From Inside Golf To Sports Illustrated, Claude Brousseau Has Become A Respected Journalist & Instructor
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2025-02-20
By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf
WAILEA, Maui — To Claude Brousseau, life is good. Why shouldn’t it be? After all, the renowned golf instructor teaches around 1,500 lessons a year and lives in Maui, Hawaii. He’s a well-respected published writer, TV personality, and the recipient of many awards.
Proud? Certainly. But please realize that this transplanted Canuck has worked tirelessly to achieve all that has come his way. The interesting side note to his success as a published instructor is that around 2008 he began this journey by penning helpful tips online and in a magazine for Inside Golf. Since then, he’s progressed rapidly but again, he’s put in the work to achieve the success he’s obtained.
...He Then Appeared In His Own Glossy Magazine In France In 2015 On The Specifics Of How He Teaches The Short Game... (Photo By Gord Montgomery/Inside Golf)
How’s this for success? He started the first-ever short game school in France and ended up as the lone instructor in a French language glossy magazine, Spécial PETIT JEU. He’s also penned a full-page article for Sports Illustrated about Scotty Scheffler’s footwork when hitting the golf ball.
Successful? Damn right, but also well-earned and well-deserved.
“I started to teach in ’98,” he explained of this amazing journey he’s been on. “I was very fortunate and blessed as I got recruited in 2009, went to France, and created the first short-game (school) in France,” which ultimately ended in a full-colour 124-page magazine featuring himself as the only instructor. “It’s just on how I teach the short game.”
Back when Brousseau began writing for Inside Golf in 2008, he ran into the magazine’s publisher Jeff Sutherland who was visiting Maui and attending the then Mercedes Championship (now the Sentry Tournament of Champions). He asked Brousseau if he was interested in penning articles for his publication, which was distributed across Western Canada. From that, Brousseau went on to do work for other publications including Golf Digest and eventually appeared on the Golf Channel in 2015. “It just snowballed with more demand,” he stated.
Now realizes that getting a message across as a writer rather than as a one-on-one instructor isn’t easy. “That’s a challenge,” he understated. “We have to write using words, obviously describing a sensation, how they move their body to do that. So it has to be very precise. A direct message to them.”
...And Then In December 2024, He Penned An Article For Sports Illustrated On Scotty Scheffler’s Unique Footwork. (Photo By Gord Montgomery/Inside Golf)
That’s exactly what he does when he’s giving personal lessons at the Wailea Academy perched high above the Pacific Ocean on Maui. “The person in front of me is the most important,” he began. Asked what his main message about what ordinary Joes and Janes who are mid- to high-handicap players should take from the game, that response comes across clearly.
“Here’s what I tell them: it’s having fun. It’s a hobby. Then it’s all about knowledge. I ask them what is the reason why any golfer does not play as well as he could. Golfers come up with all kinds of answers and they’re all good. If you ask me that question, here’s my answer: it’s a lack of knowledge. For the golfer, it’s you have to have better knowledge. The issue with golfers is they want to perform first. Anything in life, you have to learn and train, and then you expect to perform. I would say for the general public playing, your expectation needs to be more realistic.”
As an example, Brousseau says he’ll ask students on the putting green what they think a pro’s percentage of made putts from nine feet is. “They say, 95, 85 percent. Then I tell them the reality is 38! So they need to get their expectations more realistic. They need to increase their skill.
“Then they’ll say ‘I want to be confident.’ So I kind of joke, because I like to make things light in the learning place, I’ll say, ‘Would you like to be confident or competent first? Confidence is a feeling. Competence is a skill. We need both. But I joke with them and say, ‘You know, if you’re too confident without the skill you’re dangerous!’ Then they realize, ‘Oh my gosh. I can not be hard on myself.’ I tell them ‘Be smart with yourself. Get some knowledge.’ ”
Claude Brousseau Who Began His Writing Career With Inside Golf Has Seen His Status In The Golf World Grow, Both In Publications & On TV. (Photo By Gord Montgomery/Inside Golf)
As to the honours he’s received over the years as a writer, TV personality, and hands-on instructor, Brousseau said being in the business for years was a boost to that. “I have to say longevity helps!” he said with a chuckle. “It’s also the quality of what you do. People recognize quality and networking,” which he does every year by flying from Maui to Florida to attend the PGA Buying Show. “It’s a genuine desire to make sure the golfer will get something that they get better at. To me, it’s a privilege they want to come and spend time with me. It’s little details every day. When you do it for a long time, people go ‘I love this guy. He’s different than the rest.’ I’m always looking for opportunities to improve every day. It’s just an accumulation of little things over time.”
Over time, Claude Brousseau has become a world-renowned golf instructor and writer after his beginning with a publication in Western Canada that helped grow his exposure exponentially over the years.