The Golf Professional
Martinez took his first job as PGA head professional for the city of Eloy, Arizona, in 1996. In less than a year, he was recruited by a mentor to help develop and operate Hidden Oaks Golf Course in Granbury.
Today he is widely viewed as one of the nations premier golf instructors and ambassadors. A three-time recipient of the prestigious Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Leader Award at both the chapter and section levels, and twice named a U.S. Kids Golf Top 50 Instructor, Martinez is currently a board director for the Northern Texas PGA and serves on the NTPGA Junior Golf Committee. He has been featured in PGA Magazine and GOLF magazine, and this past summer taught at Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico.
Martinez is quick to note that his experiences and opportunities in golf have been unusual. He is determined to introduce more Latinos to all the sport has to offer.
There is growing introspection on the part of the industry in this area, but its important to point out that to the extent an imbalance exists, its largely the product of some segments of the population not being exposed to the game during their formative years, said Martinez, who lives in Dallas with his wife and three children.
In the case of many minorities, golfing as a family pastime has just been not as prevalent, by virtue of there being fewer adult minority golfers. There simply are not enough minority kids experiencing golf growing up through their grandparents and fathers, for instance.
Mentoring is the key, he says, which is why he so prizes his encounter with Blancas those many years ago.
Here was this guy dressed in white golf slacks and a red shirt. He was the coolest guy Id ever seen, a rock star. And he was dark like me. I knew I wanted to be like him. Most importantly, I knew I could be like him, said Martinez.
Thats why I take teaching and mentoring so seriously, why I have such a passion for them. I embrace demographic change as an opportunity to be a force in our industry and to better our communities.
