3 Tests You Need To Pass To Become A Golf Teaching Professional
Golf is a difficult sport to learn, and one that few can consistently play well. Even fewer are able to teach it effectively, but those who are able to do so can earn a professional golf teaching license in order to help others improve their craft on the green. If you are an avid golfer who is considering the idea of getting a golf teaching license, take a look below for three of the tests you'll need to ace before you can call yourself a professional golf teacher.
Multiple Written Tests
In order to earn a golf teaching license, you'll naturally be required to pass more than one written test. These will cover the fundamentals of the game, as well as more extensive rules that every professional should be aware of. Even if you feel as though you are familiar with these rules at the level of instinct, you will need to be able to clearly identify and define the most up-to-date rules of the game. The written exams that are administered to you as part of the licensing program will test your ability to do this at the highest level.
Verbal Teaching Test
While knowing the official rules — even the more arcane ones — is obviously important, teaching golf is about much more than just memorizing a rule book front to back. At its core, teaching golf is about the ability of someone in possession of such knowledge to clearly and effectively communicate it to someone else, regardless of their level of play. This is why a professional golf teaching license program will administer a verbal teaching test to ensure that you can recognize and then properly correct errors in a golfer's swing. To prepare for the verbal teaching test, seek out friends or family who will volunteer for a practice session. In this way, you can practice coaching up players on particular aspects of their game before taking the test itself.
Ability Test
Even those who are most knowledgeable about the game of golf and most capable of explaining it can't do much good as a professional golf teacher if they are unable to play the game themselves at a high level. That's why the final type of test you should expect to pass is the playing ability test. This test will require you to score under a certain number of strokes depending on your age; the older you are, the higher the score total allowed.
For more information, reach out to a company such as International PGA.