PRO-FILE: Gord Burns
2024 PGA of Ontario Teacher of the Year, and PGA of Canada George Knudson Teacher of the Year
“You have to read people,” he explains. “Some need encouragement. Some need honesty. Some need space.”
It doesn’t take long speaking with Gord Burns to understand how deeply passionate he is about the game of golf. It goes beyond an appreciation for how the game is played, extending to the lessons it continues to teach him and the opportunity it gives him to work with, guide, and learn alongside others.
Golf has been a constant companion for Gord. One that has challenged him, frustrated him, taught him patience, and ultimately shaped his life. His relationship with golf began early, introduced to it at the age of six by his parents at the driving range, discovering the game in an environment that felt supportive and fun.
“When you’re a kid and you’re playing with your parents, you feel safe. You’re just having fun, and before you know it, you want to keep coming back and doing it with them. I truly believe that’s the best way to start.”
Golf was simply something the family did together. Competition came later. The love for the game came first.
Watching professional golf on television further fueled his passion. Sunday afternoons were spent following major championships, watching legends like Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and eventually Tiger Woods. Junior tournaments didn’t enter the picture until he was around 10 or 11 years old, and by that point, he’d already spent years learning about the game organically.
One experience still stands out. As a junior, Gord played a practice round with a young Tiger Woods at the 1991 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bay Hill. At the time, it felt like just another round. Only years later did he fully grasp both the rarity of the moment and the magnitude of the experience.
Like many young players, Gord’s competitive drive and talent grew naturally, but something that grew perhaps even more rapidly was his curiosity. Gord found himself drawn not only to playing, but to understanding why the ball behaved the way it did, why certain swings worked, and why golf could feel so deeply personal.
Golf, for Gord, has always mirrored life - rewarding, humbling, and endlessly demanding.
“It’s been a love–hate relationship,” he admits. “But golf teaches you a lot about yourself.”
This understanding - that golf exposes strengths, weaknesses, and habits, continues to influence how he approaches teaching.
Life away from the course also played a role in shaping his perspective and approach to learning and teaching. Gord lost both of his parents at a young age, experiences that forced him to consider his professional path and reframe what success and resilience looked like. Thankfully those moments didn’t pull him away from golf, they changed how he related to it. Navigating grief while continuing to compete and build a career forced him to mature quickly, to reflect, and to find meaning beyond individual results.
There is no doubt Burns continued to develop into an accomplished competitive player, but his interest in understanding the game at a deeper level continued to grow exponentially. Why certain patterns repeated. Why players struggled under pressure. Why improvement wasn’t always linear, even with hard work.
Today, Gord Burns is recognized nationally as one of Canada’s most respected teachers. In 2024, he was named PGA of Ontario Teacher of the Year and received the PGA of Canada George Knudson Teacher of the Year Award, one of the highest teaching honours in Canadian golf.
Gord’s teaching philosophy is grounded in empathy, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. He works with golfers across all levels, from beginners to elite players, and adapts his approach based on the individual. Emotional cues matter. Timing matters. Trust matters.
“You have to read people,” he explains. “Some need encouragement. Some need honesty. Some need space.”
He prides himself on recognizing emotional cues early, whether it’s frustration, nerves, or self-doubt, and adjusting his approach accordingly. Teaching, in his view, is as much about understanding the person as it is about understanding the swing.
When the world shut down in 2020, that mindset became especially important.
With courses closed and no clear timeline for return, Gord found himself at home; restless and thinking about golf. Shocker.
“When you’re sitting home and you’re obsessed with golf, you just start thinking about how you could possibly be golfing,” he says.
So, he built a simulator in his garage.
What started as a personal solution quickly became a vital tool for maintaining momentum as a teacher when everything else had stopped.
Despite being an elite teacher, Gord remains an exceptional player himself. Over 2024 and 2025, he has recorded numerous PGA of Ontario and PGA of Canada victories, including a recent win at the inaugural PGA of Canada Head Teaching Professional Championship in Mexico.
Competition remains a priority for Gord. It keeps him honest. It reinforces the challenges his students face. And it reminds him how demanding the game can be, mentally and physically.
Mental resilience is a recurring theme in his teaching. Knowing that golf is uniquely isolating, Gord believes players must learn how to manage themselves when things aren’t going well.
“There’s no one there to help you when it’s going sideways,” he explains. “Players have to learn how to coach themselves.”
For that reason, Gord intentionally avoids over-managing players in competition settings. He doesn’t caddie. He doesn’t intervene unnecessarily. He wants golfers to experience pressure, problem-solve, and learn through doing.
The same philosophy applies when working with juniors and their parents. Gord encourages parental involvement, but also independence. He believes young golfers need room to fail, learn without pressure or unrealistic expectations, and build confidence on their own terms.
Trust, he’s learned, takes time. So does progress.
Looking back, Gord is quick to acknowledge that teaching at a high level comes with real responsibility. “This is not as easy as it seems,” he says. “To show up and everybody’s just going to sign up for lessons... you have to earn their trust. You have to earn the fact that they’re paying you to get better.”
Outside of golf, Gord prioritizes balance and health more intentionally than ever. Teaching 40 to 55 hours a week takes a physical toll. Long days on his feet, constant sun exposure, and years of repetitive movement. Knee tendinitis and a melanoma diagnosis were reminders that long-term health matters.
He tries to make space for rest, time with his wife Cheryl-Lynn, quiet evenings at home, walks with the dogs, and small routines that help him recharge. Friday games at Meadowbrook with members keep him playing regularly and provide a relaxed but competitive environment that helps him prepare for events.
At the core of Gord Burns’ story is gratitude - for the game, for the career it’s given him, and for the opportunity to help others navigate a sport that never stops teaching.
“I don’t take this for granted,” he says. “A lot of people would love to do this for a living.”
As he looks ahead, Gord remains committed to learning, evolving, and giving back - through mentorship, competition, and by fully showing up for every student who trusts him with their game, while continuing to refine his own.
Written by: Jerri McRogers, PGA of Ontario
Gord can be contacted here.
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