Improving Yourself As An Assistant Golf Professional – Tyler Smith, PGA
There is no doubt about it. The job market is getting thinner and more competitive by the day, and the golf industry is no exception to that. The number of top positions are becoming fewer and fewer as people hang on to what they have in these difficult times. Below are a few ways that may help you stay on a steady pace of improvement, while at the same time being a valued contributor to your employer.
- Read
- Reading is an underrated and underutilized tool for improving your vocabulary and broadening your exposure.
- Reading is subject material for conversations with members, other golf professionals, and interview situations.
- Read two current event articles every day.
- Read teaching books, motivational pieces, leadership material, and blogs. Anything you can get your hands on is beneficial and can provide you with new insights.
- Share Ideas (As well as receive them)
- If your mind is not set to “receive” you may miss valuable information.
- Answers are only found through exploring and asking questions.
- When you ask a question you open the door for a discussion that could lead to ideas and answers that are vital to what you’re trying to accomplish.
- You are not expected to have all the tools and all the answers.
- Don’t be afraid to share some of your own ideas
- Sharing generates feedback, which is a catalyst for improvement
- Ideas that turn into practices are beneficial to your operation.
- Attention to Detail
- You should strive to be the person that your Head Professional can hand something of importance to and be confident that it will get done correctly.
- What does this entail?
- Writing and speaking proficiently
- Spelling/Grammar (Written documents)
- Sentence structure (Verbal interactions)
- This could be something as simple as an email blast or as complex as delivering the closing announcements for a member guest event.
- Separating Yourself From Others – See “Standing Out” – Brian Dobak
- Every top Assistant Golf Professional is proficient at managing the day-to-day operation at their club.
- In his blog “Standing Out”, Brian Dobak points out a number of different ways to help make an impression as an Assistant.
- With the industry being as competitive as it is today, it is important to ask yourself what makes you different from the other 28,000 PGA Professionals?
- Certification programs
- Calligraphy
- Public Speaking
- Leadership position within section or chapter
There are a number of resources through the PGA, AMF, and other outlets that can help you to expand on any of the material listed above. Working through one or two of these ideas every month or so will help make you a better professional.