Jim Flick, Class of 2011

JIM FLICK
One of the most prolific instructors in golf history, Jim Flick has taught the game in 23 nations while elevating the business of golf instruction. Flick, 81, was elected to PGA membership in 1959, and served as director of instruction for Golf Digest’s Schools and guiding more than 1,000 multi-day programs. He was co-founder with legendary Jack Nicklaus of the Nicklaus-Flick Golf Schools (1991-2003); operated his own Jim Flick Premier School in 2002; and served as a lead instructor for the ESPN Golf Schools (2003-05). Since 2006, he has served as the ambassador for TaylorMade Golf.

The third recipient of the PGA Teacher of the Year award in 1988, Flick was the ninth instructor inducted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame in 2002, the same year that he was inducted into the Southern Ohio PGA Hall of Fame. Flick also was a 1995 inductee into the Wake Forest University Athletic Hall of Fame; and in 1999, Golf World selected him one of the Top 10 Teachers of the 20th Century. Flick has coached more than 200 Tour professionals among countless amateurs and premier junior players, headed by the legendary Nicklaus and major champion Tom Lehman.

A native of Bedford, Ind., Flick began playing golf at age 10 through the influence of his father, Coleman Flick, a Bedford City Champion. Flick attended Wake Forest University on a basketball scholarship and roomed six months of his sophomore year with Arnold Palmer, then a junior. Flick turned professional following graduation in 1952 and attempted to play tournament golf before determining that his future was in the club professional ranks.

Flick served in the U.S. Army from 1953-54, and at the conclusion of the Korean War turned professional in 1955 to become an assistant professional at Evansville (Ind.) Country Club. He followed by being named PGA head professional (1956-60) at Connersville, Ind., and from 1961-74 at Losantiville Country Club in Cincinnati. Flick was treasurer of the Southern Ohio PGA Section as the Section played host to the 1964 PGA Championship at Columbus Country Club, and was Section president (1967-69) when NCR Country Club in Dayton hosted the 1969 PGA Championship.

From 1986 through 2005, Flick was PGA director of instruction at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz. A frequent contributor to national golf publications for decades, Flick was involved or authored five books: Square to Square Golf (1974), Square to Square in Pictures (1974), How to Become a Complete Golfer (1980), Jim Flick on Golf (1997), and Swing Analysis by Jim Flick – Jack Nicklaus, Simply the Best (2007). Flick and his wife, Geri, live in Carlsbad, Calif., and are parents of four daughters: Jan, Suzanne, Kimberly and Vicki: and a son, Stephen. The Flicks also are the proud owners of Charlie, a “Golden Doodle,” (mixed Golden Retriever/Poodle).