Joe Thiel has spent 33 years helping others learn and enjoy the game of golf. He is one of only 190 golf professionals in the U.S. who has earned the prestigious PGA Master Professional designation. The local PGA region has honored him as PGA Teacher of the Year three times: 1993, 1995, 1997. He was also selected as one of the top 100 Instructors by Golf Magazine, and Golf range magazine selected him as one of the top 50 teachers in North America. He was also inducted into the Mercer County Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the Millennium Who's Who in America. Read More About Joe Below Here is what Joe says about AspiringGolfer.com.

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The majority of my students are very serious golfers. For years I’ve been teaching them that there is more to improving their golf games than just putting in time and working hard. Top golfers need to be well-rounded, not only as athletes, but as people. They need understand where golf fits into their lives and then make the appropriate commitment to it. They need to set goals for themselves, create a physical and mental road map to get them there, stay committed to that plan, and closely monitor their progress. AspiringGolfer.com provides them with tools to do these things and much more.

AspiringGolfer.com is unlike anything I’ve seen available for serious golfers. The site doesn’t offer your typical golf lessons. It offers golfers advanced tools for improving their games including many of the needed and necessary mental tools for creating and mastering the thought process in competition. The golf instruction and tools it provides are geared toward helping a motivated golfer understand and sharpen their existing games including ideas of how to develop one’s thinking skills, as opposed to providing generic, one size fits all instruction that does not take into account skills that a golfer has already learned that work well for him or her. It’s a perfect tool to use in conjuction with custom, individualized professional instruction. You just can’t go wrong by using this system. Every golfer who aspires to be the best they can be can use this neat site to assist them in their journey.

In fact, the site not only provides tools to help golfers improve their games, but it provides many other valuable features that make the game more enjoyable and convenient. For example, the site is essentially a global community of competitive golfers who share with and learn from other members. They can share training programs, lessons learned, golf stories and dreams, pre-shot routines, putting routines, golf goals, what is working mentally that has significance, and more. There is often no one better to learn from than someone who has been where you want to go or who is currently traveling the same path.

In addition to being an essential tool for aspiring golfers, the site is also extremely valuable to golf teams and coaches. I work with many college and high school golf teams, and I know how serious the coaches and players take the game of golf. I’m excited to now be able to tell them about AspiringGolfer.com because I know it can make a difference for them. Not only can all of the players benefit from using the golfer tools on the site, but also the team can keep group statistics to see exactly how everyone on the team is doing in major statistical categories or to see how team members are doing in their practices and their commitment to training. Coaches who provide instruction can also keep lesson notes for their players online as well.

Finally, the site provides an unparalleled forum for college golf team recruiting of junior golfers. Not only can golfers keep a detailed resume for coaches to view, but all of the other tools the site offers makes it possible for golfers to really show coaches what’s on the inside. They can show the coaches what they think, what their commitment level is, how motivated they are, what their goals are, and how well they understand the game. It allows coaches to really get to know players without having costly and time-consuming trips and interviews and without violating recruiting rules. In fact it is especially helpful for those junior golfers who perhaps do not have tournament records that do their talent and motivation level justice. It gives these players the opportunity to catch a coach’s attention for other reasons.

MORE ABOUT JOE

Perhaps some of Joe’s greatest successes in teaching are visible on the other side of the Pacific. With offices in Japan and Korea, Joe’s reach has extended overseas and is shaping the careers of some of Asia’s finest golfers. Many of Joe’s students are internationally known professionals, enjoying successes on tours in Korea, Japan and in the United States.

Among his Korean students are Hee Won Han, Myung Soon Oh, and Se Ri Pak—now playing in America—with whom he worked from her young beginnings from 1992-97. In Japan Joe’s professional players include thirteen-time winners Michiko Hattori and Nobumitsu Yuhara. Joe’s high profile in Asia is noted by the many articles regularly appearing in Japanese and Korean golf publications—a rare distinction for an American instructor.
	The world-class International Golf Academy was developed by Joe as a home base for his school, located at a top-rated driving range in Olympia, Washington. Indoor putting and 37 acres outdoors offer year-round practice space. From here aspiring amateurs and outstanding professionals come to refine and hone their skills in teaching sessions lasting from one week to two years. Copious use of training aids and high-tech video analysis enhance Joe’s lessons, enabled by the fully equipped video studio onsite. His learning center has been voted one of the finest in the United States. Each year many men and women amateurs, business people, juniors, and professionals alike join Joe and his staff in one of many programs designed for exceptional learning.

Just one measure of Joe’s success as a teacher would be in noting that over 200 tour players, high-ranking national and state amateurs, and university varsity players have benefited from his teaching. One banner year—1996—included 34 first place wins from his students, including major state championships. In 1998, Joe’s junior students earned four first-place wins in high school state championships. In 1999 his junior students earned three out of five first place wins in state tournament championships.