A New Beginning for PGAjay

From: Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

It was 8 years ago when the thought first crossed my mind. “What if there was someone who made videos about how to be a better Golf Professional?”

And, I kept asking myself that, year after year. Because every time I looked, I could never find anything. Sure, there were people starting to pop up on social media and youtube that were Golf Professionals. But, they were talking about teaching, and not the actual business part being a golf professional.

That’s when another thought crossed my mind…..”What if I did it?”

But what would I talk about and how would I do it? I was a first Assistant pro at the time and was still learning so much myself that I couldn’t dare think that I had something to teach anyone about how to be a better golf professional.

A few more years went by, and eventually I became a pretty good Head Golf Professional and Director of Golf. I started to have some big wins, like implementing a membership retention initiative that lead to a 30% reduction in resignations that year, and merchandising programs that set records and won me an award. I started to think I might have something valuable to say and noticed nobody else had said it yet.

In an ironic twist, the thing that actually got me to start making videos to help golf professionals was me quitting being a golf professional. I’ll admit that the free Masters tickets may have had an impact, but I also knew I wasn’t done with my golf story yet. I just knew that getting where I wanted to go, and creating what I wanted to create, required me to get off the road I was on and make my own path ahead.

Over those next 4 years working outside the golf business, I worked with some incredible people to accomplish some remarkable things. During that time I continued to make videos, create over 170 golf business podcasts that have been listened to over 40,000 times. Produced and edited my own daily vlogs. I’ve gotten asked to speak at multiple PGM Universities and spoke at my first one last year. I’ve made great friends and been inspired by so many great people.

And that brings us to today. The day after my last day of full time work. The rest of the PGAjay story unwritten. The same question to be answered……. “What if I did it?”

PGAjay Show Episode 004 – “The Yips and Jr. Golf Revelations.

Hey Everyone.  Sorry I have been neglecting the website over the last couple of weeks.  It’s really not that hard to do, I just always feel like I need to write something special here an that is why I usually don’t do it.  Most other places I post this like YouTube and Facebook I just post it and maybe add a sentence but here I feel like I need to do more.

Well I guess I will stop thinking that way and just start posting.  I am not a great writer in the first place and that is why I do video.  So there!

Thanks for all the support!

PGAjay’s PGA magazine Show – March 2017 Ep02

PGAjay’s PGA Magazine Review “March 2017 Issue Episode 002” is here.

 I tried to make this one a little quicker in the interest of your time and would love your feedback. I want to be sure I don’t take too much time in these review segments but I also don’t want to go so fast that I don’t add any value for you.
Thanks for helping me make these reviews as valuable as possible for PGA Professionals and Apprentices.

PGAjay’s PGA Magazine Review March-2017 ep001

My first video review of the PGA Magazine!

Since I left day to day operations as a PGA Professional I have been looking for a way to stay involved, give back to the PGA and my fellow Professionals and especially Apprentices.

My hope is to publish a series of videos each month reviewing some of the highlights of the very valuable PGA Magazine. By sharing some highlights I hope to not only remind members how valuable this publication is for ideas and inspiration but to also create a dialogue online to further build on the core principles mentioned in these articles with your comments on your own variations of these best practices.

I would really love to have any feedback so that I can make these videos as valuable as possible. I know the first few of these will be a little rough as I figure it out so please be honest.

Thank you for everything you do!

Give Your Feet a Holiday in The New Nike FI Bermuda Spikeless

The New Nike FI Bermuda is a spikeless golf shoe with a mesh breathable upper and fresh Nike styling.

IMG_7442
I cleaned these up best I could but these have held up well after about two months as my primary shop shoe.

A breathable summer shop shoe is a welcome comfort compared to spending 12+ hours in a stuffy non-breathable waterproof golf shoe. However, mesh shoes usually don’t have enough structure in the toe box and the platform for me to hit golf balls in. This leads to sore toes on my right foot from my follow through / finish while hitting balls or playing. These actually felt OK after hitting a large bucket of balls so I decided to try them out on the course.

After a few holes, my feet started to slide around in the shoe a bit but I quickly fixed the issue by tightening up the laces. This gave me a more secure fit and eliminated the feeling of swimming around throughout the swing. The spikeless platform provided plenty of grip even on dry dormant Bermuda grass. I even went into a bunker (only to test of course, not because I hit it there) and came out without any sand in my shoes (bonus!).

FullSizeRenderIf you are looking for a new primary pair of shoes for this season, I would go with a more traditional shoe (see my posts on the adidas tour 360 boost) that offers more support and waterproof capabilities (these are not waterproof as they are mesh and breathable). But, if you have a few pair of shoes and are looking for an option to kick around in then these are great.  They even double as a fresh pair of sneakers if you have to run to grocery store on the way home.

The Adidas climacool still gets my vote for best shop shoe for pros (it’s basically a sneaker) but the Nike FI Bermuda takes the lead for those who may find themselves running out onto the course for a quick nine with members or sneaking  away to hit a few balls on the range.