Golf pro enjoys teaching
By Bill F. Hensley
Special to the Democrat

BLOWING ROCK — Kent Shelton watched the student hit a half-dozen golf shots on the practice tee and then offered a comment.

“I see a couple of mistakes that are causing you to hit bad shots,” he said. “Let’s make some minor changes in your grip and stance.”

And the game was on. After getting the student to narrow his stance (for a better shoulder turn) and strengthening his left hand grip on the club, the shots began to fly straight and with more force.

The popular golf professional at the Hound Ears Club, though young in years, has been giving lessons for 20 years now. Word-of-mouth advertising has made him a rising star in the teaching world.

“Obviously I enjoy teaching,” Shelton said. “I find it rewarding to be able to help golfers improve their game. Sometimes it’s a small adjustment in their swing. Other times it takes a major overhaul. But taking lessons is the intelligent way to get better at whatever you undertake.”

Shelton finds that after giving a lesson the results are almost always favorable as students, beginners and seasoned veterans alike, struggle with the not-so-simple task of hitting a golf ball in the proper manner. He believes that three fundamentals are basic when it comes to consistently hitting good shots.

“I call it GAP, which stands for grip, alignment and posture,” Shelton said. “Master those three items and a student is on the right track to becoming a better player.”

But golf students insist that an effective teacher must have another skill besides his thorough knowledge of the swing. And that is good communications.

“It’s one thing to know how to teach,” Hound Ears member John Andrews said. “But if a golf pro can’t relay that information accurately, then all is lost. Some instructors get too technical and really can’t explain in simple terms what he wants a student to do. Kent is the best at explaining things to a student that is easy to understand.”

Shelton is indeed an excellent communicator, earning a college degree in the subject from Appalachian State, where he was graduated in 1989.

“I agree that good communications is essential in order for a teacher to get his message across,” he said “And that applies to things other than golf instruction, too.”

In addition to being a renowned teacher, Shelton, 42, is also a good player. He has a low of 61 at Hound Ears from the blue tees and has won three Carolinas PGA Sectional pro-ams. His “ringer” score at Hound Ears (the lowest score ever had on a hole), compiled over an eleven year span, is a 27-under par 45.

A native of Walnut Cover, the game has come easy for Shelton since he became involved in the sport at the age of three, encouraged by his father and grandfather.

“My father and grandfather owned a driving range, so I hit balls often with the two of them watching. By the time I was eleven, I was hooked.”

During high school, Shelton got a job at the old Bethania Golf Club in Winston-Salem. Working as a cart attendant , he had a chance to play almost every day after work and perfect his swing.

At Appalachian State, he was a “walk on” with the golf team and played for the Mountaineers from 1986 until 1989. Later, from 2000 until 2005, he was an assistant golf coach under Bill Dicus, for both the men’s and women’s teams, an assignment he relished.

Shelton began his golf career at Linville Ridge while he was an ASU student. He worked there for two years as a cart attendant. After graduation, he was named an assistant pro and worked there for two summers.

During the winter months, he went to Naples, Fla., as an assistant at Bears Paw.

In 1991, he took a job at Bermuda Run in Winston-Salem as an assistant under Tim Collins, and two years later he moved over to Tanglewood as Tournament Director.

Shelton joined the Hound Ears staff in 1998 and served as an assistant for four years. He was named Head Golf Professional in 2002 under Golf Director Peter Rucker.

Along with his keen observation and communications skills, Shelton is known for a rare sense of humor and his patience as an instructor.

“I try to put myself in the student’s shoes,” he offered, “and teach accordingly.”

During his career, the self-proclaimed “country boy from Stokes County, has met an all-star cast of celebrities through his association with golf, including such luminaries as Bob Hope, Kathryn Crosby, Michael Jordan, Ernie Banks, Dean Smith and Roy Williams.

His favorite course? “Hound Ears and anything designed by Donald Ross,” he remarked. “And I also think Ellis Maples, who worked under Ross, did a great job on the courses he created.”

Shelton said that a little-known Maples design, Deep Springs, in Stoneville, NC, is a sleeper and a joy to play. “And while I was at Tanglewood, I got to know it well and learned to appreciate its many subtleties and challenges.”

“We are fortunate to live in North Carolina where there are so many outstanding courses to choose from,” Shelton added.

When he isn’t playing or teaching, Shelton enjoys listening to an eclectic variety of music — from rock to bluegrass — reading, and ASU football. And he is active in his church, the Boone United Methodist, where his wife, Cindy, is an assistant pastor. A native of King, NC, she is working on a Masters Degree in Divinity from Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury. The couple has a daughter, Marlie, a sophomore at Watauga High School.

And does he have a favorite golf teacher?

“I have learned a lot from all the PGA members I have worked for and with,” he said, “but without a doubt I owe everything to my dad for getting me interested in the game. He has quite an eye for the golf swing and got me off on the right foot with good fundamentals.”

And good fundamentals is the name of the game. Just ask any golf professional.