The PGA Certified Professional and former academic will oversee all training and development of company’s corps of 500 (and growing) coaches
Centennial, Colo. (July 16, 2012) – GolfTEC-the world leader in golf improvement-announced today the hiring of Ashley Cox as its first Manager of Educational Development. In this newly created position, Cox will be responsible for the education, both preliminary and ongoing, of the company’s ever-growing staff of Certified Personal Coaches.
“Our coaches used to learn our system by diving in and giving lessons,” says Andy Hilts, GolfTEC’s Vice President of Instruction and Education. “That was great when we had 25 guys, but now that we have more than 500 coaches-and are adding more almost every day in the U.S. and around the world-we need a more structured educational process to deal with the expanding needs of our growing number of coaches and resources.”
“Ashley is going to help run and improve the process, everything from putting the right educational platforms in place and creating the curriculum, to writing the tests, running our GolfTEC University programs both online and in our Denver-based headquarters, and more. If it helps our coaches become better teachers, Ashley will help lead the way.”
Cox, 35, has an extensive background in education and golf instruction. A graduate of the Professional Golf Management Program at Mississippi State University, he earned an MBA from Campbell University (where he also taught marketing), and was a Doctoral Candidate in Sport Management and Psychology at North Carolina State University.
On the golf side, Cox is a Class A Member of the PGA of America, and was one of the first PGA professionals in the U.S. to be designated as “Certified.” He is also a certified instructor of the PGA’s Professional Golf Management Program, a Henry-Griffitts fitter and instructor, a consultant to The First Tee of The Triangle (Raleigh-Durham), and a former intercollegiate tournament official as well as lead instructor at Campbell University Golf Camps.
Cox explains: “My mission at GolfTEC is to bring more academic structure to our coaches. I want to bring back that college-like culture of learning that all our coaches once experienced. You can’t stop learning, not only for your development as a golf instructor but as a person.”
Among Cox’s immediate challenges will be revamping the training center and testing systems GolfTEC uses to teach and evaluate its coaches.
“My relationship with the PGA universities also will be important,” says Cox, “because we are always going to need more coaches. I know what it takes to become a golf professional as well as what the life is like. GolfTEC offers a unique opportunity for those who want to dedicate themselves to teaching, to getting players to play better and enjoy the game more.”
“We already have the best and most educated coaches in the golf business,” explains Hilts. “Ashley’s focus, day in and day out, will be to make them better.”
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About GolfTEC
The undisputed leader in high-tech golf improvement, GolfTEC gives more than 25% of all private golf lessons in the U.S. annually and has a 95% success rate among its students. The 500 GolfTEC Certified Personal Coaches at 160 Improvement Centers nationwide have given more than 3.5 million lessons since 1995. All lessons are based on the company’s “Five Factors:” Fact-Based Diagnosis, Sequential Lessons, Video-Based Practice, Advanced Retention Tools, and Precision-Matched Clubs. GolfTEC Improvement Centers can be found in almost all major U.S. cities, Mexico, Canada and Japan.
Contact:
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations
908/876-5100
kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
