PGA of Canada Podcasts

How I Swim with the Big Fish at INC.com

John regularly writes on the topic of entrepreneurial intelligence and in this podcast shares a very relevant theme to PGA professionals - how to succeed in a highly competitive markplace. John is a contributor to INC.com and competes with celebrity posters such as Tony Robbins, athletes, actors, and others. We often hear "I don't have time for personal branding." But why is it your competitors have the time? Why are you allowing them to gain the competitive advantage? Find out John means when he says you need to HUSTLE in business to succeed and be relevant in your industry and marketplace.

Successful people always take a longterm view - create great content and give away just enough information that your 'customer' wants more. There is no magic bullet - branding is a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy the podcast, its a great one!

John White is a contributor to INC.com and the CMO and founder of Social Marketing Solutions. He is also a brand ambassador for beBee (a startup social-media site based on affinity networking with 10.5 million global users). White writes at the crossroads of social media, entrepreneurship, startups, and marketing. Last year, he completed his MBA in marketing. White lives with his wife and two daughters in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Off-Season Marketing Strategies for Golf Courses

Critical Factor to Effective Student Learning with Dr Mark Guadagnoli

Today we talk about a key learning concept called Challenge Point.  At it’s core an appropriate challenge point will optimize the learning of a student by looking for the optimal level of difficulty to practice with.   We’ll walk through exactly what it means and an example of how it applies in the typical lesson setting. 

A big part of creating a lesson environment with appropriate challenge point involves the type of feedback the student is receiving.  We talk about how to appropriately vary that based on the skill of a level of a student.

 "Conditions that appear to create challenges for the learner often appear to be slowing down the learning process. We’ve come to label those desirable difficulties and they can actually enhance long-term learning.”

 Dr Robert Bjork

 It’s very easy for people to think that our current performance during the training and learning process is an accurate index of learning. Often it’s not only inaccurate, it’s very, very misleading. That’s because conditions that can lead to rapid improvement in performance don’t support learning on long-term.

We talk about some suggestions for maximizing engagement during the lesson so you can make sure your students are learning optimally every lesson. 

 Resources from Dr Mark Guadagnoli and Dr Robert Bjork mentioned:
http://golfsciencelab.com/challenge-point/
http://golfsciencelab.com/performance-and-learning-dr-robert-bjork-and-adam-young/

 About Dr Mark Guadagnoli
Dr. Mark Guadagnoli has worked in industry and academia for over two decades and has taught at several universities including Harvard University, UCLA, UNLV, and USC. He has been featured in the New York Times and other international publications.

Dr. Guadagnoli specializes in optimizing performance, communication, leadership, and learning and has received numerous awards for this work in (multiple time Student of the Year, Teacher of the Year, and Researcher of the Year) and out of the university. In addition to his university work, Dr. Guadagnoli has had an active consulting practice for nearly 20 years. He has worked in the area of corporate optimization with companies such as Zappos.com, where he developed their corporate university, developed and ran executive off sites, and worked on performance optimizations with their executive team.

Dr. Guadagnoli has also worked with companies such as Bose, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Google, Sony, and Panasonic. Dr. Guadagnoli has published more than 100 articles and abstracts and is the author of two books (Human Learning; Biology, Brain, and Neuroscience, and Practice to Learn, Play to Win). Dr. Guadagnoli’s primary line of research is related to the Challenge Point Framework which has been used to teach surgeons, medical professionals, and others who compete in high stress performance situations.

His model of learning shows that appropriate short-term challenges results in long-term and stress resistant learning. He has been invited to present this work around the world including such countries as Canada, China, France, Germany, and Scotland. Dr. Guadagnoli has also worked in performance optimization with athletes in several sports including the USA Olympic Elite Track and Field Coaches and PGA, LPGA, and Nationwide tour winners.

Dr. Guadagnoli is currently a faculty member at UNLV and Senior Scientist at Triad Consulting, Inc.

Developing Your Winter Golf Camps

Jeff Overholt, of Golf Performance Coaches in the Toronto area, shares with us their take on Winter Camps for juniors in their coaching programs.  We talk about the focus on a full immersion experience with breakthroughs going far beyond just the golf course.  

 We’ll learn how they're helping juniors create better habits and get a better understanding of what it takes to be an elite level athlete off the golf course.  That’s one of the big reasons they’ve found renting a large home for the juniors to stay in, instead of a hotel is so beneficial.  It allows the coaches to control the environment a bit more and creates a more team like atmosphere amongst everyone attending.

“the space between” golf, can have the biggest impacts on trips like this

3 Mistakes to Avoid:

 #1 - Don’t start with too many players.  A large group causes issues with transportation, food, housing, and so much more.  Instead focus on the best fit and create a more personalized experience. Jeff recommends somewhere around 12-16 as a sweet spot for functionality as well as profitability. 

 #2 - Purchase food for juniors instead of going out to eat for every meal.  Not only does it keep food and beverage costs down but making a trip to Costco and picking up groceries allows healthier options. 

 #3 - Don’t book travel for kids, instead allow parents to book their own flights or travel as some will make it a family trip before or after and might want to drive, etc… You don’t want to become a travel agent!

 Jeff talks about these winter / spring camps as being some of the most reward times as coach.  Figure out a way to get stared with this concept and get your students somewhere south prior to the start of the season!

 

MONDAY (Sample day)
7:00am - Breakfast
9:30am - Skill Development at TPC Myrtle

Coaches stationed in three area’s (short game, driving range, and putting green) and players are encouraged to spend a bit of time with each coach throughout the three hours. Players can choose to spend as much or as little time in each area as they require. We like to give them structure but freedom to work within it.

• Station #1: Short Game - How to use the wedge?
• Station #2: Full Swing I - TrackMan feedback / skills evaluation
• Station #3: Full Swing II - Maintenance work
• Station #4: Putting - How to use the eyes?

12:30pm - Lunch
1:15pm - Play 18 holes at TPC Myrtle Beach

Coaches walk 4 - 5 holes with each group

• Front nine - Awareness exercises: Pre-shot routine focused 
• Back nine - 2 person Team Better Ball

6:30pm - Group dinner with DJGT players
9:00pm - Group discussion / debrief at Beach House
Topic: Emotional Management
10:00pm - In bed rooms

 

99 No's But That 1 Yes - Career Building as a Young Professional

Tom Schellenberg is the General Manager at Deer Ridge Golf Club in Kitchener, ON and has had a world of experiences under the age of 30. In this podcast, Tom shares his insights to becoming one of the youngest General Managers in the country and landing the job at Deer Ridge at only 23 years old.

When approached, aspiring young professionals are often looking for "the answer" to fast-tracking their career to a Generl Manager, Director of Golf, or Head Golf Professional. The fact is, according to Tom, there is no 'secret equation.' Money should not always be the driving force as a young professional, we should be striving for opportunities and experiences. The important skills are building your network of valuable references, building your personal brand, and working hard to open the doors for yourself. Age isn't always a factor - you have to know what you want to do and then believe in it and believe in yourself and above all else, work hard at what you do. 

Tom shares his path to success and key learnings for new professionals in the industry driving to a successful career in the industry.

Inspiring Change, Motivating Individuals, and Motivating Your Team with Tom Schellenberg

Tom Schellenberg, General Manager with Deer Ridge Golf Club in Kitchener, ON shares his vision in inspiriing change and motivating your operational team to success. Tom shares how they have incorporated not just what we see as traditional core values to deliver operational success, but the development of core values which define who they are as people and as an operation. Tom discusses his role as a Chief Energizing Officer focuses on four key areas of excellence: 1) Finding your Passion   2) Knowing What's Right   3) The Power of Though   4)When you are scared of something, move towards it.

Being a millenial himself, Tom has a unique way of managing this very challenging demographics of new employees at our operations. Tom is an engaging young professional leading the way at Deer Ridge and in the industry. His innovative style of leadership pushes his staff to strive for success in every realm of their day to day business.

 

Create Experience People Want to Talk About

In this podcast, the PGA of Canada connects with Miklos Breitner from Golf Business Monitor and Frank Eliason, a social media expert related to customer experience. Frank discusses how his book, @YourService is still relate-able and can used in the golf industry. Emotional touchpoints are key to today's customer and even more important for the golf professional to make it easier for today's customer to be able to share their experiences. Don't miss this great podcast where Frank will challenge PGA professionals o to change their business model to attract more clients and golf club members.

About Frank Eliason
Frank Eliason is an American corporate executive and author. Referred to as "the most famous customer service manager in the US, possibly the world" by BusinessWeek. Eliason is best known for developing the use of social media in the practice of customer relations.
After a brief career in retail, Eliason worked for Vanguard Investments and the now-defunct Advanta Bank. He joined Comcast as Executive Support Manager in 2007 during a period of high-profile public relations issues. In 2008, Eliason, as part of the team selected to address the issues, created the Twitter account @ComcastCares and began directly responding to customer complaints, which positively impacted the public perception of Comcast.Eliason, who interacted with more than 10,000 Comcast customers via Twitter, was the subject of significant press attention; he was featured in the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Wired, the Washington Post, BusinessWeek, Forbes and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among other publications, and became known as "Famous Frank" inside Comcast.

In July 2010, Eliason left Comcast to become Global Director of Social Media at Citi. At Citi, Eliason was recognized by trade magazine Bank Technology News as one of the Innovators of the Year (2011 and 2012), and in 2013 he was named by the Holmes Report as one of the 25 top innovators in the public relations industry. Eliason was named executive vice president, US digital and customer experience for Zeno Group in October, 2015.

Career Progression in the Golf Industry

PGA of Canada Professional Rich Morel shares his personal take on not getting 'stuck' in your career and how to progress to the next level in your career. In this podcast, Rich talks about his 'go-to's' for his own personal and professional growth, both in and out of the industry. How can you use Disney to build your career?
Many professionals in the industry struggle with taking a leap into a new and bigger role and Rich did just that. From growing up in the backshop to running corporate events for two years and eventually into his first Head Professional position at Deer Ridge, Rich shares this pathway and offers his insights for fellow members looking to make that next move.

Five Ways To Increase Your Golf Course Marketing Footprint

In this podcast, we sit down with Rodney, Duncan, and Brian from Strong Coffee Marketing. What are some of the simple things you can do? Are you on Google Maps, or is it accurate? Why not #GoogleMyBusiness? Many people tend to look at reviews online and then narrow their choices from there, how do you compare to other courses in your area? Many people aren't even aware of what kind of reviews are out there about their own golf course. Brian discusses strategies to manufacture reviews. As important as it is to have reviews, they are not always positive so its important to have strategies to respond accordingly. Listen to the full podcast and capture the full five ways to increase your golf course marketing footprint.

To contact Strong Coffee Marketing directly, visit https://strongcoffeemarketing.com

Top Tips as a New Head Professional

Rich Morel, Head Professional at Deer Ridge Golf Club in Kitchener, Ontario, shares his top fives tips as he transitioned into his first job as a Head Professional in the industry.