Schuman Named 2005 Wisconsin PGA Teacher of the Year
April 14, 2005 | Men's Golf
Second-year UW Men's Head Golf coach Jim Schuman was recognized as the 2005 Wisconsin Professional Golfers' Association of America Teacher of the Year at the organization's awards banquet. This is the second such award for Schuman in two years, earning the first honor in 2003.
'It's a great honor to be recognized by people across the entire state for the work that you do,' commented Schuman. 'I am fortunate enough to be recognized but it's great just helping people improve. '
Schuman's peers cited his meticulous analysis of the four areas of golf swing mechanics as the attribute which sets him apart from other candidates. He has helped innovate the profession with extensive use of videotape during his devoted regiment of instruction.
'Everyone is gifted with a talent, it just so happens that I have been blessed with the ability to pick out parts of the golf swing and to help players reach their full potential.'
Schuman, a Madison native, is an instructor at the George Vitense Golf Academy with five other high-qualified PGA professionals: Joel Weitz, Mark Reif, Tom Gerke, Jim Schuman, Mike Schnarr and Bill Furnari. The elite staff at Vitense made an impressive showing at the banquet as Weitz, the General Manager, earned the most prestigious honor as the Wisconsin Professional of the Year.
The Florida alumnus praised the talented collection of professionals at Vitense, 'It is a great group to work with and (Vitense) represents everything that is good about golf. It's different than a country club or driving range, it 's a great atmosphere to teach in and is enjoyable for everyone.'
Schuman's Badgers head to West Lafayette, Ind. for the Boilermaker Invitational Saturday and Sunday at Purdue University's Birk Boilermaker Golf Complex. 54 holes of action on the par 72, 7,272 yard Kampen Course tees off with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. Saturday morning.
From the PGA Wisconsin Section web site: Jim Schuman, head golf coach at University of Wisconsin Madison, is the 2005 WPGA Teacher of the Year. Mr. Schuman breaks down the golf swing in four components for his teaching philosophy. These components are preswing fundamentals, body motion, arm swing shape, and squaring of the clubface. Another part of his teaching philosophy is videotaping the player to see what teaching aids will most benefit them. For the 2004 season Jim gave over 300 hours of instruction. Among the players Jim has instructed are Jerry Kelly, two-time winner on PGA Tour, Garrett Jones, 2002 State Junior Champion, and Bob Beyer, 2004 Senior Men's United States Open Qualifier. This is the second time in three years Jim has won this award.
