Leitz puts cap on 47-year career with PGA Hall of Fame induction
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
COVINGTON – When it comes to the game of golf there may not be anything left for James Leitz to achieve.
That seemed to be the consensus after a packed house turned out at Tchefuncta Country Club to honor Leitz during his induction into the PGA Gulf States Section Hall of Fame, recognizing a man who made it to the top of the mountain both personally and professionally in a game loved by many.
Leitz started as a young golfer at Slidell High who would get a part-time job at Pinewood Country Club in 1975 during his sophomore year of school, opening the door for him to later be hired as the head pro in 1982, a position he would hold until leaving for Tchefuncta as the head pro in 2015.
Over nearly 50 years of being connected to the game, Leitz became a golf teacher recognized internationally after he clicked with improving technology in golf instruction during the 1980s, years earlier than other teachers who had not recognized the impact of science on the game of golf.
That led the way for Leitz to be a featured speaker at over 100 PGA educational conferences for golf professionals around the world, including Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, Australia and Canada, just to name a few of the countries. He was a three-time featured speaker at the prestigious M.I.T. Better Golf Through Technology Conference.
But perhaps his greatest claim to fame, which came about due to his teaching talent that gained popularity through social media and online, was when Tiger Woods’ golf coach complimented Leitz by name on a national program, suddenly bringing more attention to the Slidell native than he could have imagined.
“Sean Foley (Woods’ coach) was on this program and was asked, where do you get your teaching information for Tiger? When he said, ‘well, it’s places like a hidden gem in Slidell, La. named James Leitz.’ My world exploded after that,” Leitz said, with speaking invitations coming from the United States and all over the world.
Through it all, Leitz never turned his back on his beginnings and actually never had any plans to leave Pinewood. He was essentially forced to exit for Tchefuncta in 2015 after turning down many golf pro jobs around the country, all due to financial difficulties that Pinewood was experiencing that had the 50-year club on the verge of closing its doors.
“I never, ever wanted to leave Pinewood,” Leitz recalled. “But with things in such turmoil and the possibility Pinewood would shut down I had no option, so I took the Tchefuncta job.”
At the Hall of Fame dinner and awards ceremony, Leitz left no doubt about his feelings when it came to the success he has had.
“I’m proud to say that everything I became was from my time in Slidell,” he said. “I had lots of opportunities to go elsewhere, but I never considered them seriously. My whole career has been in St. Tammany, mostly in Slidell, and I am proud to say I am from here.”
Leitz was a pro’s pro with the members at Pinewood from the time he took over, but said it was an 82-year-old club member who opened his eyes in 1982 to the changing technology for golf clubs and teaching.
“I was giving Ray Lacombe a lesson one day and I thought I knew a lot,” he said with a laugh. “I told Ray I wanted him to swing a certain way and he asked me why? I said I can tell with my eyes you need that adjustment. Ray was an engineer and said something to me I never forgot. He said, ‘never guess what you can measure.’ It was eye-opening and it made me begin looking into the best golf teaching technology that was out there.”
Leitz used his own money to build a teaching building at Pinewood, finally got the board of directors to build a driving range for the first time in club history, and “I spent $2,800 to buy a digital video camera even though I was only making $9,000 a year.”
After that, Leitz began purchasing the best teaching equipment possible, including a 3-D body Motion Capture camera.
“I realized that technology was the way to teach people,” he said. “And it ended up leading me to places I couldn’t have imagined.”
Leitz has been on over 100 programs with interviews about golf, not to mention his speaking engagements around the world. One book entitled “Golf’s Holy War: The battle for the soul of a game in an age of science,” by Brett Cyrgalis, includes a chapter where Leitz and his work are featured.
The longtime Pinewood pro has coached state championship high school teams and individuals through area schools, was named the Gulf States PGA Teacher of the Year, coached several players on the PGA tour, was named the Junior Promoter of the Year for the La. PGA in 1988 and was ranked one of the top 50 Junior Golf Instructors by U.S. Kids Golf. Pinewood also named him a lifetime Golf Professional Emeritus.
“To see all these people come out here tonight to congratulate me, it’s more than I can put into words,” he said. “We all know the things we have done in life, but to have all these people celebrate it with me means so much.”
Leitz continues to work as the head pro at Tchefuncta Country Club where he still teaches extensively with state-of-the-art equipment and technology. He said he has no plans to retire anytime soon.