Learning from the Legends

Learning from the Legends

Every so often you hear a tale about a person whose life was dramatically changed by a single, random meeting. Michael Bublé being introduced to Grammy award winning record producer David Foster at Brian Mulroney’s daughter, Caroline’s wedding. Jessica Stamm being discovered by a modeling agency at a Tim Hortons in Barrie, Ont. Paul Horton playing with the famed George Knudson at The National Golf Club of Canada in the summer of1980.

Today, Paul Horton is the Head Teaching Professional at Heritage Pointe Golf Club in DeWinton, Alta., just south of Calgary. He’s been a PGA of Canada member for more than 30 years and a “Class A” Professional since 1985.

But back in 1980, he was just a 20-year old kid with nice golf game, a bit of change in his pocket and a plan of playing college golf in Arkansas.

“I was 20 at the time and was looking to walk on at Arkansas,” Horton recalls of his plan. “But right before I was to leave, I heard about this golf school George (Knudson) was putting on out at The National. So I scraped together some money to go see him for a week.”

Horton never did make it to Arkansas.

Instead he stayed north of the border and honed his craft as a golf teacher with Knudson as his mentor.

“In my early years of teaching, I was heavy into Knudson,” Horton admits. “His core principles are still very much set in stone.”

And don’t think for a minute that irony is lost on Horton, who chuckles at the thought of being named the 2011 George Knudson Teacher of the Year.

“I kind of chuckle when I think about being given the National Award with George’s name on it.”

Horton’s first gig as a PGA of Canada member saw him at The Summit Golf & Country Club in Richmond Hill, Ont. While at the Stanley Thompson designed track, he carefully studied the swing of arguably the greatest ball striker that has ever lived—Moe Norman.

“Back in the early 80’s when I was working at The Summit, Moe would shag balls on the range,” Horton remembers. “I’d pay close attention and talk a little bit with him here and there.”

But while Knudson and Norman were more about teaching the golf swing as a ‘method,’ Horton comes at it from a slightly different angle than the two hall-of-famers.

“I don’t really teach a method, rather I teach the player,” he says. “A lot of people have a number misconceptions in the golf swing and it’s my job to alter those allusions.”

While Horton and Knudson’s strategies differ, they both share a common fond ness for working with a certain type of person—the type of person who is 100 per cent on board with getting better at the game of golf.

“It’s a lot more fun focusing on teaching the game to people who are more committed to the process of being better at the game,” Horton says.

At Heritage Pointe, Horton says he primarily works with elite and competitive juniors, but also gives a helping hand to adults who are driven to cut their handicaps in half. He can’t stress enough how much he enjoys seeing people get better

No matter who is working with—whether it be a junior looking to capture a provincial title or a “C” Flight player who wants to contend in the “A” Flight come August—Horton’s relays the same message: “Master your game, not just your swing.”

“I’ve kind of gone away from perfecting someone’s swing and focusing much more on getting them to play the game better,” Horton says. “So playing lessons have become really important for me because I get a chance to yank on a person’s chain during a round, bream them down a little bit and then build them up stronger,” he candidly admits, adding, “that way the player will be better prepared for any situation that arises when things get heated under pressure.”

Despite an unseasonably warm winter in Calgary, Heritage Pointe is closed and Horton obviously isn’t yanking on anyone’s chain on the golf course. Instead, he’s doing what a lot of pros are doing this time of year—planning and travelling.

“We recently bought a house in Scottsdale and I’ve been kicking around the idea of opening a school for elite junior players,” he says. “They would have academics in the morning and golf and in the afternoon.”

It’s funny how things come around full circle with Horton now running the golf schools for talented young golfers. Who knows what stories might come out in 30-years time about a Paul Horton inspiring nice, young players.