Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 16, 2010
Zeb Patten Golf Academy using a new approach
David Laprad
Professional golfer Zeb Patten has been teaching the sport for over a decade. Through his new golf academy, he’s able to work with several students at once for a lower price than private instruction.
- David Laprad
The economic recession hit golf instructor Zeb Patten where it hurts. As his clients cut back on expenses, he even reached the point where he couldn’t afford himself.
But golf was all Patten knew. He’d played for Baylor High School, attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on a golf scholarship, and went pro right out of college. Stints as the first assistant at the Memphis County Club and the general manager of Memphis National only confirmed he was doing what he was born to do. Then, in 1998, he’d opened ZGolf in Chattanooga, where he’d been teaching people to play better golf for the better part of a decade.
Nevertheless, there he was, trying to figure out how to swing his way out of a sand trap. The solution came to him during a conversation with Rick Hall, owner of Taekwondo Plus in Chattanooga.
“The economy had changed the dynamics of our business. I’d always done a lot of private instruction, but I wanted to find a way to reach more people. One day, I asked Hall how he made money. He told me his students pay once a month and then attend his classes, which he holds several times a day. No one had ever done that with golf,” Patten says.
With its warehouse-style door that opens up to a 300-yard driving range, allowing pupils to swing their clubs in the comfort of an air conditioned environment, Patten knew ZGolf would be the perfect facility.
He then developed a curriculum that would get his students out of the classroom and onto a real course as quickly as possible. Finally, with just a scrap of marketing and a group of about 20 students paying $99 a month, he opened the Zeb Patten Golf Academy in August 2009.
Through word of mouth, the number of students at the academy has grown to about 70. To accommodate his growing ranks, Patten has added more classes, as he prefers to keep the size of each session to eight or less so he can give each student personal attention.
Classes cover every aspect of the game of golf, including rules, ettiquette and course strategy at venues throughout Chattanooga. The majority of the classwork is done at ZGolf, however, where Patten has installed seven holes in two carpeted rooms.
“Each class starts off with putting, then we go into chipping, and then we play three ten-yard holes. We do that every time, and keep a score card for each student. If a student’s stroke average for those holes is nine or less, he can go to a longer hole,” Patten says.
Students must also take an open book rules test once a month.
Although Patten is giving his pupils an entire month’s worth of instruction for less than he charges for an hour of private instruction, he isn’t cutting corners. By capturing the movements of his students on a video camera located near his desk, he can show them what they’re doing wrong and then draw the adjustments they need to make on the screen.
Sitting in the room with the warehouse-style door, Patten turns to his computer and plays a video clip he recorded of a 6-year-old boy with a nearly perfect swing. He watches as the extension on the club the prodigy is using ends up right where it should be at the end of a swing, and smiles. “I give nicknames to all of my students. His is 401K. He’s my retirement plan,” he says.
Students at the academy also have access to laser devices, which they attach to the handles of their clubs, that project a point of light. This can help someone learn how to hit a ball square on. When used in tandem with the black lines that lead toward each hole, the lasers can also show students how crooked their swing is when they draw back to putt.
As Patten browses his other training videos, he scrolls past clips of teenagers, 80-year-
olds, doctors, lawyers, common laborers, men, women, beginners and advanced players. Golf is a game that does not discriminate, he says.
“We have all these people, with their unique personalities, working together toward the same goal. That doesn’t happen in any other sport.”
While the atmosphere at the Zen Patten Golf Academy is upbeat and relaxing, his pupils are serious about learning how to play golf, and will go elsewhere if their skills don’t improve. Patten is fortunate, then, that his students have not only upped their game, but also achieved new heights of success. One of his pupils secured a spot on a U.S. Walker Cup team in 2009, while another made the team at Christian Heritage School in Dalton. “During orientation, I tell my students I know they’ll fire me if I don’t do a good job,” he says.
Patten certainly aims to please. To make learning fun, he gives his pupils bonus points when they do well in class, then allows them to trade in those points for a variety of rewards. One young girl refused to spend her points until she’d saved enough for an iPod.
While the margins might be thinner than when he was doing more private instruction, Patten says he’s have a great time.
“I’m loving this more than private instruction. When you’re doing private instruction, you’re always fixing something; it doesn’t feel like teaching. But my students are here to learn how to play golf. My goal is to show each one how good he or she can be.”
Patten says he plans to cut off the growth of the academy at 100 students. At that point, people will be placed on a waiting list. He has no plans to require his students to sign a contract, however, as he believes people should be able to come and go as they please, especially in the current economy.
To learn more, visit www.zgolf.org.
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