January 8, 2017

Meet Greg Shelnutt of GreenLifeGolf in Northeast Atlanta

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Shelnutt.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started working at a local country club in LaGrange Georgia when I was 16 and immediately fell in love with the business. I got the chance to see how the whole operation worked as the head pro took me under his wing. After high school, I enrolled to attend the Golf Academy of America. Where I received my degree in golf operations and management with the area of emphasis being a golf professional. In order to graduate with the golf professional certification, you had to maintain a 6 handicap while attending for the duration of two years.

After college, I interned at Callaway Gardens Resort working in the pro shop and doing beginner clinics, ladies clinics, short game and full swing. I did this for two summers before being hired as the assistant golf professional at highland country club. Giving lessons to members and helping them achieve their goal gave me a real sense of satisfaction and a way I could help grow the game. I sent in a couple resumes to clubs and teaching facilities in Atlanta and started teaching at Northcrest driving range and recently got the director of golf instruction title at Southland CC. To keep up with teaching and doing playing lessons under my company (GreenLifeGolf) I have two other teaching professionals helping me. I love what I do from day to day and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I set out a goal at the beginning of this journey and knew the steps to take in order to get here so the ride has been pretty smooth. Although there were some detours in the beginning. The plan was to go to Florida after spending time on the mini-tour circuit. Getting everything set up the way I wanted took time of course, but being persistent has really paid off!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about GreenLifeGolf – what should we know?
At GreenLifeGolf we do clinics, playing lessons and private one on one golf lessons. All ages welcome. I’m proud of the growth I have seen in the last 5 years and the volume of lessons we have done with it increasingly getting better year after year. Which means we are making our customers happy and helping them play better golf. I think what sets us apart is being able to adjust to the clients’ needs. I know growing up when I was learning the game it was a one size fits all way of learning. The teaching system was very stern without personalizing each individual’s needs. So I set out to develop my own teaching method to install skill in a player without being a position oriented instructor. Of course, certain positions are common with the better player but we don’t harp on these positions. We install a skill set that allows each golfer to keep their personal style but be more efficient in their practice time helping them achieve their goal in golf much faster.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Interpersonal skills, I learned this through the PGA of America. You have to be able to react when needed or just be quiet and listen. Knowing when to intervene is a critical component in any teaching style.

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