COLUMBIA, SC —If loving what you do is one of the keys to success, then Tom Gawinski, is going to be largely successful in his new venture as a territory manager for Total Golf Adventures, The Premier Junior Golf Program. Tom, a PGA teaching professional for 10 years and a former head pro at two different area golf clubs, including Columbia Country Club, answered the call "to be an entrepreneur and own a business" in an area for which he has "strong passion, love and commitment." And those areas are youth golf in general and teaching in particular.
Total Golf Adventures, the rapidly growing junior golf organization, has put close to 30,000 K-8th grade students through its at-school, after-school programs in four years. With the addition of Columbia, SC, Total Golf Adventures has 39 programs, in 24 states.
"We have territory managers from a wide variety of backgrounds. But the one ingredient that is essential to our success is the enthusiasm shown by the territory manager when they approach schools, parents and youngsters," says Joshua Jacobs, president and founder of the California-based company. "Tom certainly has shown us that he has the passion and enthusiasm for our program which subsequently will translate in growing the business."
"I always wanted to own my own business and as a PGA Professional, TGA is the perfect opportunity for me to combine my passion for golf with my passion for teaching and coaching. My experience for building a TGA program is ideal. I built junior golf programs for the clubs I worked at, and in addition I coached soccer and basketball at the elementary school levels and was the assistant track and field coach at the University of South Carolina," Gawinski said.
Gawinski has already signed up five schools in the Columbia area. "I am off to a fast start and am currently looking for people to become teaching directors for me in this territory. Once I have the staff built, I see this taking off quickly."
Tom learned about TGA while looking on the Internet for business opportunities in golf and found a posting on the PGA site which listed career opportunities.
The TGA curriculum was developed with input from PGA Professionals and PhD’s in Child Development and Education. Their input has ensured that TGA teaches golf in a manner that is easy for children to learn and retain while reinforcing educational concepts. In addition to instruction, students learn to: keep score, count strokes (addition/subtraction); judge distances to the golf hole; (visual perception); and, study golf rules and etiquette (reading rule books by the USGA and National Golf Foundation).
TGA has built a strong corporate base of supporters which are supplying a variety of services and products. Just added to a growing list of partners/sponsors is Staples which provides the territory managers with an easy way to produce printed materials. Participating with TGA are: Nicklaus Golf Equipment, the official provider of junior golf clubs; Garb, Inc., the official provider of apparel for participants and staff; Divix Golf, designer and manufacturer of a patented divot tool, Mini Hat Clip, and Groover; and Almost Golf Ball’s P3 Ball, providing a safe, practice ball for TGA programs, and IZZO which is providing golf teaching aids and practice tools to help make the game fun for students to learn.
Total Golf Adventures (www.totalgolfadventures.com) is endorsed and named as the official junior golf initiative by the National High School Golf Coaches Association (NHSGCA) and the Golf Range Association of America (GRAA); is a national supporting organization of the After School Alliance, are a corporate advocate and a partner of the President’s Challenge on Physical Fitness.
Contact:
For Total Golf Adventures:
Alan Taylor, 516835 1151
For Columbia:
Tom Gawinski
(803) 609-3302
columbia@totalgolfadventures.com
