By David Droschak

I asked Chip Watson the other day for the key ingredients as to why the Golf School at North Carolina State has enjoyed such a successful run as it enters its 34^th consecutive year this June.

Sure he and co-founder and former N.C. State men’s golf coach Richard Sykes have for the most part stayed ahead of the golf curve, adopting various formats over the past three decades to keep the golf schools fresh and relevant.

But Watson’s answer was really quite simple.

“It’s like any kind of business, we are friendly and nice to people, we have good instruction and we do what we say we’re going to do,” said Watson, who is the longtime general manager of Lonnie Poole Golf Club, a course along with Wildwood Green in North Raleigh, that share host sties for the three-week Golf Schools at NC State.

“There are so many times, even when my own kids were growing up, that you go to camp and it is a bad experience because the guy who heads the camp was there for one hour. I remember myself going to basketball camps when I was young and the head coach whose name is on the camp shows up to take pictures with everybody and leaves. We are active. You actually get golf instruction from coach Sykes, who is a Hall of Fame golf coach, we have PGA professionals who are there, and players from the men’s and women’s golf teams.”

Watson received his indoctrination into golf “camps” when he was an aspiring college golfer at Campbell in Buies Creek, working with other teammates to earn extra money and pound a few extra balls on the range while helping some youngsters learn a few tips of the game.

It was by happenstance that Watson got a little deeper into the running the golf camps his senior year when then Campbell golf coach Wendell Carr became ill and couldn’t run the show.

“I was basically the oldest person there so I ended up running the camp,” Watson said. “Talk about an eye-opening experience from just showing up and being a college-age instructor — of wanting to hit more balls than teach — to all of the sudden I am IT. But I realized it was kind of fun.”

A year later after graduation, Watson approached Sykes at N.C. State about starting a golf camp. Sykes was interested but at the time the Wolfpack had no golf course to call its home. But Watson was quick on his feet.

“What coach really needed was a facility and then someone to administrate it,” Watson said. “At the time my dad’s company was running Wildwood Green so I talked to coach Sykes and asked about just trying a camp there to see how it would work. The GM at the time was Billy Hamilton so he got in with us and the three of us got together and said ‘let’s do an NC State golf camp.’ Coach Sykes said ‘I will do this until we open up our own golf course and then I will be having my own camps,’ so it’s funny how things turn out. We’re still together and doing it today.”

The first NC State golf camp had 16 kids, aged 9-18 years old, and the second year that number more than doubled to 37.

And after a few years, Watson and Sykes decided to scrap the concept of a camp in which the young golfers stayed overnight in a college dorm, were fed meals and then transported via vans to Wildwood Green. The overall logistics became problematic and more costly. So, as the camps grew to 60 kids in a week, the decision was made to just execute a day camp from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

That formula seemed to work as the “camp” evolved into a more sophisticated Golf School at NC State, expanding to three weeks and now even a father-son two-day golf school before Father’s Day that also has sold out its first two years.

Of course, with anything that runs as long as 34 years, there have been twists and turns in the road, and various formats that stuck or were discarded. But one moment is engrained in Watson’s mind that turned the tide and helped propel the popularity of a Golf School that sells out each and every year at least two months prior to its June-July dates.

“We got to 1997 and 1998 — about 10 years in — and we had the Tiger Woods affect,” Watson said. “That changed everything. Camps at the time were aged 9-18, and I just remember out of the blue after Tiger wins the Masters and there was film of him ages 1 or 2 on the Mike Douglas show that surfaced and parents of kids who were 4-, 5- and 6-years-old started calling us. So we backed the age down from 9 to 6 and it was unbelievable. We automatically went to three full weeks of 60-plus kids each week. And the ages have become younger and younger, and as we’ve evolved through the years that has stayed true. The average age of the camp when we first started was probably 13- or 14-years-old and now it’s about 10.”

And the female participation — which was zero the first two camps back in the late 1980s — is now 20-25 female students per week.

Over the years, some of the school’s instructors have included PGA Tour players Bobby Clampett, Carl Pettersson and Tim Clark.

“Right now it really is no advertising,” Watson said of the camp’s popularity and success. “We do send out an email blast to our list to people who have come in the past and I do print out a postcard and send it out, but people laugh at me. They call and say ‘My son is 30 years old and I still got this postcard in the mail.’ The reason I do that is they might have a friend; they might have a neighbor; or a nephew and all it takes is one kid to sign up and it pays for itself.”

While some other colleges still provide camps that include room-and-board, NC State’s day model is the gold standard.

“We’ve been able to keep it affordable by doing it this way,” Watson said of the $350 per week cost.

And Watson echoed his previous sentiment.

“The key to longevity is being nice to people and doing what you say you’re going to do,” he said “And the Wolfpack family has always been the heart and soul of our golf schools and we hope always will be.”

For more information or to register online log on to: www.wolfpackgolfschools.com.

Golf Genius Software has acquired Operation 36 Golf, developers of a beginner golf development program with a unique coaching model that is driving the goal of “1,000,000 Golfers Created”. Operation 36 provides a proprietary software platform and teaching curriculum now in use by nearly 600 golf facilities in 14 countries, and will operate as a division of Golf Genius. All employees of Operation 36 will join Golf Genius.

PGA Professionals Ryan Dailey and Matt Reagan founded Operation 36 in 2010. In 2013 and 2014, they received the Carolinas PGA Youth Player Development award in recognition of their innovative approach to serving new golfers. The Operation 36 program has steadily evolved and become recognized as a highly successful way to introduce beginners, both adults and juniors, to the game. Centered around getting beginners out on the course, Operation 36 offers golf facilities a structured methodology that helps golfers develop and progress while having more fun as they learn.

Said Mike Zisman, founder and co-CEO of Golf Genius: “We are truly excited to have Ryan, Matt and the entire Operation 36 team join forces with our company, including their 8 PGA Professionals, bringing the total number of PGA Professionals employed at Golf Genius to 64. Operation 36 is on a strong growth trajectory propelled by a uniquely effective teaching approach and supported by great technology.” To date, Operation 36 has attracted over 75,000 participants and built an impressive coaching network of over 1,500 golf professionals. Continued Zisman: “Both Golf Genius and Operation 36 focus on serving PGA Professionals, and we have a shared vision of making golf more fun for more people.”

As Ryan Dailey explained: “We discovered that bringing new golfers out to the course and having them experience the game by starting close to the green instead of back on the tee box revolutionized the learning process. Our Operation 36 model is simple. Start close to the hole, learn skills needed at this level, try to shoot 36 for 9 holes, and then move back. Added Matt Reagan: “We believe new golfers need more than camps, clinics, and private lessons. At the core of Operation 36 are the structured weekly classes led by PGA Professionals.  Each class consists of training activities focused on specific concepts and skills at each level of the Operation 36 program. It’s fun and a great experience for anyone interested in learning the sport.”

Golf Genius will support and enhance the growth of Operation 36 by investing in sales, marketing and service to rapidly expand the number of golf facilities taking advantage of the unique Operation 36 methodology and platform. With over 10,500 customers in 62 countries, Golf Genius is poised to introduce Operation 36 to golf facilities in North America and worldwide.

To learn more about Operation 36 and read about the experiences of PGA members who have introduced the program at their facilities, please visit operation36.golf.

By David Droschak

The scorecard from Joe Steadman’s Player Ability Test hangs proudly in his office near the practice facility at the Country Club of North Carolina. The private club’s first teaching professional remembers the day well, logging 36 holes for the first time in his playing days that had included many relaxed rounds with his Fort Bragg buddies.

Steadman was sick that day at Keith Hills Golf Club, but like the 13-year Green Beret had done so many times during much more challenging times on three deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, he put his head down and trudged on.

He shot an even-par 72 on his first 18 holes, and then closed with a disappointing 80, but was still within range of passing his PAT on his first attempt.

Looking back now, it was a remarkable feat for a tactical weapons instructor who as shooting in the mid 80s and had just enrolled in the Professional Golf Management Program at Campbell University as a 30-year-old still enlisted in the Army.

“I keep it up there on the wall to show people that I’m teaching now, just to look at those two scores,” Steadman said. “The lesson there is I was sick, so the last thing I was thinking about was golf, I was like ‘get me out of here, I feel awful’ but I went out and shot even par on the first 18, not even realizing it. I turned my score in and the program director said, ‘Nice score, that’s the low round so far.’ Then, as soon as I started thinking about it an 80 showed up. I like to keep it as a reminder of how powerful the mental side of the game is.”

Steadman has been through his share of mental challenges that pale in comparison to a PAT golf score. As a sophomore in high school in upstate New York, Steadman watched the Twin Towers crumble, making an indelible impression on the teenager whose father was already in the Air Force.

“It seems like every kid is interested in that stuff, but for me it was 9-11 because I don’t really know how to say this other than it really pissed me off,” Steadman said. “I had a very emotional reaction to that. I was 16 years old, and the towers falling were the first big event in my life to where I was old enough to understand what was going on. It kind of stuck with me over the next few years.”

Steadman’s grades weren’t quite good enough to be accepted into West Point, so he enlisted into the Army and after basic training ended up at Fort Bragg as a member of the elite U.S. Army Special Forces and was sent to Germany in 2007.

Steadman was then off to Afghanistan for the first of three Middle East deployments.

“I was 21 years old and there was a group of us that we didn’t sleep much because you’re nervous and you don’t know what to expect,” he said. “Even though you are trained, you just don’t know.”

Steadman was a weapons sergeant who has a photo of himself at the Kabul Golf Course.

“They have two holes of like mud and dirt,” he said. “There are people out there golfing. It was kind of a strange thing.”

During down time between his three deployments Steadman would play a few rounds of golf in Germany, but really started focusing on the game when he returned to North Carolina as a weapons instructor.

“I was basically teaching the next group of guys coming through advanced tactics, which I loved every minute of it,” Steadman said. “When you think Special Forces all you think of is what you see in movies, but at the core of all of it is training – that’s the Army’s bread and butter — we’re constantly training ourselves or teaching others or learning from others. It is kind of ingrained in you to try to be training or instructing in some shape or form at all times.

“That was definitely a heavy influence on me, probably more subconsciously than I even realized over the years. So, when all we were doing all day long was teaching these training courses you got good at it, got good at reading people, good at reading personalities and adjusting. Even though teaching in that environment is very different than teaching in a golf environment, a lot of it is very similar, like the concepts of instruction, communication – which I found fascinating as I moved into golf instruction. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh this is the same.’ You have to look at the person, know how they work, know how they learn – and you have to learn all of that without them really knowing it. It’s kind of a cool process to go through.”

Golf soon began to consume his life at Fort Bragg.

“We had weekends off, so golf became all I could think about,” he said. “It would be Monday morning and I was thinking, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve got to get this week over with because we’re going to X course with X guys and it’s going to be awesome.’ I really just got obsessed with golf like we all tend to do.”

At the time, Steadman was also battling some negative fallout from his deployments, making him question whether a longer career in the Army was in the cards. He had fallen 20 feet off a building in full gear in Iraq that caused him some back and neck issues, and he was also struggling mentally with digesting his war experiences.

“Some indicators started showing up that it was time to leave (the Army),” Steadman said. “Physically, I was starting to break down.

“And when I was deployed I didn’t have a lick of psychological issues, but all of the sudden your brain starts going through all the stuff that you did and it was challenging. Playing golf was really like a lifeboat, it gave me something to focus on. I was at the point of saying, ‘Hey, I need some help, what’s going on here?’ I was this dude who was always in control of everything and then all of the sudden you have all this stuff going on. For me, the best way I can explain it is your brain tries to process things … hash all these things out. Chemically, you are not ready for it, and you’re saying ‘Holy crap, what’s going on?’

“For me, my wife supported me, and golf was something that I used to channel it. Also, I was fortunate because I had a bunch of guys who loved doing what I loved doing in golf. We had that as a driving factor. I wanted to get better; I wanted to learn about golf. It kind of preoccupied and helped me through that period.”

Steadman recalls being invited to play in a golf tournament at Campbell in 2013 and walked into the pro shop to buy a hat.

“I was like, ‘Holy crap, you can go to college for golf? That’s kind of cool.” I got a beanie in the golf shop because it was 30 degrees out and went on my way. But a few years later as I started looking at schools, I remembered that.

After looking briefly at Methodist’s golf management program, Steadman enrolled at Campbell while still enlisted in the Army.

“Behind any person there is an Army of people who helped them get to where they are at, and I can go back and think of my superiors in the military, at the time they were so supportive of me leaving the Army. They would let me leave one day a week and start classes at Campbell just to get a jump start on the process. If they had not done that we wouldn’t be sitting here now, my whole timeline would have been changed. That spawned a whole chain of events that happened in perfect order.

“If you commit to the golf management program, as an 18-year-old it’s cake, everything is laid out for you,” Steadman added. “I started the program when I was 30. There were two of us that old and they called us ‘The Dads.’”

Prior to graduation from Campbell, Steadman served internships at Metedeconk National in New Jersey, where he studied under top 100 teacher Terry Rowles.

“He was extremely old for a trainee or assistant pro, so I just got on with him as a fellow adult as opposed to a trainee pro,” Rowles said. “He was very curious and he’s just a high achieving guy, so we got along very well. Joe stood out from everybody else even though his technical qualifications in the industry at the time weren’t that far along because he was still studying at college. I saw him as a Green Beret and a competitive human being who asked great questions. I think most people in the golf industry treat him as a golf pro, but if you take him as a father of two who has already retired from a military career-type-of-person then you see him as a different person. Just from being around him and his personality I would imagine he was an unbelievable Green Beret.”

Steadman finished his schooling and returned to Campbell, where director of golf Martha Shooter allowed him to start a small golf academy in Buies Creek that soon mushroomed into dozens and dozens of students, some of which included CCNC members.

One thing lead to another and Steadman found out there was an opening at the prestigious private club in Pinehurst. Without a ton of teaching experience under his belt, he sheepishly approached longtime CCNC director of golf Jeff Dotson about the assistant pro position.

Steadman joined the CCNC staff in February 2020 as an assistant pro, and then became the club’s first teaching pro 11 months later.

“Over the years, CCNC has had many retired officers among our membership, and our Patriot program for active-duty military members has strengthened our connection to the military,” Dotson said. “Hiring Joe was an easy decision and he’s a great fit with our members and staff. Obviously, we all have great respect for veterans, but everybody loves Joe as he’s really just a down-to-earth good guy.”

Steadman’s career path in the golf industry would best be described an unorthodox, but certainly fulfilling to this point.

“I would 100 percent do it again,” Steadman said of his military service. “Some of the guys said, ‘You served 13 years, isn’t that just a waste?’ No, not at all. Every problem I approach now I do it in a manner that the military taught me, whether I realize it or not – the work ethic, the mentality of there is no option that you can’t make that happen –and that’s not something I see that is prevalent in today’s society. It’s going in the opposite direction; people create as many excuses as they can. I would not be the slightest bit successful in the golf industry if it wasn’t for that. If I didn’t have that military mentality I would have gone home and played video games or watched movies instead of staying late and watching Terry’s lessons or coming in early and going with him on trips and helping him set up.

“It’s pretty surreal at times,” Steadman added. “Any life change like this is not easy. But the coolest part is there is such a military presence here at CCNC already, so having those guys here made that transition much less stark. And Jeff Dotson is a legend, and the courses here are fantastic and the membership is fantastic. But you can be the best teacher in the world but if you don’t have that support you will fail.”

And in Steadman’s mind, failing is not an option.