So you’re thinking about becoming a golf instructor? If you love the game and are passionate about helping others get better, becoming a golf coach could be the perfect career choice.
There’s plenty of great golf professional jobs out there, so how do you become qualified to take up one of those positions?
Let’s get into it and find out more about how you can become a golf instructor.
Founder, Editor
Ed is the founder and editor at EEE Golf. He’s been playing golf for over 20 years, competing in many top amateur events. He’s played courses all over the world and played with some of the best players in the game. His aim is to help educate people about the game of golf and give insights into the sport he loves most.
How To Become A Golf Instructor?
How To Become A Golf Coach?
A golf coach is a really amazing job if you are dedicated enough to get to the level required and enjoy being outside most days of the year.
If you’re looking at becoming a golf coach, there’s a few things you need to consider before you set your heart on a career in teaching golf.
Become Good At Golf
Ok, so it’s perhaps a little obvious, but if you want to be able to teach people how to play golf you need to be able to play golf to a high standard.
Perhaps not to the level that you see on the PGA Tour, (they’re the best in the world for a reason) but you must be able to play and compete at a top 3% level.
Golf is an inherently difficult sport to master. It takes time and many hours of practice to get to a level that is good enough to turn professional.
You have to be totally dedicated to getting as good as you possibly can in order to reach the necessary standard.
For me, I knew early on that I’d never be good enough to make it as a professional golf coach, let alone a professional on the PGA Tour.
Of course, a lot of the people who are looking to become golf instructors will more than likely already be at this top level of player.
However, some of you reading this may just be getting started in the game and looking to hone your skills. In this case, you’ll likely need to set aside a good few years and time to master the game of golf.
But how do you master the game of golf I hear you say.
Well, for starters you need to have a certain level of dedication. 10,000 hours and all that. Becoming an expert in any field takes time.
Find a PGA Professional
For someone just starting out and looking to turn professional eventually, finding a good coach to get you improving is the best place to start.
A quick search for a PGA Coach would be the best idea or perhaps a visit to your local club.
Once you’ve found a coach, you can get to work on the basics, ensuring that you have all the fundamentals needed for a great golf game.
They’ll teach you all you need so that you can get to work on practising and learning.
Play And Practice Often
Now you’ve learned the basics, it’s all about putting those tips into practice. Get yourself down the driving range and grind it out.
Tuition will give you what you need to do, but it can only get you so far.
Practice makes perfect as they say, so a few buckets of balls a week will help you ingrain the correct movements from your lessons.
Make sure you work on your short game and putting. It makes up about 50% of your score, so it’s incredibly important as you’ll begin to discover.
When you can, get out onto the course and play. Join a club and meet new people of all abilities to play with.
You’ll learn of better players and discover that the driving range is a whole lot different to actually playing.
Learn The Game
Golf is an incredibly intricate game. It’s very much about fine margins and how only a 1% open club face can result in a ball going off-line.
Begin to study how golf works, such as the different types of swings or the physics of hitting a golf ball.
- How does the wind affect the ball?
- How do I play with a mud ball?
- What ball position do I need for a low flight?
All these things are what make up golf and will influence how well you can play it.
Learn everything you can possibly learn about golf so that you can use that information to improve faster.
Play In Competitions
To get to the best level, you need to be able to compete with the best.
As you get better, you’ll be able to enter local and regional events.
This is where you can begin to develop your skills and competitive nature. Playing with great players will make you want to get better. You’ll want to practice more and develop faster.
Elite amateur events are where you can see if you’ve got what it takes to play golf at a professional level. If you’re regularly competing and winning, you can potentially set your sights on professional tours.
Ed’s Thoughts ⛳
When I was beginning to improve and take my game to the next level, competitions were where I was able to see how I compared to other good golfers.
Competing in high-level amateur events is the best way to see how good you actually are and how well you can compete under pressure.
Become A Qualified Instructor
So now you’ve got to an expert level of golfer, it might be time to take the leap into the world of professional golf.
Now, you might be interested in becoming a playing professional.
Unless you’re coming from a top amateur in the world position, it will be a long, expensive, and grueling experience to make it to the PGA Tour.
However, we’re not here to talk about making it to the PGA Tour. We want to learn how to become a golf coach, and when it comes to becoming a golf coach it usually starts with one of three routes:
- Three-year PGA Training Course
- University PGA Degree
- ASQ Certificate in Coaching Golf
Three-year PGA Training Course
The most used and traditional method is by completing the PGA training course.
This is a great way of getting a full experience of working in the pro golf environment.
The course is there for those players with a handicap of 4 or better for men and 6 or better for women. So obviously you’ll need to be a pretty good level of golfer at this point.
It also comes with a 36-hole playing assessment, where you need to shoot a 36-hole score of no more than 15 over (hopefully achievable if you’re playing off 4 or better).
The training course is spread over 3 years and takes you through everything you need for an overall level of skills required for a professional golfer.
These include industry skills, sports science, custom fitting, and technical coaching. It also requires a minimum of 30 hours a week working in the golf industry, usually employed alongside a certified PGA pro.
After the 3 years, you’ll get your certification (assuming you pass all the tests) and you’ll be a fully-fledged golf instructor. Once you complete the course, you’ll then be able to apply for a PGA membership.
University PGA Degree
Next up is the option to go for a University degree instead.
It’s becoming more and more popular as a route to becoming a golf coach, as it gives you the chance to study, play and get a supporting PGA degree alongside.
One of the world’s top academic programs that also includes PGA training, Applied Golf Management Studies, is offered by the University of Birmingham.
This course is linked with The PGA and gives the students the opportunity to become fully qualified after graduation. It also allows students the world-class facilities on offer at The Belfry.
Similar to the PGA training course, this route is also 3 years long and will give you a well-rounded learning experience.
ASQ Certificate in Coaching Golf
Perhaps becoming a fully qualified PGA professional isn’t what you’re after.
Maybe you just want to learn a bit about the art of golf coaching or maybe you want to help out at your local club.
The ASQ Certificate in Coaching Golf could be what you’re looking for. This offers students the chance to gain a different level of certification in golf tuition.
Level 1 and Level 2 Awards in Coaching Golf will give you the skills needed to run golf coaching sessions and a level of instruction for beginner golfers.
This will mean you’re not part of the PGA and will limit if you can charge for coaching sessions. However, for those not looking for professional status, this could be a fun route to go down.
Final Thoughts
There we have it, all you need to assist you in becoming a golf instructor. There’s no denying if you’re passionate about golf and helping people improve – becoming a golf coach could be the perfect job for you.
With that said, it’s no easy ride. From starting out to qualifying, it’s a tough and long process. You could be coming from a complete beginner, so right now all you need to be thinking about is getting as good as you can.
If you’re looking at becoming an instructor, check out our article on what a fade is and improve your on-course game.
FAQs
How do I become a golf instructor UK?
To become a golf coach in the UK, you’ll need to either complete a Three-year PGA Training Course, do a University PGA Degree or participate in the ASQ Certificate in Coaching Golf.
Can you make money teaching golf?
A qualified PGA Professional can make a lot of money teaching golf, but it depends on where they teach and how many lessons they’re giving in a year. Top professionals at high-end golf clubs can make six figures a year from coaching.