John Leslie Montgomery III
October 29, 2019
John Leslie Montgomery III plays golf with friends, associates and former competitors from mini-tours and college. The full-time golf coach and swing instructor earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing from Alabama State University and turned professional 8-years ago, in 2012.
“I was first introduced to golf at West Penn Minority Junior Golf Association when I was 9 years old,” says the Orlando, Fla., resident who originally hails from Pittsburgh, PA. “The organization was designed as an inner-city youth golf program and it was run by all African American coaches. It was a very structured program with no tolerance for messing around.”
And no messing around did John do. The experience made a positive impact on him and he went on to become a zero handicap player. Today, the ambitious 29-year-old is a PGA associate working towards his Class A professional status. “It has been a little over a year since I started the program and I plan on finishing my certification by Spring of 2020.” John has an abundance of coaching experience and was certified as a coach through Core Golf Academy (Sean Foley’s academy), the IJGA Bishops Gate Golf Academy and he has served as the former Director of Instruction at Kings Ridge Golf Club
GOING SOLO
With six years of coaching experience under his belt, John transitioned into working as an independent coach two years ago. “It’s been the toughest but most rewarding two years,” admits John, “Not to undermine the academies, but it’s just a completely different world working as an independent coach.” He finds most of his clients by word of mouth through referrals, and he stays pretty active on social media. John holds clinics and has a golf school available through the Celebration Golf Academy. His customers vary widely in range and have included 4-year-old youth all the way up to seniors, age 70+ who still love the game and want to get better. His Fall season junior class will begin on November 2, with sessions every Saturday at Celebration Golf Academy where youth, ages 7 and up, will spend time on the course learning the game, as well as, on the range working on fundamentals.
“I feel like I have a nice blend of scientific and technological teaching that I have learned professionally through my recent years at the academies, paired with a deep understanding of playing the game, because of 20 years competing. I know it’s a very complex game, I want to make things as simple as possible by using technology and visual concepts to turn something complex into 1 or 2 simple thoughts.”
Figuring out how his clients best learn or understands things is one of John’s biggest challenges. “Communication is number one for me–I may have to explain the same concept in 10 different ways in order to find one that registers with my client, and that’s ok with me. I want to make sure each individual clearly understand what I’m teaching, 100% of the time.”
John’s goals for the next 5-years include finishing up his PGA Class A, becoming a PGA Tour golf coach and qualifying for the PGA Championship.
“I hope to one day be in a position financially where I can teach golf for free to underprivileged minority golfers. I want to provide a service that was similarly available to me as a kid and I hope to changes somebody else’s life through the game of golf. I believe charity starts at home. My strong inner-drive to accomplish my goals comes from my desire to help others.”
To learn more about John Leslie Montgomery III follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100026485786079
