Shamrocks and Shanks

In this episode I got to chat with Justin Parsons who is one of the premier coaches in world golf. Justin, originally from Northern Ireland, is an elite golf instructor at the impressive Sea Island Resort in Georgia. Over the past few years has worked with many top PGA tour players including Louis Oosthuizen, Davis Love 111, Patton Kizzire, Brian Harman, Gary Woodland as well as working with many elite college and amateur players. 

In this episode Justin brings us through some help for the club golfers in terms of the process of improvement…. So looking and assessing before we blindly hit the range. 

We chat about technology and its role for the everyday player as well as an example of what a week of practice would like for a Tour Player.

On the coaches section we discuss the influence by the Harmon family on his career and the lesson he learned through those relationships. We also discuss his work with TPI, or the Titleist Performance Institute and how combining that knowledge assists with his assessment of players everyday. 

We move on to some of Justin’s preference in swings, his thoughts on early movement of the ball dynamics and his excitement for exploring the subject of neuro training as we move into 2023 and we also get the opportunity to get him to part with some valuable advice for all coaches out there looking to improve their skills. 

Support the show

In this episode I chat with Dave Phillips who is the co founder of the Titleist Performance Institute(TPI) which is the world's leading educational organization dedicated to the study of how the human body functions in relation to the golf swing . 

A golf digest top 50 coach Dave has learned alongside some of the smartest in golf including David Leadbetter, Mac O’Grady , Ramsey McMaster and through the years has worked with some of the best players in the world like Tom Kite, Hal Sutton, Brad Faxon and currently works with numerous Tour players including Major winner John Rahm.  

For the club golfer we chat about the everyday physical challenges that you may face, why knowing what your body can and cant do is so important before you work on your swing, how to divide your learning time between the body training and the golf training and even a little chat about putting and how it can be influenced by how we move.

From a coaching perspective we discuss Dave’s influences, his swing philosophy, the work he and john Rahm have done and his relationship with Phil Mickelson and the current LIV golf situation. Lastly we discuss his business ventures with For Wellness and his ever growing passion for coffee. 

07:00 - TPI - The ethos and how it helps club golfers and coaches.
13:10 - The difference between gym fit and golf fit.
17:00 - Special Offer for Shanks and Shamrocks listeners
19:00 - Learning balance between physical and swing work. 
22:45 - Creating speed for the older golfer.
25:35 - Influence of TPI on putting.
34:00 - Dave's career influences( Leadbetter, Mac O'Grady, Butch Harmon, Bob Toski)
49:10 - Dave's swing philosophy.
55:30 - Work and relationship with Jon Rahm
65:30 - Phil Mickelson and LIV
74:00 - Mickelson and what made the player.
78:00 - Brain Training in golf and its advantages.
83:20 - For Wellness - the company, the passion and the learning. 
83:30 - For Wellness and The Good Stuff Coffee

DISCOUNT CODE : smgforwellness
WEBSITE: www.forwellness.com
Dave Phillips
Instagram : @tpidave
Twitter : @mytpidave
TPI : www.mytpi.com
For Wellness : www.forwellness.com

Support the show

In this episode I got to chat with George Gankas who my mind is one of the top coaches of our generation. I don’t think anyone has moved the needle more in how golf coaching is delivered all the while backing it up with an in depth understanding of human movement and golf dynamics. His ability to create distance for players across the board has made him a guru of sorts and numerous tour pros and elite amateurs throughout the years, including Sung Kang, Matt Wolff, Adam Scott, Padraig Harrington and many more have sought him out. 

For this podcast we were a little time poor so the conversation moves and develops along some changing lines for the 35 odd minutes. We discuss briefly George’s work and thoughts on the mental game, having awareness or flow and how developing those skills has helped him assist his players through their own struggles on the course. We chat briefly about his ever-growing training aid collection and website and the challenge of creating an program that would reflect his patterns and techniques accurately. There is some talk about golf terminology and Butch Harmon as well as what he feels should be a priority in Golf Coach learning

… All in all this was a really fun and very interesting conversation with one of the worlds best golf coaches..

Lastly, I hope for everyone listening to this to someday get the opportunity to meet George. When in his company you get to see a person who truly loves what they do and genuinely cares for all those who come in contact with him. Too often we see people with immense talent in a discipline nearly use it to distance themselves from the also rans and George is the complete opposite…. As I mention in the podcast I believe as talented as he is in swing, his true skills lie in how he treats other and the example he sets.

Website: www. georgeganks.golf
Training Aids: www.gankassports.com

Support the show

In this episode I got to chat with John Dunigan who is one of the elite coaches at combining motor control and learning with the technical aspect of golf coaching. John has worked with numerous PGA tour players as well as creating one of the best Junior programs in North America. He is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, a Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher and has won the Philadelphia PGA Section's Teacher of the Year Award 4 times. 

For this podcast you get treated to an insight not too often seen where there is encouragement to experiment and not just learn but simply experience different types of awareness with the club. In my opinion John has many skills but perhaps the greatest skill of all is his ability to translate and transfer to his pupils how to hit a golf ball in the simplest form. 

 We discuss a few training drills that he likes to use for everyone from club golfers to tour pros and discover more about putting and the book John wrote that creates a path for putting improvement through skill development rather than technical perfection. 

When we moved to the coaching section we go to chat about  the standard junior golfers set for themselves, is hands on coaching removing the learning for the golfer?, his work with Sean O’Hair and what all coaches could learn from their first range session together and lastly we discuss the Skilled Coaching Alliance which together with Dr. Will Wu John has created to help develop other coaches skills and create a community of learning….

It is very rare to tick all the boxes when it comes to being a complete golf coach and not just an instructor and John not only ticks these boxes but colors them in with his intelligent, personality and passion for the coaching the game we love,…

Support the show

Our guest for this episode is Rob Failes who is the Player Development Leader at the mightily impressive Boars Head Golf Resort in Charlottesville Virginia. As well as been a bachelor of science graduate from Clemson University Rob has been nominated by Golf Digest as a Top 50 teacher in state as well as numerous other accolades in his career to date. What makes Rob stand out to me as a coach off note and one to follow is not only his constant strive to see differing perspectives and relentless pursuit of information but the goal of transferring that learning and knowledge into easy-to-understand delivery methods for his students. 

As his title would suggest his intent is Player Development and all roads lead to that one goal. From day one that I met Rob he has shown a tenacity to not only look under the hood but to strip it all down and try to rebuild it so he really understood how it all works… 

Similar to all aspects of life The golf coaching landscape is ever changing and developing and the view of the future is one of more understanding, understanding of learning methods, understanding of communication methods and definitively understanding of our players….Rob Failes is one of the coaches leading that expedition….
Guest Instagram : @robfailesgolf

Support the show

In this episode I got to chat with Dana Dahlquist who is one of the top coaches in world golf. As well as working with many elite amateur, college and tour players Dana is constantly evolving his golf coaching style and skills and the result is a team of some of the best movers in the game.

We chat about one of Danas students Beau Hossler and his return to form on the PGA tour, speed creation and the new program, the 150 mph blueprint, that Dana is involved in, how a club golfer can swing it right by, well, swinging it right and we discuss how maybe some perceptions about the legendary Mac O’Grady may have been a bit of the mark

There is recognizably more of a technical vibe to this podcast than previous ones and throughout Dana regularly delves into his own experiences in order to present advice for other coaches looking to learn. In a business that at times and in places can be known for being somewhat secretive with the formula for success Dana is the opposite  and what comes across in this podcast is his genuine desire to help, progress and encourage others while remaining humble despite his obvious success…. 

In the immortal words of one Yoda “You will only find what you bring in” and from my perspective Dana Dahlquist is a coach that consistently looks to bring in further knowledge, curiosity and passion in abundance…in my opinion we would all do well to follow suit…

Support the show

So on this weeks show we have Baden Schaff. Now Baden may not be a household name but the platform he has created, Skillest Golf, is the #1 online golf lessons platform in the world and is changing the face of golf coaching. 

We chat about Baden’s early years in growing his love for golf and how from an early age he would have that inquisitive personality that all great coaches’ posses. This inquisitive nature led Baden to work with one of the leading coaches in Australian golf , Gary Edwin and with Gary Baden would mold his views on golf coaching and golf swing. 

The main discussion on this podcast is what was born just over 7 years ago when Baden created the Skillest platform which as I mentioned has now become the leading platform for online Golf instruction. We discuss the move towards this option of coaching and the reasons that so many golfers are now turning to this path of information whether that be cost, choice, convenience and or comfortability.  

We chat about current technology and how it is indeed narrowing the gap between in person and online and we also discuss the addition of Sean Foley as an ambassador to the platform and what Sean has brought to the process..

 At the end of the day we are all learning and that’s exactly what is on the tin with this episode. It is an honest look at online coaching through the eyes of the man who created the platform and a coach who is seeing the benefits for both the game and the students. It is a clarification on what you might think online coaching to be an d what exactly is involved in the process. If you ever wanted to get information about the online coaching from the horses mouth well you have chosen the perfect spot to listen to 

Support the show

My guest this week is Scott Cowx, one of the smartest people in world golf instruction and indeed in golf coach education. 

Scott has long been associated with dissecting a golf swing pattern into moving parts to illustrate their cause and effect and then putting it all back together again akin to how a top mechanic might reconstruct an engine. His stable of players if full of carefully orchestrated and labelled clubface deliveries similar to the presentations and research he so clinically delivers in education seminars and his own education programs. 

Now the information comes thick and fast early on in this podcast. From Scotts very first answer you get an insight into how he sees the golf swing and the meshing of biomechanics and club movement with some sneak mentions of future projects…Scott delphs into his early years of finding his educational path and discusses his affinity for creating nuanced drills, like spoon and hell, that lead his players to differing movement patterns. 

In the second half of the Podcast Scott discusses his influence from the legend Mac O' Grady and how macs work and others was similar to standing on shoulders of giants in allowing him to explore and build on the work they created..

We talk about hackmotion and how he creates the presentations that blow all our minds and lastly we get chatting about the Cowxcertified brand, its origin , the responsibility of education other coaches and what's in store for the future…

A friend , a mentor and an incredibly smart individual ….Scott Cowx

Support the show

In this episode I am joined by Dr. Mark Bull one of the premier bio mechanists in the golf world today. Dr. Bull is one of the most fascinating individuals to listen to as his perspective on learning delves deeply into a questioning of all that you have learned as a default since you started to play the game of golf.  His conciseness of the terminology we use is on display as he navigates through a lot of the areas that we are simply not performing or acting as we should to illicit improvement in our golf games with this in many cases originating from our miss understanding. 

There is discussion on 

• Movement of the body in terms of posture, trail arms and foot and ankle movements. 
• How we are chasing distance perhaps with to the detriment of responsibility.  
• Education and not certifications. 
• How do we really learn whether as a player or a coach. 
• Influences being external but also internal by holding yourself accountable.
• How we should all learn to breathe. 
• Stick with the Good stuff to maintain improvement. 

Support the show

A sit down and chat with Jason Sutton aka The Golf Guru who is truly one of the elite coaches and one of the smarted individuals in the game today. I really wanted to get Jason on the show as when you look at his experience and status in the game there are few who can match it.  Jason has amassed a huge following on his Podcast , The Golf Guru Show, where he interviews the top echelon of the golf game in terms of coaching and player development. 

Jason has a technical knowledge base to match anyone in the world but in this podcast, I wanted to put is knowledge on display about personal development, the attributes of being a top level coach and what is EQ and how it really needs to be on your radar. I think in these situations when talking with intelligent people we can go for the quick fix but I wanted to dive a bit deeper and get Jason’s thoughts on a number of different issues so sit with us and listen to Jason and although I cant guarantee you will be a better player or a better coach at the end of it I am pretty sure you will look at things a little differently by the end of it. 

Support the show