CHARLOTTE, NC - At the age of five, Julie Cole was teaching the neighborhood kids in Findlay, Ohio, how to play sports. Little did she realize that she would turn this unique talent into a highly successful career that would take her to all corners of the globe.
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Julie Cole |
Cole, now 51, is the Director of Instruction at the Dana Rader Golf School in Charlotte and is one of the nation’s top-rated teachers by a number of national golf publications. She was named Teacher of the Year in 1995 and 1999 by the southeast section of the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s Teaching and Club division, and has been highly acclaimed for her teaching skills.
“I would rather teach than do anything I know,” she said with a smile. “I love what I do and wouldn’t trade with anyone. It is quite a thrill to see students improve and gain confidence. That’s quite a reward, and it is motivation to work harder.”
For the attractive, 5-foot-7 Ohioan, her office is the green expanse of the practice area where she gives over 1500 individual lessons a year along with daily golf schools and a succession of clinics. She is well tanned from hours in the sun, and trim from the varied physical exercise she gets on and off the golf course. During her illustrious career, she has taught a number of celebrities, including Bob Hope and Jamie Farr.
Except for a bad back, the result of an automobile accident, her name could have been headlines on the sports pages for her outstanding play during the decade of the eighties. In her brief fling on the tour, she played in five US Open championships and one British Open, where she tied for fourth at Royal Birkdale. She once shot a six-under-par 66 in the Henredon Classic in High Point; her all-time low, and has made eight holes-in-one, including one on the tour.
As a pro, she had 14 wins on the Future’s Tour, one on the Asian Tour (the Thailand Open in Bangkok) and five top ten finishes on the Ladies PGA Tour. She was 53rd on the money list in 1987, which was her best year, and claimed fourth place in the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic before the hometown folks.
“I liked the competition on the pro tours,” Cole said, “but to be a big winner requires too much
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Julie enjoys teaching |
self-centered activity for me. I had much rather teach.”
A versatile athlete who excelled in most sports as a youngster, she enjoyed golf and basketball the most and played both at Findlay High School. She took up golf at the age of 14, encouraged by her parents who quickly recognized her athletic ability.
Cole was awarded the first athletic scholarship—for basketball and golf-- ever given to a woman at Ohio University. She graduated in 1975 with a degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and played as an individual in the NCAA golf championship.
After graduation, Cole headed south to seek a career in golf. She worked in the golf shop at both the Dunes Club and Robber’s Roost in Myrtle Beach before moving to Orlando to wait tables at Disney World during the evening and to work on her game during the day. It was at Bay Hill that she met former Charlottean and Wake Forest golfer Dick Tiddy and became one of his avid students.
Visiting the legendary Peggy Kirk Bell in Southern Pines--a Findlay native who went to high school with her mother--Cole broke her back in an automobile wreck in 1979. “I stayed with Peg and Bullet for nearly three months while they nursed me back to health,” she said, “but the back injury would haunt me through my playing days…and still does. I had to stretch for an hour and half before and after playing each day.”
“Bad back and all, I played in a lot of amateur tournaments for three years before turning professional in 1980,” she explained. “I won the first pro tour I ever played in, the Michelob Open, and was hooked.”
In the early days Cole played on a tour in California and Florida, in Europe and Asia. She met Dana Rader in the mid-80s when both were playing and again in 1990 when Rader was president of the LPGA Teaching and Club division, which helps train instructors. “Dana helped me get my first teaching job at the West Moreland Country Club in Pittsburgh, and we have been friends ever since,” she commented.
When Rader expanded her Charlotte golf school in 1991, she called Cole and offered her a job, which she quickly accepted. Soon she was on the practice range eight hours a day, five days a week as the lead instructor at the popular golf school, working with beginners as well as scratch players.
During her teaching career, Cole has had lessons and observed the teaching techniques of some of the game’s best-known instructors, including Rita and Phil Ritson, Bob Toski, Jim Flick, David Leadbetter, and John Elliott.
“I learned something from each of them which has helped me very much,” she said, “and I have copied some of their styles and methods.”
But the teacher who influenced her the most was Mike Adams of Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. “There is no one like him. He is the best, and he helped my game tremendously.”
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Julie gives instructions |
“Like most good teachers,” she offered, “I believe in solid fundamentals and can’t emphasize that enough. The set-up influences every shot in golf. Without the correct stance, grip and alignment, there can be no consistency.”
The biggest mistake she see in her student is an outside swing path, a cutting across the ball that produces a slice. “That and trying to overpower the ball,” she offered.
Because of a busy schedule, Cole doesn’t get to play as much as she would like. “I play about once a month,” she said, “and can still manage a low score—one or two over-- most of the time.” She received a personal thrill recently when she was invited to play the renowned Augusta National course, calling it “ an awesome, unforgettable experience.”
When she isn’t teaching—which is seldom-- Cole enjoys cycling, gardening and cooking. “Those are diversions I look forward to,” she remarked. “Anything to take my mind off golf.”