Golf 360

Suzy Whaley (T: @suzywhaley, I: mammawhales, FB: @suzypgapresident) has been successful at everything she's ever done. In additional to being the President of the PGA of America (and the first female President ever!), she is also the current PGA Director of Instruction at the Country Club of Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida as well as the PGA Director of Instruction for Suzy Whaley Golf. Her career is long and distinguished. After playing for the University of North Carolina women's golf team she quickly moved on to become a member of the LPGA Tour in the early 1990's. When that didn't work out, she worked with the Jim Flick Golf Schools before becoming a Head Golf Professional at Blue Fox Run in Avon, Connecticut. She transitioned back into coaching & instruction and has received many awards along the way; 10x Golf Digest State Teacher of the Year, 2x Connecticut Teacher of the Year, LPGA Top 50 Instructor, Golf Digest Top 50, GOLF's 'Top 100 Coaches in America' plus many more.

During her career she somehow managed to juggle raising a family, run a golf business and still play competitively. In 2003 she played so well she qualified for the PGA Tour's Greater Hartford Open, becoming the first female to play in a PGA Tour event in more than 50 years. After that she maintained her fine play by winning numerous local, state, and regional events, competed in the 2002 & 2005 PGA Professional Championship's and to top it off, her and her husband, Bill, have raised two great girls that are both fantastic golfers.

How does she continue being so successful and where does she find the time to do it all? In this episode we discuss that, how she views herself as a role model being the first female officer and President of the PGA and a lot more.

Steve Wilmot is not only the Tournament Director of the RBC Heritage, presented by Boeing, but he's also one of the nicest people you will ever meet. In his 34 years of being involved in the Heritage Classic and the Heritage Classic Foundation, he has seen it all. In today's interview he discusses how important the community is to him and the tournament, the two times the tournament almost didn't happen, his 'team' style of management and a whole lot more. Mention his name to anyone in the Hilton Head area, the state of South Carolina or at PGA Tour headquarters and the first thing they will do is smile. It's a testament to him as a human being as well as his total dedication to the Heritage Classic and its Foundation.

Dr. Greg Haff is a Professor of Strength & Conditioning and is currently the course coordinator for the Masters of Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning) in the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. If his name sounds familiar it maybe because you have read his book 'Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training' 5th Edition written with the legendary Tudor Bompa. If you're lucky you may also have read one of his published articles and if you're really lucky you may have even attended one of his lectures. Why? Because he is one of the leading minds in this field and when Dr. Haff talks, many people listen. Haven't heard of him? That's ok too but if you are a trainer, an athlete or someone simply looking to improve your fitness and health, than today is your lucky day because Dr. Haff gives a ton of jaw dropping information in this discussion.

Preston Greene is not your average Strength & Conditioning Coach. While many teenagers were eager to improve their swing, squat, jump shot or bench press, Preston was studying how to get them to do that better. He began studying training at age 14 and has been helping athletes improve ever since. He has worked at some of the most prestigious universities in the country; Clemson, Stanford, University of Arizona, among others, all leading to his current position at University of Florida. Preston has helped countless athletes achieve success at the highest levels from collegiate championships all the way up to the professionals (NHL and NBA) and Olympic ranks. Not only does he hold a degree in health science, but he has a Masters in applied kinesiology and sports management. Preston also holds numerous certifications and memberships including the National Strength & Conditioning Assoc. (NCSA), he has a performance enhancement specialist certification from the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) and one of the most impressive, he is 1 of 16 Internationally Certified PICP (Poliquin Int'l Certification Program) Level 5 Coaches (see the 'Show Notes' for a description of this certification). The PICP Level 5 is from his mentor and legendary coach Charles Poliquin's Group Education.

Preston and I have an amazing discussion that revolves around his start in the field at an early age, his apprenticeship under Coach Poliquin and what he's learned from a lifetime spent in his field. Not only do we discuss sport specific training, but we also get into discussing nutrition and supplements and how in todays nutrient depleted world they are musts if one is perform at the highest levels successfully.

This was an awesome interview and Preston made time on 3 separate occasions so we could get it done. He gives a lot of great insight into the world of training and what everyone can do to improve.

Martin Chuck (Twitter: @tourstriker, Instagram: tourstrikergolf, Facebook: @TourStriker) is the Founder of Tour Striker Training Products and Golf Academy. Martin is a Top 100 Coach that began his career under the tutelage of golf legends George Knudsen and Moe Norman.

Martin has worked to help improve the games of golfers of every type; from beginner to major champions and everyone in between. His line of golf training aids under the banner 'Tour Striker' and have been used by players at every level to improve their game. You may have seen them on the Golf Channel or in some of Martin's videos for Revolution Golf.

In addition to his coaching, he also has the Tour Striker Academy, located at the Raven Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona. When taking time off in the summer months Martin takes the Tour Striker Academy on the road to help golfers around the world improve their games.

Michael Carroll (Twitter: @Fit_For_Golf, Instagram: fit_for_golf, Facebook: @fitforgolf18) is a Strength & Conditioning Coach from Cork, Ireland who now practices and resides in Irvine, California. He has honors degrees in Sports and Exercise Science, is a TPI Level 3 instructor, and is an accredited Strength & Conditioning coach with the UK Strength & Conditioning Association. Simply put he makes people better at golf.

Michael uses what he refers to as the 5 pillars: 1) motor control, 2) mobility/flexibility, 3) stability, 4) strength, and 5) power to ensure his students bodies are ready to handle the stresses put on it by playing golf. He's worked with golfers of all levels, from beginners to professionals, to ensure their bodies will allow them to perform to their maximum.

In today's show we talk about all these things and how you can utilize them through Michaels 'Fit for Golf App online. We get into golf specific training, what you should stay away from, and what everyone is looking for 'How to gain more distance through training in the gym.'

Andrew Rice (TW - @andrewricegolf, FB- @andrewricegolf, IG – andrewricegolf) has been teaching and coaching golfers of all levels for 25 years. Andrew is a Revolution Golf Staff Instructor, a TrackMan Master, and one of nine Trackman University Partners in the world. He is also a Swing Catalyst Ambassador. Andrew started his teaching and coaching career in the 1990's with the world-famous Leadbetter Academy in Florida. In the late 1990's he moved on to become the Director of Instruction at Berkeley Hall in Bluffton, South Carolina. From there he moved to his current position as Director of Instruction at The Golf Club at Savannah Harbour, at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. In 2017, Andrew was named to Golf Digest's Top 50 Teachers in America and Golf Magazine Top 100 Instructors. In his spare time, Andrew has written an on-line book 'It's All About Impact' and has produced three videos and DVD's - 'The Wedge Project', 'The Complete Project' and 'The Off-Season Project'.

Dan Hellman (Twitter - @DanHellman1, FB – H3 by Dan Hellman, IG – h3bydanhellman) is the owner of H3 by Dan Hellman; a.k.a. Hellman Holistic Health, and one of the best physical therapists/health and fitness professionals on the planet. He has helped some of the best golfers in the world recover from injury, get back to playing at a world class level and make sure they don't injure themselves again. His 'toolbox' of disciplines is out of this world and in 2017 he was recognized by 'Golf Fitness' Magazine as one of the '50 Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America'.

Before establishing H3, he practiced physical therapy in several outpatient orthopedic centers specializing in sports medicine and spine rehabilitation. Dan is a past senior faculty member of the prestigious C.H.E.K Institute, which educates fitness and healthcare professionals in a uniquely integrated and holistic approach to health, fitness and well-being. He has traveled North America and the world teaching personal trainers, physical therapists, chiropractors and osteopaths the C.H.E.K philosophy.

Trained in both traditional and manual physical therapy, Dan has also studied extensively under pioneering French osteopath Guy VOYER and is qualified to teach VOYER's Soma method. Soma stresses that training — whether for performance, rehabilitation or maintenance—must begin with an understanding of how the entire body moves and does its work.

Last but certainly not least, Dan is an instructor with the well-known TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) and created an on-line program where he walks you through exercises and workouts that will create maximum performance both on and off the course

Dan is an avid golfer, and he combined his love of the sport with his in-depth understanding of the human body's limits and potential to create Golf Body Pro. This program helps golfers at all levels play better by conditioning the body for the demands of the golf swing or adapting to physical limitations that may affect the swing. He has worked with golfers from youth level to the top players on the PGA Tour.

Today's guest is Putting Theorist, Geoff Mangum. If you're wondering why he's a 'Theorist' and not a coach or instructor, you will find out during the interview. If you haven't heard of Geoff I wouldn't be surprised if you struggle with your putting because Geoff is probably the most knowledgeable person on the planet when it comes to putting, green reading or anything associated with both. Geoff is also the author of the book 'Optimal Putting: Brain Science, Instincts, and the Four Skills of Putting.'

Over 20 years ago he was an attorney and he used the principles of preparing for a case in court, where you research, read and learn everything you can about a topic before presenting that info to the jury or judge on behalf of your client in order to win the case. Geoff has researched and read about everything and anything written on putting from stroke mechanics, physics, eyes, putters and their design, greens and grass, golf balls you name it. Probably the most impressive and where he and I connected, the neuroscience of putting.

Part of what makes him so knowledgeable is he turns over every stone to continue his learning. Whether it's a new putter, training device, way of reading greens, stroke theory or something else he will study it to the end. This is probably where he has rubbed the establishment the wrong way in that he has challenged the 'old' way of teaching putting and some are really put off by his presentation and/or methods or the way he goes about it. Even though he's really trying to help.

There is one thing for certain…he knows putting. Whether you like him or loathe him you cannot deny his knowledge and because of that, he has my utmost respect.

There was so much information we tried to pack into today's show and we only scratched the surface. I'm sure Geoff will have to come back so we can dive deeper into putting. Today was the starting point and I trust you enjoy our conversation.

All right all you hackers, today is one of the coolest interviews I've done, and it is with my good friend, James 'Bubba' Kroeger. One of the reasons this is so cool is because Bubba has had arguably two of the best jobs you could ever want in the golf business. His first one was in Titleist golf ball R&D where he would go up and down the East Coast, gather a lot of research on Titleist golf balls with amateurs, club pros, and tour pros, take that back to the engineers at Titleist so they would know what needed to be modified to optimize a golf ball; dimple depth, dimple pattern, outer core material and so on. He was also a club fitter for Titleist where he got to work with and fit some of the top amateur's in the game, Titleist staff club pros and Titleist PGA Touring staff pros at the Titleist home facility in Massachusetts. From there he went on to become Manager of Foot Field Marketing, where he is primarily focused on managing Foot Joy's amateur promotions program at the same time overseeing Foot Joys infield fitting and consumer marketing initiatives. That may sound like a lot of big words, but it really means he is the Foot Joy Amateur Rep. In this position he goes to a lot of the top amateur golf tournaments, and junior tournament's around the country, and works with some kids who really like playing the Foot Joy and Titleist products. Today's interview is packed with a lot of information on golf balls, club fitting, amateur golf and if by the end of this interview you don't think that Bubba is one of the best guys in the game and has had some of the best jobs in the game, than you might have listened to the wrong interview.