Golf Digest Names Erika Larkin Among 'Best Teachers in Virginia'

Posted

One of Virginia's best golf instructors can be found right here in Gainesville. Erika Larkin of Stonewall Golf Club has been named one of the “Best Teachers in Virginia” by Golf Digest magazine.

“I’m very excited and honored,” Larkin said. “It’s actually a peer selection process. I was put on the ballot by my peers, so that is always nice when people know what you do and validate your philosophy and your credentials.”

The article, which appears in the magazine’s November 2013 edition, lists the top golf instructors in the country, along with their affiliations and hourly lesson rates. Golf Digest prepares the list every two years, polling more than 1,000 teaching professionals for their opinions on their peers. It is the only list of top teachers voted on by the teachers themselves.

While Larkin has been rated as a top teacher, not only does she coach experienced golfers, but she works with a range of people of all ages, experience and physical ability levels.

“[I work with people] as young as three-years-old in our golf tot classes and as old as 90-years-olds- all ages, all ability levels,” Larkin said.

However, when she does work with more experienced athletes, she prides herself on her ability to prepare them for a more competitive level of play.

“We have an elite junior program for kids who are playing competitively in tournaments,” Larkin said.  “Many are in line to play collegially.”

Likewise, she coaches adults who also want to play in tournaments.

Larkin said her methods comes from applying her teaching philosophy, which is that a coach should first help an athlete to build a strong foundation and then suggest small modifications.

“I call it the building block approach,” she said. “I try to always build on fundamentals and to work with shorter golf swings so [my students] can see where they need improvement and can make changes based on more manageable movements.”

Larkin is also one of only three teachers between Northern Virginia and Baltimore who is an expert in “green reading,” a technique in which golfers can learn to assess the slope of the green and adjust their swings accordingly.

“It does help people to cut better and how to aim,” said Larkin.

With her experience, in addition to the approval of her peers, Larkin could likely teach on any golf course in the country, but she prefers to coach at Stonewall Golf Club where she has now taught for four years.

“The facility is awesome,” Larkin said. “The golf course is one of the top courses in the area in its layout and the quality of the facility. As a teacher, having a double-grass tee driving range, tipping green and putting green [is ideal], plus having a great golf course on top of that.”

[caption id="attachment_30442" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Erika Larkin on the greenLarkin believes practicing swings on a real green as opposed to synthetic grass makes a difference since it replicates the conditions of a real game. She also appreciates Stonewall for its supportive staff, and the flexibility that staff provides in allowing her schedule her lessons.

This is the most recent of many accolades for Larkin. Her accomplishments include being named Middle Atlantic PGA Teacher of the Year (2012), One of the Top 40 under 40 Best Young Teachers in America in 2011 by Golf Digest Magazine, and one of the area’s Top Pros by Washingtonian Magazine (2011).

Larkin is excited to have attracted recent attention as an outstanding professional in her industry, saying, “It’s great to have exposure on a national level.”

best, erika-larkin, featured, full-image, gainesville, golf-2, golf-digest, stonewall-golf-club, virginia