Elite-Level Instructor

Former longtime Coloradan Mike McGetrick earns induction into World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame

By Gary Baines – 11/1/2022

Mike McGetrick, a fixture in the state for many years and an instructor who won a record four Teacher of the Year awards from the Colorado PGA, this week was named one of the newest inductees into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame.

McGetrick, along with Randy Smith and the late Ben Doyle, will be inducted on Nov. 14 at Golf magazine’s Top 100 Teachers Retreat at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. Golf magazine created the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999 and has inducted more than 25 instructors since then. Among those Hall of Famers are Butch Harmon, Jack Grout, Jim Flick, David Leadbetter, Claude Harmon, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Paul Runyan (a onetime regular at Green Gables Country Club), Harvey Penick, Bob Toski, Dave Pelz, Peggy Kirk Bell and Jim McClean.

Mike McGetrick (right) was the national PGA Teacher of the Year in 1999. (Photo: https://www.facebook.com/MikeMcGetrickGolf/)

The 1999 national PGA of America Teacher of the Year, McGetrick was one of the founders of Colorado Golf Club in Parker. He’s now the director of instruction at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va. While in Colorado, McGetrick headed the McGetrick Golf Academy.

While in the Centennial State, McGetrick was named the Colorado PGA’s Teacher of the Year four times in the five-year stretch from 1993-97. He’s now a PGA Masters Professional.

Among the big-name golfers who McGetrick has instructed over the years are Juli Inkster, Beth Daniel, Karrie Webb, Meg Mallon, current Longmont resident Gary Hallberg and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe. Overall, the players with whom McGetrick have worked have won 11 major championships. McGetrick also has written a book, “The Scrambler’s Dozen – 12 Shots Every Golfer Needs To Score Like The Pros”

“The three gentlemen we have chosen to honor with this distinction are wholly deserving of our praise given the work they have done to elevate the art of golf instruction,” said David DeNunzio, editor in chief of Golf.com. “We have the utmost respect for Randy, Mike and Ben, and commend them for their considerable contributions to the game of golf.”