Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven D. Wooten.
Hi Steven, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up in Upstate New York, golf was a game played by a majority white middle-aged executives and corporate professionals. Or retirees who spent most of their time in Florida during the winter months. My mom had knowledge of the game from Grandfather. My Dad started playing in various work leagues during his General Motor days and as an Executive at IBM in the late 80s early 90s. Well before the Tiger Woods effect ever hit the sport. Therefore golf was very bland and only accessible by certain classes of people.
My love for the game sparked at a junior camp at a local community college in Poughkeepsie, NY. I started playing at the age of 8 and really fell in love with the complexities of the sport. Similar to the game of chess and a lot like life, you have to have a strategy and skill set to properly navigate the golf course. Unlike team sports, the power must come from within because in this sport you have no one to pass the ball to. I was able to grasp the game and take it to a level beyond my wildest dreams. As I kept playing, golf provided me with some memorable opportunities and golf instructors.
One instructor has always been close to my heart and that is Mr. Willie Carter. Mr. Carter was a former caddie at Westchester Country Club (NY). Growing up in the 30s and 40s he would caddie for many high-profile celebrities including Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Ed Sullivan. He also played with former Tiger Woods swing coach, Butch Harmon when he was a kid. Willie even found himself coaching the legendary Gary Player. In 1963 Mr. Carter became the first African American Golf Professional in Orange County NY.
After years of working with Mr. Carter, I found a lot of success in the game. For example, I scored my first hole-in-one at the age of eleven, made the high school varsity golf team in the seventh grade, and I won the Men’s Club Championship at Apple Greens Golf Course at the age of 15. With a number of wins in the Metropolitan PGA section of New York. I even started the golf team at my prep school, The Storm King School, where I taught my classmates how to play and competed on a number of year-round travel junior golf tours. I then earned a seat to play collegiate golf at Morehouse College.
The Morehouse Golf Team was led by GSGA Half of Fame member William Lewis, PGA. Coach Lewis was a highly decorated collegiate golfer at Alabama A&M. While playing professionally, he competed against Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford, Jim Dent and the who’s who of black golfers at the time. Morehouse College is still the only HBCU golf program to only allow all black student-athletes since its inception in 2002. Winning the National Championship in 2010, under the leadership of Coach William Lewis.
After I graduated and began working in finance, Coach Lewis took me under his wing of teaching. He knew how much I loved the game and the impact that the game made on my life. We operated adult and junior clinics for over ten years at John A. White Golf Course. By teaching golf I am helping corporate professionals, entertainers and entrepreneurs understand the power of networking on the golf course. This is where I found and nurtured my passion in teaching.
I left the finance industry and dove head-first into the golf industry. I knew I couldn’t leave the game alone, and I knew the game needed me. It is still a task to find an African American golf instructor. In February of 2019, my wife and I moved to Florida where I became an assistant golf professional assisting the golf operations and developing my teaching footprint at Streamsong Resort. I had a chance to connect with students from all over the world while working there, really creating some lifelong students of the game. My wife and I also welcomed our first child there before the pandemic in 2020.
As the world continued to go through turmoil from the pandemic. We packed up and moved back to Atlanta that summer. Where I became an assistant golf professional and instructor at Laurel Springs under the tutelage of long-time instructor Tim Foster, PGA. At Laurel Springs I was running beginner women’s clinics, junior clinics and PGA Juniors Camps while growing my teaching business. It was at Laurel Springs where Wooten Way Golf was born.
Wooten Way Golf is a golf program designed for each individual as they take the journey through the game of golf. I focus on how students receive and comprehend information. Whether one is a visual or technical learner. I take pride in my craft and learning about my students. It helps me to connect with how they think and most importantly how they learn. I am a product of my instructors, their thoughts, ideals and philosophies live within me. It is my job to connect with my students so they can be a sponge to my ideals and what will ultimately introduce and make them better students of the game.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Working in the golf industry typically requires very long hours, working weekends and all holidays. It can be very taxing on family time and tough to take time off during the busy season which is typically between March and October. It can be quite the challenge to work a ten-hour day, with a couple of lessons scheduled after work. I can remember going a couple of days at a time without seeing my son because I would leave before he would wake up and then not make it home until after he had already been put to bed.
Lack of diversity in the industry. Which is actually one of my main reasons for leaving corporate America. I felt as though I had unfinished business in the golf industry, and that the game really needed me more than the typical 9-5pm grind.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in growing the game of golf, making nonbelievers, dreamers! I love to support my corporate professionals, entertainers and entrepreneurs as they find their way to the sport. A lot of business is done on the golf course, and for years opportunities have been missed from simply not knowing how to play the game. I have made it my job to help diversify the boardroom and Country Clubs alike.
I am a major advocate for junior golf. Outside of operating Wooten Way Golf I also work with the First Tee Metro Atlanta, as the coach and volunteer coordinator. I used to volunteer with the organization in college, under the guidance of William Lewis who was also my golf coach at Morehouse College. He always stressed the importance of giving back and being around the game as African American men, it is something that will always be near and dear to my heart. Life has been a full-circle journey, and I am beyond excited with who I have become in and around the game of golf.
Any big plans?
Growth in my brand while influencing the next generation of golfers. I am currently working on my playing schedule to keep my competitive juices flowing. Also working on my PGA certification this year as well. Currently, African Americans only represent 1% of the 29,000 PGA Golf Professionals in the world, under 10% are women. Which brings it back to why the game needs me!
Pricing:
- Adults $90 Per HR
- Juniors $75 Per HR
- Group Lessons 4 – 8 people – $50 Per Person (90 Minutes)
- Group Lessons 9-12 people – $40.00 Per Person (90 Minutes)
- Virtual Lesson $35 (30 minutes)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wootenwaygolf.com/
- Instagram: @WootenWayGolf
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-d-wooten-64b10828/
Image Credits
@Iammantis – Kenneth “Mantis” Tipton
