Jay Morelli, PGA, has likely given more lessons to more people than any golf instructor in the last 50 years. That’s almost how long Morelli has been running The Original Golf School. He started in 1978 during the summers at Mount Snow, Vermont, then in the mid-1980s expanded his winter operation to Crystal River, Florida.
“It would be somewhere around 110,000,” the 79-year-old Director of Instruction says of his lifetime student count. “At our peak, we were doing about 3,200 (students) a year. There’s a certain joy that goes with watching a golfer improving, even from shooting 100 to shooting 90.”
Morelli has done more than teach amateurs about the game; he also has taught dozens of PGA of America Golf Professionals the finer points of doing their jobs. He’s not just an instructor, he’s a mentor.
Sometimes, it would be hiring an out-of-work PGA Professional on his staff, giving them the opportunity to watch Morelli make golfers better. Or it would be hiring a young person unsure about his or her future, and guiding them into the PGA of America fold.
Jim Remy, who in late 2008 was elected as the 36th PGA of America President, met Morelli in 1979 when both were working for ski companies. Remy was considering a career change.
“I remember talking to Jay about getting into the golf business,” Remy explains. “He was one of the golf professionals who took the time to let me know what business I was getting into.
“Jay is the kind of guy who always helps others. Because he’s that way, I became that way.”
Morelli smiles at the mention of his mentorship. He saw no other way to interact.
“It’s because the guys I worked for were very supportive of me when I moved up,” he says. “I’m lucky that I can help some of these young guys with what I do. When you have the teaching and coaching aspect clicked off, you really need those skills to be a good golf professional. You can’t get close to your members by just selling them a shirt.”
Morelli seemed destined for a career in golf. He grew up on Long Island, a quarter mile from famed 2025 Ryder Cup host Bethpage Black, and would return home late at night and see the cars lined up for the next day’s tee time. He eventually worked at Bethpage Black as a starter and in the golf shop, gaining rare insight into the running of a big-time operation and the wide array of members it would attract.
Morelli says he has enjoyed a rich life. He played on the Florida State University golf team in the mid-1960s alongside World Golf Hall of Famer Hubert Green and Bob Duval. Morelli then served in Vietnam in the U.S. Army, assigned to the 11th aviation combat helicopter unit.
He returned to golf and got a huge break in 1978 when Mount Snow was purchased by a new owner that wanted to build a hotel.
“They wanted to fill up the hotel, so they asked me if I would run a mid-week golf school,” Morelli remembers.
That was thousands and thousands of lessons ago. Not only has Morelli taught golfers of all types, he has greatly impacted his instructors.
“Jay has been a positive influence on so many golf professionals,” says Jim Cocchi, the co-2010 North Florida PGA Section Golf Professional of the Year who helps Morelli with his Crystal River school. “I’ve never heard a negative word about Jay. That’s because he treats people right.”
Morelli’s Original Golf School teaching schedule has been reduced to about 20 sessions in Vermont and 20 in Florida. The business has changed, but the goal remains the same.
“The pros get better at teaching and the students get better at golf,” he says. “Nothing better than that. And we all have fun.”
Morelli, who has written a half-dozen books, still enjoys his days on the range. But he can see the end in sight on his rangefinder. Perhaps another year.
“I’ve been doing this for 49 years, and 50 seems like a good number to stop,” he says with a combination of pride and satisfaction.
He may stop teaching, but the mentoring will go on like a Bryson DeChambeau drive. That’s the only way Morelli knows how to do it.
