GolfWRX Featured Writer Tom Stickney currently splits his time between Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., and the Promontory Club in Park City, Utah, as the Director of Instruction at both courses. Stickney, who has also worked in Florida and Colorado, is a native of Memphis, Tenn.

The Golf Magazine Top 100 teacher is also one of a handful of Trackman Masters and was recognized as one of the best Young Teachers Under 40 by Golf Digest from 2006 to 2011. 

How he got his start in teaching…

Stickney was playing mini tours when he was approached by a pro due to inherit a hefty sum. The pro, now financially secure, wanted to try his hand at making it to the big tour. Thus, he needed someone to give lessons at his 45-hole semi-private course.

How teaching has changed in the last 10-15 years…

“When I first started…the first 10-12 years of my career…golf instruction was a very closed shop. It was very proprietary as far as the information that was out there. You pretty much developed your own style based on what you could read.”

“It’s not like you had the Internet…all you did was read every book that was out. Now, the information is out there.”

“We’ve got a couple of kids…interns in the PGM Program…and they probably know 60 percent of what I know, as far as the mechanics…and they haven’t taught at all…They just dug around the internet and figured it all out. What they don’t have is 20,000 hours if lessons to hone their crafts, like I do.”

Signs of an increasingly competitive industry…

“When I first started, getting to $100 an hour was a goal…you look around and everybody at every main resort was charging $250 an hour. There were just so many people spending so much money on golf. There are very few $250 an hour jobs anymore.”

“If you want to make any money in the instruction business, you have to have all the awards, all the accolades and you have to spend a bunch of money on technology.”

How he got started writing for GolfWRX…

“When I get home, I don’t usually surf the Internet for swing theory…but I was surfing around one night looking for something and I came across GolfWRX.”

“I’d written a bunch of articles…I’ve always been a prolific writer. I called Zak and said, ‘Hey, look, I have a series of articles I’d be interested in putting on your blog, if you have any interest.’”

What it’s been like…

“As time has gone on, it’s been fun to watch my number of views grow. It’s been addictive…watching it grow”

“I still can’t believe I’ve had a million people click on my article”

Favorite stuff he’s written…

“In my articles, I’ve always been more of a niche person on the technology side.”

“Trackman is the hot thing, and it’s something I believe in very much…My favorite articles have been the Trackman stuff.”

“There’s a need for some deeper swing theory given the clientele [at GolfWRX].”

Stickney said his favorite article he’s written is “Impact location by handicap.” Regarding the piece, he said: “That something so basic could get so many responses…the golf business never ceases to amaze me.”

On his future writing for GolfWRX…

“I look at it as an obligation to continue to write, and I’ll continue to write. It’s been fun.”