Tom Patri improved business by starting his own (Part 1)

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“In 10 years time, there will be very few great club pro jobs left as we know them today,” says Tom Patri, director of instruc­tion at the famed Westchester CC, Rye, N .Y., since 1990. “Young golf professionals need to look at how they can pro­vide a good living for themselves and their families.” In the increasingly corporate golf environment, it’s only natural that to do just that, Tom Patri turned himself into a company.

Four years ago, Patri began T.P. Golf Services, whose business is to create golf “workshops” and corporate outings in warm weather destinations. In doing so, he
recog­nized that the burgeoning market for corporate golf represented a prime oppor­tunity for the enterprising, talented teacher.

Patri worked hard to develop the teaching expertise that has earned him the Metropolitan Section PGA Teacher of the Year award, guest appearances on the Golf Channel and students on the PGA and LPGA tours. After col­lege, he played professionally for seven years on the mini-tours in the U.S., South Africa, Canada and Mexico. He left tour life behind in 1988 and secured his first job as an assistant teaching pro at a private club on Long Island, N.Y.

“As a player, I felt I knew quite a lot about the golf swing,” says Patri. “After teaching for about a month,
I discovered that I didn’t know as much as I thought.”

Once Patri decided to make teaching his career, he pursued it as intensely as he did playing. “Much of my income the first three years was spent on airline tickets to visit other teaching pros to find out how they taught, and why they were better at it than I was,” says Patri, who gives much of the credit for his development to Bill Strausbaugh Jr., professional emeritus at Columbia CC, Chevy Chase, Md.

From the accumulated wisdom, Patri now teaches less than he coaches. “I got away from mechanics and more into teaching golf,” he says. His “Rule of One-Third” divides lesson time into equal parts full swing, short game and on-course work. A typical three-day winter workshop includes full swing and short game practice in the morn­ing, a lunch break, then a round of golf in the afternoon.

The impetus for these winter workshops came not from Patri but from some Westchester members, who asked him to Florida to help them with their games. “After that experience, and hearing about other pros doing corporate outings, I realized it wasn’t that hard to find a site, organize tee times, and create an agenda for a three-day golf school,” Patri says.