MyTurn
by JIM DUCIBELLA
Kids Fuel Holmes’ Teaching Passion
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V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 8
Michelle Holmes’ kids-first
mentality has made her a
top golf instructor.
ask the parent ‘Is John hooked on golf or do
for her. Her passion was teaching; if she
you want to get him into golf and want me
hadn’t been a golf instructor she’d be an
to hook him on it?’”
elementary school teacher.
Depending on the answer, Holmes
So she started the golf school that carries
might put the child in what she calls “fun
her name.
camps,” or with children of the same age
“At the start I think we were successful
and skill level.
with it because I love teaching and was
The school starts accepting students at
having a blast with the kids. In the last
age 4—they’re taught individually—but
three years, with our numbers growing so
will make an occasion-
much, we had to come
al exception. Three-
u p w it h a b u s i n e s s
year-old Eli Caboteja,
model that had more
one of Shea’s students,
of a structure to it.”
recently won a contest
Whatever that model
to determine who had
is, it’s working. But you
the best pee-wee golf
get the distinct impres-
swing in the world.
sion that business takes
Ea rly on, Holmes’
a back seat for Holmes.
father would take his
Her kids come first.
little girl to the driv-
Take how she deals
ing ra nge w ith him.
with parents who bring
One Friday, she was
their children to her
–Michelle Holmes
asked if she’d partic-
school. With the rep-
ipate in a little tour-
utation she’s built, it
nament, which carried a grand prize of
would be easy for her to max out program
movie tickets. She beat everyone and
numbers, no questions asked.
when her mother told her she could
But Holmes said that’s counterproductive
use the tickets to invite some friends,
to her mission of creating experiences for
she couldn’t wait to go back in pursuit
her students that encourage them to play the
of more.
game for life. So she schedules a 30-minute
“I saw lots and lots of movies,” she said.
appointment with the child and parents.
“Maybe that’s the next thing I should try
“I want to make sure we’re all on the
here.”
same page, the same journey,” she said. “I’ll
“At the start I think
we were successful
with it because I
love teaching and
was having a blast
with the kids.”
vsga.org
ew people know what they want to
do with their lives before they are
old enough to drive.
Michelle Holmes knew.
A transplanted Virginian who emigrated
from Ireland to play college golf at Camp-
bell University, 12-year-old Michelle was
standing on the ninth tee at her home
course, Enniscrone in County Sligo on
Ireland’s West Coast. A woman asked if her
goal was to play on the LPGA Tour.
It was an epiphany of sorts.
Right away, she told the woman that she
wanted to “do what Charlie does.”
Charlie was the late Charlie McGoldrick,
her childhood coach, described by Holmes
as “the best junior golf coach ever.”
“He taught through stories,” she said,
“and I felt that even though I was a highly
ranked jun ior nationally, he never made me
feel like my score mattered, that it was my
whole identity.
“I teach because of him. I get that what
we do every single day truly matters.”
U.S Kids Golf and the Golf Range Asso-
ciation of America get it, too. In January,
the former named Holmes a Master Kids
Teacher, her prize for being named a top-
50 teacher three years in a row. The latter
named her a Top-50 Growth of the Game
Teaching Professional.
In our first interaction, Holmes used
the word “lucky” in describing her awards.
Luck has nothing to do with it.
The Michelle Holmes School of Golf
operates out of Cahoon Plantation in
Chesapea ke a nd Kempsv ille Greens
in Virginia Beach. Holmes, co-owner
Dan Shea and her sister and Kempsville
Greens’ director of instruction Laura
Holmes-Landon are affiliated with the
PGA Junior Leag ue, and USGA Girls
Golf. They run about 75 junior tourna-
ments a year, and they teach 500 to 600
kids annually.
They even recently opened an indoor
facility in Chesapeake so the kids they
teach could practice and play year-round.
Holmes—one of four regional coordina-
tors for the VSGA’s Junior Golf Circuit—
has been at this for eight years after she
realized that life as an assistant pro wasn’t