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Paul
Kraushofer
USGTF Level III Member, Manchester, Maryland
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When I was a young
boy at the age of 10 in 1964, I found a couple of left-handed
clubs and started playing golf. The next year, my uncle saw I
was really getting interested in golf. He told me that he was
getting a new set of golf clubs and I could have his old set.
The only problem was that they were right-handed. Back in the
early 60’s the golf courses were designed to favor right-handed
golfers. The only pro golfer that was left-handed at that time
who had any recognition was Bob Charles.
The following
year, I started to play golf right-handed at a local par-3
course called Font Hill. Every Saturday I would get dropped off
at 7 a.m. and picked up around 5 p.m. I would play anywhere from
36 to 54 holes per day, sometimes playing two balls.
During my high
school and college years, I had to decide whether to play on the
golf team or the baseball team. I chose baseball; however, I
continued to play golf every chance I got.
Moving on in
years to the spring of 1992, I was asked if I wanted to work at
this new public golf course called Oakmont Green Golf Club in
Hampstead, Maryland, on a part-time basis. I’ve been there ever
since.
In 1994 I started
a junior golf program that is very popular in the community with
the juniors, as well as with the parents. This program runs on
Monday evenings during the summer months, with an average of
30-40 juniors a night.
In 2002 our
teaching pro at the course decided to retire, and that’s when I
decided to attend the certification course at Penn National near
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It was a great experience that week,
and I was fortunate that I passed all phases of testing on the
first try. What a thrill for me to walk into Oakmont Green with
a certificate in hand, asking the owner if he would hang it up
behind the register in the pro shop.
I have been the
teaching professional at Oakmont Green since 2002. Last year, my
son became the general manager of Westminster National Golf Club
in Westminster, Maryland, and they did not have a teaching
professional. He asked me if I would teach out of his golf
course, as well. I currently work full-time as a manager for Red
Bull North America while giving golf lessons in the evenings and
on weekends at both golf clubs.
In closing, I
want to thank Bob Wyatt and Ronnie Stonestreet for a good
teaching foundation and improving my own game. The perks that
come with being a USGTF member and its rewards make for a
wonderful profession.
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