"How many lessons do you think it will take me?"

Clearly, that's a question asked only by those uninitiated to the beguiling nature of golf and the [often] life-long pursuit of a repeating golf swing. Harris just laughs and patiently tries to explain that there's no way to put a timetable on a player learning the golf swing.

"Someone who's going to come to me for a lesson is not gonna get tons and tons of information," said Harris, who joined Zeb Patten and Mike Bennett at the Chattanooga Golf Center in April. "I've had plenty of people call and say 'I need some help - how many lessons do you thing I need?' That's impossible to say. What I always tell them is 'Come in for one lesson, let's evaluate your goals and what you want to accomplish and then I'll tell you. You can't just tell someone they'll need five lessons, or 10 or 20.

"And you can't give a student too much to work on each time out. You want to work on a specific goal each time. If you throw too much at them, it makes that much harder. "

Harris, who has been a full-time golf instructor since leaving the University of Cincinnati in 1999, worked in her hometown for the American Golf Schools until answering an ad placed by Patten in the Tennessee PGA's newsletter last winter.

"I guess I got 50 [responses]," Patten said. "Jena really stood out. I brought her down here, we talked, and we just hit it off. And she's just been fantastic."

Harris' lesson book backs up Patten's words.

"I'm really surprised I've built my clientele list up as fast as I have," Harris said. "It used to be that if someone called in and said they were going to be 30 minutes late for a lesson, I'd say no problem. I didn't have anything else going on. But that's not the case now."

Part of the reason might be Harris' simple philosophy on the golf swing. Without a doubt, that's what compelled Patten to hire her. Patten doesn't have a standard swing that he tries to force on every one of his students. He teaches more by feel. And so does Harris.

"I guess since I've been doing this I've given over a thousand lessons and countless clinics," said the 25-year-old Harris. "What I've learned is that a lot of students, especially people who play other sports, have a natural ability. I've always kind of gone by that. Most people have a natural something or another. I like to take that and make it better. I'm not a mechanical teacher at all.

"Not everybody is built the same way. Not everybody can do the same thing. There are certain things in the golf swing we like to accomplish. But I'm not about rebuilding golf swings. I like to take what they have and make it better. You focus on certain parts of mechanics when you practice. But when you get out to the golf course, you have to take what you've practiced and play with it."

Patten didn't bring Harris in to be a designated teacher of female golfers. She says about 85 percent of the lessons she's given have been to men.

Harris has been so busy that she's hardly had time to work on her own game.

She was an accomplished college and amateur player. After three years at UAB, a difference in philosophy with her coach led Harris to transfer to Cincinnati, where, after a red-shirt season, she won a tournament and finished second in two others in 1999. Harris has also played in several Tennessee events, even competing in the 1997 Tennessee Women's Amateur at Council Fire.

Harris hasn't given up on the concept of playing for a living. She would have taken a go at LPGA qualifying school last year, but contracted pneumonia two weeks before.

"I would eventually love to try again," Harris said. "I still want to go [to qualifying school]. But I've been busy, plus Zeb's been working with me on my swing. I want to be more comfortable with that before I go back out there. But even if I qualified for the LPGA tour, I couldn't tell you that I wouldn't want to come back and teach. I really love teaching."