Staff

Our Staff

We here at the PGTCA are excited that you have taken the first steps in following your dreams of becoming a certified golf teacher or golf coach. We our so positive that you will be 100% satisfied with our staff, curriculum and certification course that we offer a 100% money back guarantee to all students. So, if your serious about getting involved in teaching or coaching this great game of golf call today 1 888 MR TEACH, and one of our staff members will be happy to assist you in your new or second CARREER.

PGTCA is proud to employ a staff of golf teaching professionals from all walks of life. The array of backgrounds reads like a who’s who of golf teacher and coaches. From teachers with PGA Class A status, to coaches with doctorates and masters degrees in education, law, sociology, physics and biomechanics, to current and past touring professionals. PGTCA hires only those professionals who demonstrate a clear enthusiasm, not just for playing, but also for instruction and the betterment of the golf teaching industry. Most importantly, our instruction is based on the breakdown of individual golf swings and not on systematic instruction. We will train you extensively in all fundamentals and facets of teaching golf.

Our “PGTCA INSTRUCTION STAFF” consists of a group of PGA and PGTCA golf teaching professional who collaborate twice yearly on the latest technology in the golfing industry to ensure consistent swing philosophies. All of which are full time golf teaching professionals and “Directors of Instruction” at their respected club or golf schools. The staff has also dedicated one week a month out of their busy schedule’s to travel the world, to train the next generation of golf teaching professional at a “PGTCA CERTIFICATION COURSE” near you. We demand the highest level of golf instruction and tirelessly continue to educate our staff on updated and prior golf teaching techniques. We feel that our tedious endeavors allow for the optimum collection of golf teaching professionals.

The dedication at which our instruction is facilitated is one of the reasons why we are considered one of the top teacher certification schools in America and abroad! With over one thousand fixes for golf most common faults, we guarantee our golf professionals are specifically trained to enhance your golf teaching skills. We implore you to learn with us and you will be amazed at how your teaching prowess will vastly improve! We will give you the knowledge and confidence for success. We have over 125 years of golf instruction experience, each with specific training in hot new areas, including the latest in video-analysis! Our student-to-teacher ratio of five-to-one only optimizes our ability for you to become the top teaching professional or golf coach! We welcome any questions or comments as we strive to serve our membership and master the art of teaching and coaching golf.

I began my journey 28 years ago. I packed all I owned, a few clothes and my clubs in my car and headed for Florida. I knew that I had to somehow find a way to be in the golf business. It has been a challenging, but rewarding, 28 years. I was very fortunate to have a sister in the business who was working with some great teachers, Harvey Penick, Chuck Cook, Fred Griffin, and Mike Adams, in Austin, Texas. After about 7 years of playing various mini-tours and leading the money list for the Mid-West mini-tours, I decided to take a job teaching for a golf school for which my sister had been working. The next 21 years were a great learning experience and I have had a successful career as a full-time golf instructor and part-time player. I have worked for almost every golf school in the country and have traveled to every state to teach or play. I have paid the price, teaching for eight hours a day and then practicing my own game to keep my skills in shape. Sometimes I think I have slept in every K-Mart parking lot from Florida to California. I have had odd jobs at night when money was tight. But, through thick and thin, I have awakened every morning with a smile on my face because teaching golf has kept my dream alive.In 1991, I started out on my own and opened the United States Golf Schools. I am now the president of one of the country’s hottest and most personalized golf schools with over 85 locations nationwide. I also have the honor of working with past and present tour players and PGA and LPGA tour winners. Currently working with PGA Star Bo Van Pelt. Some are on my staff and some are my pupils, but either way, I think we give and take from each other.

Through my years of travel, I have seen the good and the not-so-good in the business. The Professional Golf Teachers and Coaches of America was formed to give people an alternative way to get into the golf business and to provide training for coaches worldwide, hopes of making the journey a little smoother for others. If you want to become a qualified and recognized golf instructor or coach it will take heart, dedication, hard work, and a willingness to be the best. If you will give the PGTC of America all of those things, we will give you the knowledge for success.

I think you are all familiar with the PGA. While the club professional performs a multitude of duties, which are geared toward increasing enjoyment of the game, he/she has become, to a great extent, a businessperson and an administrator. In most cases, their livelihood depends upon operating a profitable golf shop, driving range, golf cart concessions, tournament programs for men, women, and juniors, club storage areas, and lesson programs. Add to that the needs of countless individual members, from junior boys through senior women, and what emerges is a job description incorporating many facets. This organization requires 3-5 years of apprentice work. Our organization devotes its professional efforts to these two areas: (1) Teaching and training all fundamentals and facets of teaching the game of golf, (2) Continuing education, career advancement, and placement for our membership.

If all your questions are not answered on this website, please feel free to call 1 888 4WPGTCA or 843 333 3230 and a staff member will assist you with your needs. All classes are limited to the first 25 applicants, so make plans early to attend a certification class near you. In Golf and in Life, it’s the Follow Through That Makes the Difference.

Sincerely,

Mitchell A. Crum

After a few years, the mechanics of a golf swing become relatively simple to teach. Many good teachers can watch a player and spot immediately where they are losing power or how they are misconnecting with the ball. The real challenge becomes translating a problem area into a practical practice plan that enables the student long lasting success. What attracted me to teaching wasn’t the mechanics of the swing, but the process and psychology that makes one finally able to do it. A new golf swing is a developmental learning process, so structuring a personal practice program provides the student the necessary tools for their improvement. It is also a mental game, so helping players to find that mental aspect is a big thrill for me. I try to understand how my students think and what they are visualizing when they swing. Often it helps just to let them view their swing on video, so they can begin to create mental pictures of what they are doing. Once you can reach a player on that level, they often become fantastic teachers themselves.

In 2005, I was honored as the “2005 Guaranteed Golf’s National Teacher of the Year”

From 2000 through 2002, I was a Division III women’s golf coach for Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Leading my team to two consecutive conference championships, along with a 6th place finish in the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship. I was awarded “College Golf Coach of the Year” two years in a row by the NCAA’s CCIW Conference.

In 2000, I was honored as being the first ever golf professional to teach a golf instruction certification school in China. I have also started two golf instructional companies overseas. To date, I have taught over 25,000 individual lessons around the world.

In 1992, I was the Assistant Director of Instruction for the nationally recognized golf school United States Golf Schools. In 1995, I became a Class A member of the PGA of America. In 1998, I became a member of the Professional Golf Teachers and Coaches of America. I’m very proud be recognized as a PGTCA Master Instructor.

Presently, I operate the On Target Golf Schools of Indiana. I also am the director of instruction for all Guaranteed Golf Schools in Indiana

If you have any questions about a PGTCA course, feel free to contact me at wpgtca@gmail.com. I look forward to meeting you.

Job & Teaching Experience
1980 to 1985 : Asst. Professional @ Rancho Bernardo Inn & Country Club / San Diego, Ca.
1985 to 1986 : Asst. Professional @ San Vicente Country Club / Ramona, Ca.
1986 to 1987 : Golf Professional @ Stardust Hotel & Country Club / San Diego, Ca.
1987 to 1988 : Golf Professional @ Redlands Country Club / Redlands, Ca.
1988 to 1990 : Teaching Professional @ Derek Hardy’s California Academy of Golf / Highland, Ca.
1990 to 1994 : Head Golf Professional @ Loma Linda Golf Center / Loma Linda, Ca.
1992 to 1994 : Owner and General Manager of Great American Golf Shops at Loma Linda Golf Center / Palm Meadows Golf Club
1993 to 1994 : Teaching Professional for the Hank Haney Teaching Staff / Loma Linda, Ca.
1994 to 2001 : Head Golf Professional @ Palm Meadows Golf Club / San Bernardino, Ca.
2008 to 2009 : Custom Fitter @ Max Out Golf Labs @ SCGA Golf Course / Murrieta, Ca.
2001 to Present : Director of Golf Instruction @ Menifee Valley Golf Schools / Southern California
2009 to Present : Director of Golf Operations @ Southern California Golf Schools / Southern California
2009 to Present : VP of Instruction for United States Golf Schools in California

I became a member of the PGA in 1970 while serving as an assistant professional at Saginaw Country Club in Saginaw, Michigan for four years. Since then I have worked and taught at: The Country Club of Lansing, Lansing, MI; The PGA National Golf Club, West Palm Beach, FL; Woodmont Country Club, Fort Lauderdale, FL; The Mainlands Golf Club, Fort Lauderdale, FL; Inverrary Country Club, Fort Lauderdale, FL; and currently am the lead instructor for the United States Schools of Golf at Sunrise Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, FL. My lovely wife Helene and I make Fort Lauderdale our home now!Since 1996 I have been the senior representative of the Southern Chapter of the South Florida Section of the PGA of America. I began my career with the United States Schools of Golf in 1995 while at Inverrary Country Club. As a player, I was the winner of three Southern Chapter PGA Senior events in 1999, and also attempted the Senior tour Monday qualifier for three consecutive years (1990-1993).

I wish all of you the best of luck in your golfing endeavors and trust you need to look no further to become the best player or teacher than right here at the PGTCA! The continuing education you receive on what’s hot and what’s not is so beneficial for you to keep up with today’s top professionals!

Prior to this, Jan was the director of golf for five years at the famous Concord Resort Hotel in Kiamesha Lake, NY. Jan also spent two years as director of golf at Binks Forest in Wellington, FL. and two years as the head Professional at Williams Island Country Club in North Miami Beach, FL. As a player, Jan has recorded numerous wins in local and sectional PGA events.Jan currently lives in Palm Beach, FL with his wife, Daphne, and their two children, Nicholas and Alexander.

Since completing his course in April of 1995, Keith’s teaching career has flourished. Since 1997, Keith has owned and operated Island Golf School, with his corporate office located on Hilton Head Island. The Island Golf School has five wonderful locations, two sites on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, The Melrose Club on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, Fripp Island Resort, South Carolina and Twelve Bridges Golf Club, Sacramento, California.When Keith is not on the lesson tee or teaching at a PGTCA certification class, he is the Tournament Director for The Jim McLean Future Collegians World Tour, a tour specifically designed for talented players from all over the world looking to obtain avenues to play college golf or the PGA Tour. The tour has 36 nationally ranked events, which run from fall to the spring.

As a PGTCA board member, Dave is one of the reasons the PGTCA has flourished by his constant blue-collar work ethic. In 1987 Dave became Director of Golf at French Lick Springs Resort, home of the infamous “Hill Course”. He has built awareness in the local golfing community by incorporating countywide youth and adult golf clinics! His keen ability to educate his staff in a “common sense” fashion makes him one of our most pleasant PGA and PGTCA Professionals to work for, having over 40 employees under his command.Dave was awarded Merchandiser of the Year for the exceptional sales and marketing techniques he employs in his Pro Shop! Dave’s knowledge in the customer/client relationship field allows him to enjoy the time he spends as a Professional on the range with students, and also aiding and developing PGTCA members. His accessibility and success as a Director are some of the many reasons why PGTCA is proud to have Dave as one of our board members!

I have had my own golf school called S.A.I. Golf Academy now for over 4 year just outside of Atlanta, GA. I’m here to tell you anything is possible if you follow your heart. Don’t let a language barrier stop you, as we have instructors that speak many Asian languages. Call us today 1 888 4 WPGTCA.Here are some of the accomplishments I have had over the years:

2 time Crooked Creek Club Champion
Crooked Creek Cup two-man match-play champion
Crooked Creek Member-Guest Champion
Settindown Creek Member-Guest Champion
Qualified for State Amateur match-play Championship
Qualified for Yamaha Open
2nd place State Four-Ball amateur tournament
Career round of 66
Numerous rounds in the sixties
Handicap as low as 0
First place medalist United States Teachers Golf Federation certification playing ability test

Hit it straight!
-Sai