The club pro represents the heart of a golf club and is the key to its success​​​​​​​ 

The professional at a golf club is almost always the face of that club. He is the person you see when you register to play a round, and he’s the person you see after a round when you hand in your scorecard.

We’ve had many wonderful club professionals in South Africa over the years whose loyalty to their clubs has often been a big reason for the clubs' success. I can’t in this short article mention them all but I would like to give you just a few examples.

Simon Fogarty was at Royal Cape for many years. He was a good teacher and a good player who played in The Open. He loved to play golf with the members and was also an excellent retailer.

Derek James at Southbroom is another outstanding club professional, who along with his wife Sheena, make an unbelievable team.

Don Ellmore was so good, customers would drive long distance to have lessons or get fitted for new clubs.

David Black has been a PGA member for nearly three quarters of a century. He was at two of Johannesburg’s premier clubs, Killarney and Houghton. He did his utmost to make sure every member or visitor enjoyed their experience at his club.

A good professional golfer is there for a number of reasons. He’s there to promote his club and at the same time he wants to assist golfers to improve because golfers who play well, play more often. A good club pro needs to be a coach, a rules expert, a golf equipment expert, be able to repair clubs and be a businessman – and he needs to have a well-stocked shop.

The professional is the person who has to handle all the complaints that come after a bad round of golf. He is also the person who both recruits new members and does his best to make sure that they stay members. A member who is recognised and welcomed at the club is a member who is going to be more engaged, rather than just using the club to play golf.

The golf pro is the expert when it comes to golf. He will be the person whose advice you would seek if you had questions about the Rules of Golf, formats of competitions, the golf swing and equipment.

The Rules of Golf are complicated and can be confusing. His job is to impart his knowledge so that golfers reduce the number of mistakes they make.

When it comes to the golf swing, I’ve always maintained amateurs teach amateurs to be amateurs. It’s relatively easy to see flaws in a golf swing. How to fix them is not so easy.

For a couple of years, when I was the pro at Mowbray Golf Club where I did a little coaching, I was terrible. I could see what the golfer was doing wrong but I had no idea how to get him to fix it.

One time my father was visiting and during a lesson I called him over for help. Within five minutes he managed to get the guy hitting better shots. I instantly retired as a golf coach.