Certified Putting Instructor

It might be cold and dark in the north of Scotland, but that’s not holding back PGA Professional Ross Black, based at Inverness Golf Club, from furthering his career and moving forward in his teaching journey.

A graduate of the Golf Management degree at the University of the Highlands and Islands, Black became a fully qualified PGA professional in 2017. He recently qualified as a Frankly/PGA Certified Putting Instructor (CPI) and already has started sharing the importance of putting with his club members.

“Winter is a quieter time of year so I was looking for courses to further my development and I was interested in the CPI Course, as I felt it could help me grow my teaching/coaching business.

“Putting is massively overlooked. I would say that 80-90% of my lessons are from people wanting to hit the ball better and a small percentage is putting. I felt that if I became a CPI I would be more confident in delivering a top quality lesson that would benefit my players.”

CPI Ross Black of Inverness Golf Club in Scotland

Black found the CPI Course to be most helpful and enjoyed the convenience of the online format.

 “I enjoyed the CPI Course and found it interesting, especially the section on the grip and practice drills which are a good takeaway for my students to practice. It’s not only going to be good for my teaching, but also for my own use when I play. I am always looking to improve and get better. The fact that the course was online made it very convenient. I didn’t need to travel and could do it on my own time.”

Marketing help is another element included in the CPI Course and already, Black is helping educate his members about putting.

“The CPI Course is also good for marketing.  I printed out one of the posters provided by the CPI Course which discusses putting being 45% and put it up on the club noticeboard. I have had a lot of people stop by the shop and talk about this and many people had never thought about it being such a large part of the score.”

Black is excited about the upcoming year and implementing what he has learned.

“I want to continue teaching and coaching as much as I can. I enjoy seeing people improve and achieve their goals, knowing that I have helped them. It makes you feel good. When students leave a putting lesson I want them to have confidence that what I say is going to work, so they leave better equipped.”

Frank Thomas, founder of Frankly Golf, former longtime USGA Technical Director, inventor of the graphite shaft and the person who introduced the Stimpmeter to the game of golf said

“It is interesting to see how the importance of putting is now on the forefront of instruction. Ross has taken advantage of the online course to embark on his new career path of including putting in how he intends to help golfers with their game. We’d like to congratulate Ross on his new qualification as a CPI as well as his enthusiasm to help golfers which we know will be very rewarding.”