T-Time Podcast // Ep. 9: What to Expect When Going to a Golf School with Milo Lines and Kareen Larson
In today's episode, Tori is joined by Kareen Larson and golf-teaching professional Milo Lines. Milo currently spends the winter at Superstition Mountain Golf Club as a Golf Instructor and summers as the Director of Instruction at TalonsCove Golf Club in UT. He began teaching full-time in 2009, but before that, he also taught golf on the side while mainly focusing on playing.
Tori ended up at a golf school Milo taught because she suddenly lost her swing two weeks prior and couldn't figure out how to swing a golf club. She knows that going to a golf school is a commitment and that December 15th and February 15th is the perfect time of year to work on a new swing. She talked to her friend Adam Willick who recommended Milo as a potential instructor. Despite some convincing, when the opportunity came up to take a golf school with Milo, she took it as good timing. She was committed to dedicating two full days to the school and focusing on the two big changes it would bring to her game.
Why Milo started the Golf Academies and the Purpose behind It
Milo started a golf school during the COVID pandemic to reach more people. He had a good following on YouTube and many people wanted to take lessons from him. So, he decided to put everything he knew on a subscription website and open it up to his followers. To his surprise, it got pretty big, and people wanted hands-on instruction. He, then, started doing golf schools to see if people would be interested in attending. He announced the first one, and it was full within an hour. He was trying to find locations throughout the country so members could come to see him easily.
The golf school is open to golfers of all levels. A typical day starts with a warm-up. It moves on to what Milo calls the foundations. These are exercises to get people moving as he wants them to. The structure of the golf school follows the structure of his website, starting with foundation one. The good part about teaching in person is that it's supervised, as most people don't realize when they are not doing something incorrectly. He walks them through each step.
Kareen’s Golf Game Right Now
Kareen's golf experiences this year have been a mixed bag, with both lows and highs. Despite the challenges, she is proud that she did not give up on the game. She acknowledges that it has been a weird year. Her most significant accomplishment is pushing through it and finding moments of success despite personal challenges. She is thankful that she is still in love with the game and continues to play.
Milo’s Playing Portion of his Golf Career
Milo began playing golf at 18, which is considered late for someone to reach elite levels in the sport. Despite this, he went on to play Division 1 college golf and had a successful college career. He was named an All-American once. He decided to turn professional and had initial success on various tours, winning events. However, he found that nerves affected his speed control, leading to inconsistent performances. As a result, he decided to put his clubs away and pursue a career in real estate. He worked in real estate for a few years, but the market downturned in 2008. Then, his friends and colleagues in the golf industry invited him to come back to the game, this time as a teacher. Interestingly, Milo found that he played some of his best golf while teaching and continued to teach while occasionally playing in events. Now, he plays in big tournaments only once a year and is busy with his business.
Milo’s Social Media and Golf Teaching
Milo started a YouTube channel about five years ago to teach golf. The channel grew over time, and he had about 12-13,000 subscribers. He started a website that grew quickly and hired Henry to help manage the online content. With Henry dedicating more time to online content, the channel grew rapidly. Henry took over Milo's Instagram account, and the number of followers grew from 3,500 to over 43,000. Most of the topics for the videos come from questions that YouTube subscribers and website members ask. They filter through the questions, and Henry will produce a video on that topic if it is relevant.
What to Expect from Golf School
The golf school is for anyone who wants to change their game. Over the course of two days, students will have the opportunity to figure out where they are failing and how to solve those issues. The goal is to provide a solid roadmap for the students of where they're trying to go and how they're trying to get there. They will be focusing on identifying and solving specific issues. The course includes the opportunity to fail and recover multiple times to build a deeper understanding of the game.
How to Get More Women to Join Golf School
Tori and Kareen are trying to figure out how to attract more women to golf schools. They believe that there are women out there who want to dedicate a couple of days at a time to improving their golf game and want to focus on both full swing and short games. However, Milo has noticed that most of his followers on social media are men He wants to ensure that women know that these golf schools exist and that they are a great solution for those who want to focus on improving their game. He’s considering different options to tap into the world of women and make their golf schools more accessible. He, also, acknowledges that private lessons can be a good solution for those who want to improve their swing, but they need to commit at least once a week for 4-6 weeks to see change.
Milo’s Advice to Someone Coming for Lessons
Milo advises someone coming for golf lessons to clearly understand what they want to improve. He believes having a specific target helps him guide the lesson and make progress effectively. He prefers when students come up with their ideas of what they want to get better at rather than him having to throw darts in the dark.
Connect with Our Guests
Milo Lines:
Instagram | Linkedin | Golf School
Kareen Larson:
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