacher 2021 Southwest Florida Chapter PGA Youth Development Award 2021 US Kids Golf Top 50 Master Kids Coach 2020 GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teacher 2019 US Kids Top 50 Junior Coach 2018 US Kids Top 50 Junior Coach 2012 Southwest Florida Chapter PGA Junior Golf Leader 2012 Boardroom Magazine Recognition In Junior Golf

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 600 Male Adult Lessons / 113 Different Men
Female: 400 Female Adult Lessons / 63 Different Women
Junior: 250 Junior Lessons / 45 Different Kids

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
150 Hours of Schools, Clinics, Junior Camps, Free Member Lady Clinics, Free Employee Lady Clinics, and Free Employee Clinics.

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
Our facility back in 2013 recognized the need for Player Development Programs and Technology to help with that. We recognized the trend for Teaching Buildings, a place designed to help golfers with the use of technology. In 2015 we opened the Grey Oaks Performance Center with 4 teaching bays outfitted with v1 video coaching software and Trackman Ball Launch Monitors. Everything is displayed on a tv screen for the golfer to get immediate feedback. In 2014 our Annual Revenue for Player Development Programs was averaging $223,000 and now after adding teaching building we average $525,000 annually. I’m responsible for earning 43% of that revenue.
Another growing trend is Golf Driving Range Technology. We added InRange Technology to our Practice Range. This technology uses state of the art radars to geolocate the exact position of your ball relaying the data to your in-bay touchscreen or IOS/Android device. It will calculate carry distance and roll with every shot. The technology allows golfers to track many metrics of ball data when practicing on the range. The technology also has a gaming feature with challenges every month for long drive, closest to the pin, highest scores for fun range games, and many more. This has increased practice time on the range in between lessons and clinics. The facility can now track how many golf balls are hit on the back end of the range where we use the technology. We have 26 stations on the range where members can use this new technology. We have 125,000 golf balls hit on the range. The average of Inrange balls tracked is 32%. We have 680 active member accounts. This has been a very useful tool for collecting data. The data can help us to use technology to increase practice, lessons, and clinics.
The Ball launch monitors have also added a lot of entertainment to their devices. We can use the gaming aspect to help make junior golf lessons more fun and also entertaining during clinics and schools. I hosted a lady’s free clinic during National Women’s Golf Day and used the technology during the clinic to add a fun contest during the clinic and added swing tips. The ladies loved the format of this clinic and the feed back was very positive.

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
I offer many instruction programs ranging from private instruction to schools and clinics for men, women, and Juniors. I use every teaching aid and high-tech devices that are available to instructors. I think the greatest impact I made to instruction this year was some unique things I did.
1. Get Golf Ready is my most successful – In the last couple of years with the growth in golf we have had a lot of beginners joining the club. I really enjoy teaching beginners the game of golf and everything it encompasses from Golf swing development, equipment, course management, and history of the game. New members that are new to the game are excited to play and learn everything about it. I am bringing more families to the game and becoming the family golf coach. More participation in tournaments and rounds of golf are certainly up but most of all the whole family is participating.
2. Special Needs Golf Program – Over the years I have earned a reputation of being able to connect to students at any level. I started teaching kids with special needs. These children and some adults can’t communicate like you and I can. I have created fun games that are easy to follow, and we use targets that are colored pool noodles. I set up on the range colored pool noodles and that becomes the target zone. Based on the colored target zone, the student can earn points or advance on the game board that I have created that day. I show them how to hold a club and aim a club face to advance through the target zone. A lot of the kids will discover how to make the ball go to the appropriate zone. I don’t have to say too much and will let them discover how to make the ball curve or go straight. I will use pool noodles with an alignment stick to show how the club works, I also use an oversize club iron I purchased from a training aid company to demonstrate with a basketball as the golf ball. This became very popular throughout the club and the feedback was very positive. Now I get adults with their grandkids on vacation that have learning disabilities to sign up during the holidays along with kids on a weekly basis. Autism has many levels as my son is autistic. They are extremely gifted and learn different ways. I love spending time with autistic children, and it has helped me become a better teacher.
3. Game Base Learning – Ball Launch Monitor Companies such as Trackman have developed into more of a golf course simulator company. With over 100 golf courses to play they have also added games. The games are unique video game style for full swing, chipping and have recently added putting. These games have grown in popularity. This has paved the way for game base learning for golfers. I started using this with Trackman for Juniors and Kids with Special Needs. I posted the fun we were having on Instagram and the parents loved it. They asked if they could play some of the games I was using during the lessons. For example, if we are working on short game we would use one of the games called Bullseye. Bullseye is a game you can hit closer to the pin for points. Play against yourself or another golfer, coach, etc.
You can pick the desired distance you hit from. The gaming aspect in golf practice has blown up and I’m taking advantage of it. We just recently installed a golf simulator on the practice range and the members can use their own phone or tablet to log in and play games or just practice using the ball launch technology. This is the future of practice ranges to get people to practice longer with technology to entertain them while they are doing it.
4. For the second year now, I hosted a free ladies’ clinic for National Women’s Golf Day which is a week long event celebrating girls and women playing golf and learning the skills that last a lifetime. This year we used the new Inrange Technology GO Play Area outside the Grey Oaks Performance Center. We have a covered area that protects golfers from the elements of rain and sun. We can use the Inrange technology for golf instruction with gaming. We put the ladies into teams of 8 and competed using the INrange gaming technology. This entertained the ladies playing fun games and was easy to assist them with club selection and give helpful swing tips. We had over 30 ladies during 3 hours of clinics. We also had a bar set up with drinks and light food. The ladies loved it and thought it was the best thing we did all year. I will be adding more things like this to my teaching calendar next year.
5. Summer Employee Ladies’ Only Clinics (Free) Conducted free clinic to all lady employees once a week for the entire summer. 12 clinics.
6. Other Instruction Programs I offer
Adult Instruction
• Private Instruction for all levels (including special needs students)
• Custom Golf Schools and Celebrity Golf Schools
• Online Video Lessons
• Beginner Golfers clinics for Men
• Beginner Golfers clinics for Women
• Short Game Schools
• Sam Putt Lab Instruction
• Aim Point Green Reading Instruction
• Tempo Training
• Post Graduate Program (students that start in beginner programs.)
• Play with a Pro Playing Lessons
• INRange Free Clinics
• INRange Parties
Junior Golf
• Elite Juniors
• Private Instruction
• Girls Golf Program
• US kids Golf Program
• Summer Training Program
• Summer and Holiday Camps
• Elite Summer Camps
• Summer Junior League
• Community School of Naples Junior Development Program (Middle School Age)
• Community School of Naples Summer and Fall Golf Training and Fitness Program
The financial impact for the facility is below.
My programming has been a tremendous financial benefit to the facility. Non lesson takers average $3,847.00 in spending at the facility. Lesson takers average $9,497.00 in spending at the facility. Lesson takers spend 2.4 times more money at club than the average member.
782 members out of 2640 take golf instruction, that is 30%. 782 members book 3455 reservations. The reservations include up to 9 instructors.