Grew up in Durham, NC all through high school. Son, brother, husband, father, friend, teacher, coach and student. Married 11 years with a cat and a 5 yr old son who just started Kindergarten. Ex-PGA Professional - 23 yrs working as Outside Services (2 yrs), Assistant Professional (9 yrs), Head Professional (5 yrs), Director of Instruction (7 yrs). Worked in Orlando, Atlanta, and the Shenandoah Val
ley about 7 years each. In the valley I have worked at Lexington G&CC, Spotswood CC, Bryce Resort and Lakeview GC and Sly Fox GC. A bit about my sports background and a few highlights. I grew up playing all sports, with a competitive concentration on baseball, soccer and golf. I am ambidextrous (RH/LH). I am a + 5 HCP left-handed, 15 HCP right-handed. I have low rounds of 57, 59 and 61 over the years, most recently with a 59 at Lakeview GC. I won a US Open Local Qualifier in 2011, with a score of 68, and got to play in US Open Sectional Qualifying. I played professionally on the mini-tours for 2-years in Orlando from 2006-2008. COACHING PHILOSOPHY
Here is a bit about my approach to the golf swing. Everyone should be fit for a putter, as it is the most important club in your bag. You use it more than any other. You need the right length, loft, lie angle, grip and head style. The setup must allow the putter head to swing the way you want. You must setup a certain way to consistently use either a toe-heavy or face-balanced putter correctly When putting, you get your read based on the speed you see the ball rolling into the hole. I believe in putting when you can, chipping when you can’t putt, pitching it higher to stop it faster (when you have to) and flopping it only when you have to. The chipping setup position is essentially a pre-set impact position. The clubhead swings equally from 7-5 or 8-4 with no wrist hinge. The ball gets on the ground faster and rolls further. You can chip with any club. Once you get the basic chipping motion down, you have 4 options to change on each chip shot. (1) Club choice / loft, (2) Ball position (3) Face angle and (4) swing size. There are an infinite number of shots to practice and learn to implement on the course. Pitching is the same setup as chipping, with the same possible adjustments. The sides of the swing will have the clubhead swinging equally from 9-3 or 10-2, with the simple addition of a vertical hinge/release (like tapping a nail with a hammer) in the lead wrist at 8 and 4 o’clock. The ball will fly higher and further, with more backspin and stop faster on the green. Flop shots and the basic bunker shot have the same setup and swing fundamentals. From the basic default setup we learn with a full wedge shot, the ball position is moved forwards in the stance, the face is opened (varies) and the body alignment is also opened to the target line. We’ll get specific in training and go over setup adjustments and swing adjustments for various funny lies in a greenside bunker. Everyone should “gap fit” for their wedges (4-6 degrees between each wedge) and for each wedge develop a 1/2, 3/4 and full carry yardage. For iron play - controlling your trajectory/spin and leaving the ball pin high is of paramount importance to play your best. We’ll develop a 10-15 yard carry difference between each iron. When you find your most consistent swing, you should invest in custom fit golf clubs. Hybrids are always easier to hit than their comparably lofted long irons, unless you want to be able to flight your long irons very low in the wind. Most people don’t have the swing speed or swing well enough to hit a fairway wood well off the ground and will rarely use one off the tee, so this is somewhere you can save some money and make sure you get everything else custom fit. The driver swing requires a certain setup position to ensure a perfectly on-plane swing with a square club face, for a straight ball flight. Most people are going to make it curve. Learn the setup to allow a consistent, predictable curving ball flight (draw or fade preferably) and get it in play off the tee. As far as the golf swing itself is concerned, you’ll learn the necessary setup and consequent swing adjustments to play from all types of hilly lies and in all weather conditions. You'll learn the setup adjustments to hit it higher or lower without changing your swing. As far as golf swing mechanics are concerned… I understand and respect the many variations of the old school manual, classic, modern timeless swings. That’s where I started my journey to understanding a simple swing many hears ago in junior golf. But I have learned to simplify the complicated and have a few ways I relate the golf swing to students with great success. I believe the golf swing is like with a car, you can DRIVE your swing any way you want, as long as its engine is setup to function either automatically or manually. Neither is wrong, although manual can be argued more challenging and difficult, as with more moving parts there is more to manipulate and coordinate the timing of (in shifting gears). You wouldn’t setup an automatic trans and expect it to function like a manual, and vice versa. The same is true if the golf swing. Your posture and grip must setup the body to function with the form you expect in your swing. There is one simpler way to swing the automatic way and a great many variations on how to swing a golf club manually. Better athletes can make a manual swing look easy, though it has more to coordinate. You just have to make sure your setup matches your intended swing style and practice to learn what you can do with each different club. I teach by relating golf simply to something you already know and understand. Then I coach to bring out the best in a players training efforts and play on the course.
