Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Howser.
Hi Travis, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have been coaching golf for 10 years now. I became a Class A PGA Professional in 2016 working at my home golf course in Northern California. In 2016 my wife and I moved to Shanghai China to work at a golf academy there. In Shanghai, I learned so much about myself as a person and a golf coach. They were very supportive of self-development and education which really helped lead me to where I am today. The training and experience I learned there, helped shape me into the person I am today and how to create the business I have now. We enjoyed working and living there and might still be there had what happened next, not happened…
Back Story:
In January 2020 we came back to the USA for vacation to visit family while my wife was six months pregnant with our second son. About a week into our trip, we heard news of this new virus in China (happened to be Covid-19). Shortly after, we decided it would be best to not go back until we know what is going on there. As the weeks passed, we had to make a decision and decided to divert to Poland, my wife’s home country to deliver our second son. We took the bags we had and off we went. Once arriving in Poland, I heard that China got much better and went back to work. After arriving I had to do a two-week quarantine before going back to work. I worked the just a few days and then China decided to close its boarders. Which meant all flights were basically cancelled both in and out of the country. My wife, now due in 3-4 weeks was back in Poland with our oldest son and I needed to get back. I was able to scramble and get chartered flights back through the government to then quarantine for another two weeks. I made it in time and my second son was actually born on my birthday just a few days after I left quarantine! We stayed in Poland for another 10 months and then we came back to California. At this point, I have not worked in golf for almost a year and we both had no jobs lined up in the near future.
Over that last year, I had plenty of time to reflect and think what I would like to do in the future. I knew I wanted to start my own business and it needed to be in a place that I could work year-round in the golf industry. I had selected three key areas, the Sacramento area, the Bay Area, and San Diego County. After about three months of phone calls, pitches, meetings, random walk-ins at golf facilities, and flying down to San Diego with my fingers crosses. In the end, I was able to find a facility that checked off all the boxes. That facility is where I am today at Rancho Carlsbad Golf Course in Carlsbad.
I had a vision to teach group golf classes to mostly children and now ladies with the premise of developing lifelong experiences through golf. We started with just six students in the group programs in May 2021 and now have almost 100 students signed up in June 2022! I believe my vision, goal, support of my family, and hard work has led me to where I am today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Besides what I mentioned about the Covid-19 challenges, starting here was not easy. I spend my first few months just staying at the golf course, trying to meet as many people as possible, as I have never lived in Carlsbad before and no one knew who I was. Since then, the challenges have been good ones such as adding staff, improving marketing and sales, and providing the best value add for the current customers. Every day is a new day of learning, making mistakes, and getting better at what we do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Raising Golfers Golf Academy?
Golf is a game that generally is very intimidating for anyone to start in. It is difficult to learn and can never be mastered. Children have not always been welcomed at every facility and I wanted to make all of those things easier for anyone. Many golf academies and coaches pride themselves on progress and improvement for their students. Now we like those things too but it is not what we are selling. We believe anyone can play the game of golf, starting as young as age 2 and anyone can play on the golf course from day 1. Our slogan is “Developing lifelong experiences through golf” where we are promoting the experience, and fun in the game first before anyone talks about improvement, winning, etc. I am most proud of this because I made the mistake as a coach early in my career promoting and selling the wrong thing, listed above, which only lead to more students leaving the game instead of sticking with it. This has really lead us to where we are today and has built a strong community here at Rancho Carlsbad Golf Course.
As mentioned, our business is called Raising Golfers Golf Academy which stemmed from the delicate art of raising a child. We think the process of raising a golfer has its similarities to raising a child, no matter what your age is.
Services:
We offer group classes started at age 2 and go to age 6, which is our Mini Golfers program. These classes are story-based learning where players learn very basic skills and help problem-solve with the Mini Golfer’s character “Golfosaurus.” These classes are once per week and include on-course “Play Days” twice per month.
Junior golf classes ages 7-14 and women classes for all adult ages. We also offer weekly group classes under a licensed product called Operation 36. Which is a developmental golf program based around course play. Golfers come once per week for classes and participate in 9-Hole Challenges, where golfers play 9 holes, starting close to the hole with a common goal of shooting 36 or better for 9 holes. If they do, then the next 9-Hole Challenge they start further away from the hole.
All on the golf course class. This class is conducted only on the golf course (not the practice area). Players get to learn about how to become a player and athlete on the course, learning about difficult lies, controlling emotions, the mental game, and more, all while having a blast!
What makes you happy?
I am happiest when I see the game of golf change the lives of families. It has changed my life and how I raise my two boys and I couldn’t be happier for the future. The community of families in our program have connected beyond our program and created relationships outside of our regular classes. This community vibe a feel has helped welcome more families into our program and helped me and my family build lasting relations as well. My family loves being at Rancho Carlsbad spending time with all the students and their families, it is awesome!
Pricing:
- Mini Golfers: – $200 per semester
- Junior Golf Operation 36 Program – $399 per semester
- Ladies Operation 36 Program – $399 per semester
Contact Info:
- Website: www.raisinggolfers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raisinggolfers/
- Other: https://app.iclasspro.com/portal/raisinggolfers/classes
