GolfTEC Promotes First Tee

Need to fix your game?  There's no better time or reason than right now. Next month, GolfTEC will commemorate teaching its five millionth lesson by providing complimentary 30-minute golf lessons on November 8 or 9 to customers who make a donation to The First Tee.

Offered at all GolfTEC locations in the United States, this unique opportunity allows golfers to sign up online at www.golftec.com/promos/5million or by calling 877.446.5383. To complete the process, customers follow instructions on making a donation to The First Tee and show that receipt upon arrival at GolfTEC. Each lesson is valued at more than $50, far greater than the $20 suggested minimum contribution to The First Tee. Come on, you piker, pony up a bit more--it's a great cause (and I'm not talking about your swing)!

The First Tee is an international youth development organization focused on introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people. Through afterschool and educational programs, it helps shape the lives of young people from all walks of life by reinforcing values like integrity, respect and perseverance through the game of golf.

“We gave our first lesson nearly 20 years ago and since that time GolfTEC has grown to become an industry leader, employing more PGA professionals than any other organization,” says Joe Assell, Co-Founder and CEO of GolfTEC. “Our goal is to grow the game by helping players improve and enjoy golf more, which creates a devoted consumer base excited to play and share this amazing sport.”

Highly efficient and claiming a 95 percent success rate, GolfTEC lessons are taught one-on-one by Certified Personal Coaches mostly in indoor bays that utilize proprietary teaching technology. Developing a comprehensive improvement plan for each student is the foundation of GolfTEC’s philosophy. This is embodied by the company’s popular game plans and lesson packs, which are available in a variety of options to suit all budgets.

“The First Tee and GolfTEC have a shared vision of introducing more young people to the game of golf and ensuring they have the necessary tools to succeed on and off the golf course,” says Jennifer Weiler, Vice President of Strategic Alignment and Development, of The First Tee. “We are grateful to be part of this unique promotion, which will undoubtedly raise awareness for our mission.”

GolfTEC’s first-class instructors have gone through rigorous certification to master the analysis of golf mechanics, the technology of the GolfTEC system and the most productive teaching techniques. Each of the company’s locations boasts an array of state-of-the-art equipment and services specially designed to provide customers a totally unique experience. Among the technologies currently employed:

• g-SWING teaching technology – Patented software program displays real-time video with motion measurement, capturing body positions throughout the swing; coaches use the info to diagnose, communicate and measure the changes that will lead to improvement.

• TECfit – using Foresight® launch monitors to capture critical performance data – ball flight, ball speed, clubhead speed, launch angle, sidespin and backspin – coaches cross-reference this information with GolfTEC’s proprietary SwingLabs® database to help select ideal clubs for each student’s swing; they can then accurately illustrate changes in ball performance resulting from club adjustments.

It's never too late to fix your swing...or too early to help a youngster get involved with the game.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Four Million Lessons (And I Still Can't Break Par)

Some time in the next few weeks, likely in the middle of April, GolfTEC will give its four-millionth golf lesson. As the digital counter in the lobby of GolfTEC’s Denver headquarters clicks closer and closer to the magic number, the company is getting ready to celebrate this milestone event.

The first GolfTEC learning center opened on April 10, 1995, in the Denver Tech Center mall. Today, there are 176 centers in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Korea, with more on the way. GolfTEC employs more than 550 Certified Personal Coaches, most of whom are PGA professionals and apprentices; in fact, nearly 2% of all golf pros in the U.S. work for GolfTEC, which is responsible for 25% of the country’s private golf lessons.

While the party planning proceeds, GolfTEC’s first employee—Joe Assell, now CEO and president—reflects on the company's growth. “I couldn’t be more excited about our four millionth lesson,” says Assell. “Every step along the way, every time we open a new center, hire another coach, or help another golfer get better is proof that our idea works.”

That idea—which Assell developed with his then boss, Clayton Cole, the legendary past head professional at Denver’s Cherry Hills Country Club—was to bring computers and other technology to golf instruction. That might seem like a no-brainer now, but in the mid-‘90s the world was very different.“This thing called a computer was just becoming available to individual offices, schools, and homes,” remembers Assell. “To get some perspective, 1995 was the first year of two companies called Yahoo and Netscape. Technology wasn’t mainstream, so the idea of bringing golfers indoors and hooking them to a computer was very new.

“While the technology has improved beyond belief since those early days, the concept is very similar to what we started with back then,” says Assell. “From the day we opened we used body sensors and motion measurement, which remain at the heart of the computerized systems in every GolfTEC center today.”

As proud as Assell is of reaching the 4-million lesson mark, he is the first to say that the number of lessons given isn’t nearly as important as their quality. “What keeps every GolfTEC coach and employee motivated and excited is the success of our customers. We’ve had tens of thousands of golfers shoot their career rounds because of us, have tournament victories, win scholarships, club championships, and so much more.

“We like the numbers because they continue to validate our original idea of bringing the most up-to-date technology to golf instruction. And we still strive for that every day. But more important than any number is the fact that our customers are really improving. That’s the ultimate validation.”

There are two Golf Tec centers in Westchester, one in New Rochelle, the other in White Plains.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf