Jamie Fischer’s second shot settled just inches from the flagstick. The gallery at the ninth green gave her a round of applause before she tapped in for her birdie. A little over two hours later, Fischer’s visit to Bulle Rock came to an end; she shot rounds of 79 and 75 and missed the 36-hole cut. But Fischer wasn’t discouraged by her performance. After all, while most of the other players in the McDonald’s LPGA Championship field spend virtually every waking hour fine tuning their games, she spends her days helping other people hone their games.

Fischer was one of six club pros in the field representing the nearly 1,200 members of the LPGA’s Teaching and Club Professional Division. The championship environment was familiar to her; as the three time LPGA T&CP Midwest Section champion the trip to Maryland has been a regular part of her in-season routine. A native of Dayton Ohio, Fischer grew up around golf. Her mother, Andy Cohn-Fischer played on the LPGA Tour in the 1960s. Fischer lettered in five sports in high school, but focused on golf afterward and won the Southwest Conference individual championship while playing for the University of Texas. Even before shoulder injuries ended her playing career at the mini-tour level, she had been thinking about being a teaching professional someday, particularly after working with the likes of Harvey Penick, Dick Harmon, Chuck Cook and Jim McLean, among others.  “I think there was a part of me that always enjoyed teaching,” she says. “I’ve been really lucky, I’ve worked with great teachers, not only as a player but also as a teacher. “I enjoy helping other people get enjoyment out of the game.  It gives me joy helping other people get better at it. There’s a lot of joy for me in helping somebody get the ball in the air for the first time, or somebody telling me they played their first nine holes, or going out with a student on the golf course and helping them chip better or putt better.”

Today Fischer plies her trade at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Il. near Chicago. When she’s on the lesson tee with a student, she often recalls insights from some of her mentors, including her mother, who she used to join on the golf course as a little girl, swinging cut-down clubs. “I think of things Dick said,” Fischer says, or my mom said, “or Mr. Penick said. I don’t think I have one methodology or anything like that. I think I’ve had a nice broad range of experiences with the great teachers I’ve worked with I kind of cherry pick the things that work for a particular student.” Fischer considers herself a stickler for the fundamentals. “I feel like everybody can learn to put their hands on the club correctly,” she says. “I’m very big on that, and good posture and balance. I think those are probably my top things along with learning how to aim. I think the setup is critical. And everybody can do that, you don’t have to be an elite athlete. I really try to help my students develop an effective pre-shot routine to help them accomplish those things.” Fischer adapts her teaching style to suit each student’s needs. She uses video frequently, for instance, but not in every lesson. “There are some students I won’t use it with she says. “With some students I use it very sparingly and then some students really do well with it. They really like the visual feedback. “Yes, I think it’s important, but I also think it’s important for us as teachers to filter and interpret, to say ‘Here are a couple things we’re going to try and accomplish today.’ “(Students) can get so flooded it’s just overwhelming. I give my students a little notebook. Most lessons fit on one or two pages. I always tell them, ‘If you walk away from here and have more than one three-by-five index card or more than one or two little pages filled out, we didn’t do a good job.’”