How Tim Wilson brought new and exciting programs to Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club

By: Shelby Dechant

Tim Wilson quickly acclimated himself to his surroundings in his first year teaching at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, in fact, he was able to increase lesson revenue by 30%. He was recognized for this accomplishment by being named the George Knudson Teacher of the Year at the 2021 PGA of Canada National Awards.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilson noticed many of the private club's members that would normally be travelling internationally were spending more time at home due to restrictions on international travel. Naturally, this led to members spending more time at Shaughnessy, looking to improve their games. 

Wilson saw a potential opportunity that would benefit both the club and the members. Wilson created several new programs and camps for members at the club, in addition to his regularly scheduled lessons.

A luxury that comes with working at a private club is the ability to get familiar with members to better understand their wants and needs. Wilson said instead of trying to guess what members want, he just asked.

“They wanted the things that they were doing in the desert. They wanted the golf camps and clinics and schools, and they wanted that stuff because that's what they did while travelling,” said Wilson.

Fulfilling the wishes of the members was not tough to do, claimed Wilson.

“It wasn't much more than us just really providing that service for them. I don't think that is inherently difficult. It's just arranging and structuring those things so that they are up to the standard of what these people expect,” said Wilson.

Wilson added seven new programs for the members. The Coaches Clinic was one that the award winner was especially proud of.

“I asked each of the nine instructors to come up with three different ideas of what they would like to teach in a one-hour setting. We did three clinics a week, 27 clinics, where each instructor taught. If you were a member, you could take a lesson from any one of our instructors, and, you know, maybe not in an as committed setting and you really got to experience what each instructor had to offer,” said Wilson.

The Teacher of the Year said he thought the program was so successful because it enabled golfers who were unsure if they wanted to commit to lessons and with which instructor to try it out with no commitment. Wilson said that the increase in lesson revenue came soon after the implementation of the programs.

In addition to this, Wilson found time to help out with both the UBC men’s and women’s golf teams and St George’s Academy team. 

Wilson worked with over 150 different players in 2021, including the club’s men’s, women’s and junior club champions, the men’s club captain and the runner-up at the 2021 BC Men’s Amateur Championship. Wilson also pitches in 24-30 hours per week in the golf shop, supporting the golf professionals and the active membership at Shaughnessy.