By David Gould, Staff Editor
Starting the year with preset goals for revenue and other business metrics is a practice we recommend to member coaches, and it’s a practice many follow. Proponent members who filled out our recent brief questionnaire had a chance to measure the first half of 2026 against whatever goals they’d set—we’re thankful to all who took time to respond.
Among those who did take part, 67 percent told us their coaching revenues were higher when compared to the first half of 2025. This upbeat news echoes what survey-takers reported last year, when 65 percent said their dollar figure was better than in the same period of the prior year. In 2024, only 61 percent said they were up versus 2023, at the halfway mark.
Looking in more detail at responses to our lead question, we see that members who were able to report first-half revenues “up more than 20 percent” amounted to 13 percent of the survey sample, versus 11 percent of the sample in 2025 and 10 percent in 2024.
Looking forward, 50 percent of survey-takers said they expect to generate revenues higher than what they generated in the second half of 2025. Most of the rest—46 percent—said revenues for the remainder of the season would probably be level with their revenues for the same period in 2025. Surveys we conducted last year and the year before showed a similar set of second-half expectations.
Boosting one’s lesson income is often the result of rate increases, and 39 percent of participants in the survey said they had done so in 2026. Last year’s mid-point survey showed 44 percent having raised rates. The 2024 survey shows a particularly big number—61 percent—who said they adjusted rates upward to start the year. So, the recent data does indicate some slowing of the rate-hike pattern for Proponent coaches.
Golf instruction goes by a menu of sorts, with different programs appealing to this or that student. One survey question explored that nuance and found that, in aggregate, the menu item that was most prevalent in yielding a “significant increase” was the “long-term coaching program”—11 percent of survey takers cited it. Coaches had a chance, on the other side of the coin, to identify programs that yielded revenues at a “significant decrease.” The big culprit there was “junior summer camps,” which put a notable dent in first-half dollar amounts for 11 percent of participants.
The question of “where new students are coming from” was included in this survey. Top three sources were: Student referrals, then Online search, followed by Email marketing.
Generally our surveyed coaches are happy where they are: Just 7 percent said they’re “actively looking to get out” of their current position. By way of context, 5 percent answered this way in 2025 and 9 percent did so in 2024.
