The power of putting

As career decisions go – it was the first and best one of all for enterprising PGA Professional Stephen Packer.

Embarking on becoming a Certified Putting Instructor via Frankly Golf was the spark for the Dorset Country Club pro to embrace the power of putting – and a defining moment in his professional life having since gone on to take a wide-range of courses to enhance his coaching.

The 25-year-old, who father is a PGA Professional, has hailed the course and is reaping the rewards of how it has transformed his putting coaching and income.

“I would say the best thing I ever did not only for putting coaching but also as it inspired me to go on and do all my other qualifications.

“As a result of the course I now only do a one hour putting lesson, as I can’t cover what I want to cover in half an hour, and that has almost doubled my income. It’s a simple formula but you need that hour.

“I didn’t have to promote it widely as I started giving putting lessons and very soon word of mouth was getting round.

“People were improving and telling their friends and so everyone was coming to see me. That spread to the local area with players aware of how they could improve their putting and so those who weren’t members of the club were coming to speak to me about improving their putting.

“This year I put some promotion in local golf magazine about a half day putting class and that has really taken off.

“I have done five already and I admit I never expected to spend three hours with a group of people who were prepared to pay for that amount of time on putting. It’s unbelievable and doing that really has really given me confidence.”

The CPI course, developed by US-based Frankley Academies in conjunction with the PGA, is available to do online or at their Florida headquarters under the tutelage of Frank Thomas, USGA technical director for 26 years, and business partner Valerie Melvin.

“I went out there to Florida and tied it in to a trip out there,” said Packer, explaining how he did the course.

“I met Frank and Valerie and they sold the course to me and I did it while I was there. They showed how simple it was.

“I went out there and I didn’t know who Frank was at the time but having met him the only conclusion is what an amazing person he is. What he does not know about golf equipment is not worth knowing. Aside from the putting instruction, he designed his own Frog putter many years ago and when you see the putters on the market today, it was way ahead of its time.”

Frankley Academies are holding a one-day putting workshop in St Andrews on December 17. For more information click here.

To find out more about the CPI course for PGA Professionals click here.