GOLF PROFESSIONAL (SINCE 1999)

Currently living in Harrisonburg, VA - I have been a golf professional since 1999, helping recreational golfers improve and enjoy the game more, as well as turning good athletes into great golfers.  I am a son, brother, husband and father. I graduated from Penn State University with a major in Professional Golf Management and became a PGA Golf Professional.  I've been coaching through all of my years of experience as a golf professional, which includes being an Assistant Pro for 11 years, Head Pro for 5 years and Director of Instruction for 7 years.  In recent years, I was the Head Pro at Lexington G&CC (2014 - 2015), an Assistant Pro at Spotswood CC (2016 - 2017), and the Head Pro at Lakeview GC (2018).  I got out of the business for a few years, but found my way back to what I do best and love most, helping others with their golf game.  I'll continue to help a little bit each week at Lakeview GC with the carts/range, and otherwise be available for coaching full-time (Tuesday - Sunday).    

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I've always been a natural athlete, growing up playing all sports - but competing in soccer, baseball, and golf.  I was the captain of just about every team I've ever been on, and the team MVP quite a few times.  I have played golf professionally off and on since 2006, having been to the US Open Sectional qualifying twice.  I recently shot a 59 and a 60 at Lakeview GC in the fall of 2022, and currently play to a +7 HCP.  Being ambidextrous - I can play, teach, demonstrate and explain all golf swing styles to RH and LH athletes alike.  I have worked with golfers of all age groups, sexes, races and abilities - coaching Junior, Ladies and Men’s club champions, as well as High School state champions, collegiate players and professional golfers.

A little highlight about two local brothers who have been standout junior golfers.  I never had full-time availability at the time (you never do when running a golf course), but I began helping local junior golf standouts, Meade and Ryan Slonaker back in 2017 when I was a PGA golf professional at Spotswood CC. 

Meade dropped his handicap from a 12 to a 3 in just three short months of consistent training.  He kept getting better and went on to win the first state individual title in (EMHS) Eastern Mennonite High School history (2019) by shooting a 73.  In 2021, he was named the DIII (ODAC) Old Dominion Athletic Conference - Freshman of the Year for Hampden-Sydney College, finishing 12th individually in the season-ending conference championship, which his team won.  His team made it to the NCAA Division III National Championship that year and finished 2nd in the nation. 

Not spending as much time as I did with Meade, but still coaching him a bit through the years, I helped his younger brother Ryan Slonaker as well.  Their dad, Chris Slonaker, and I became friends as I helped him with his competitive game as well.  He serves as the coach to the EMHS golf team.  As Meade’s younger brother, Ryan, felt the pressure to follow in his big brother’s footsteps, but that didn't stop him from meeting and exceeding his own expectations.  At present, he has already surpassed Meade’s individual and team accomplishments at EMHS, as he is now a 2-time Individual State Champion, and a member of the first ever State Championship team at EMHS.  This young man truly has what it takes to go all the way to the PGA Tour.  As a Freshman for EMHS he shot 68 (-4) to win the 2021 (VISAA) Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III individual title.  That year the EMHS team finished in 2nd place with a (+17) 305.  In 2022, as a sophomore, Ryan repeated as the individual champion with a score of 69, as the team won EMHS’s very first VISAA State Golf Championship with a score of 312.  So just imagine what I can do to help your junior golfer grow now that I am available for full-time coaching.

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My understanding of the game will help you keep moving forwards towards reaching your potential as an athlete and a golfer.  If you need to get mechanical and analytical in order to understand the golf swing, we can do just that.  But thanks to my extensive sports knowledge and experience, I have learned to simplify the complicated and can relate the golf swing to just about anything in sports or life.  I most often talk about other sports motions that you personally can relate to, so that you can better understand your swing technique. 

My professional education has led me to understand how all golf swing styles work.  Form follows function, so each one requires a different setup position (posture and grip) in order to work the way it is intended to without feeling like you are jamming a square peg in a circular hole.  Be careful not to mix and match pieces of different setup puzzles and swing puzzles.  Get too much oil in your water and you won't even be able to force it to work.  I believe (from my professional education and personal experience successfully playing with all 3 swing styles over the years) that there are three basic swing styles that make the most sense.  All can work very well, but they are very different in how you setup to prepare for them and how you actually swing.  The more pieces you mix together, the harder it will be to hit the golf ball solidly and with distance control.

Imagine a see saw, perfectly balanced and sitting on top of the peak of the pyramid.  At the bottom of the pyramid is your alignment, in the middle is your posture and the top third is your grip.  Now imagine the see saw itself.  On it sits 3 different swing styles.  One on the far left, one on the far right and one in the middle.  I've come to realize that golf instruction is like politics, but my hope is that unlike politics we can all get along and respect each other's differing views, beliefs and understandings.  My concern (for you the golfer) in regards to golf instruction that is available these days is two-fold.  One, golfers who watch Youtube videos and anything they can get their hands on are often doing nothing more than mixing pieces of different swing puzzles and putting oil in their own water.  This is because, two, there are too many teachers and coaches who don't realize they are mixing pieces from different styles together, or frankly even look at it this way.

There is a style on the far left of golf instruction called "Stack and Tilt".  It is a 1-plane, 1-pivot swing style where you pivot solely over your front foot.  This can be easier for very immobile people, as I myself employed this style swing in 2011 when recovering from knee surgery.  I know it works because I won a US Open Local Qualifier with some of the best ball striking of my life.  It truly is brilliant science but it does not make as much athletic sense as what I believe is the most balanced athletic approach to playing the game. 

On the far right of the see saw sits the classic/traditional golf swing of old (that most of us learned some version of when we started playing golf - and many might still be using).  This is a 2-plane, 2-pivot swing style where you shift and pivot over your back foot in the backswing - before having to shift your lower body twice as far as any other swing style in the downswing, as well as the fact that you have to manually re-route your arms and the club shaft back onto the necessary "swing plane" by the time you reach impact.  There are more moving parts and your hands/arms/club shaft/clubface will rotate independently from the rest of the body throughout the swing.  In training, I can explain to you how the different body parts must move to make this work, or why it isn't working.  This style is athletically like swinging a baseball bat and requires perfect "timing".  Just like hitting a baseball you have to practice all varieties of this style swing a whole lot in order to keep your timing on point and your confidence high.  There are many different varieties of this style swing and ways to pull this off (like driving a stick shift).  The majority of golfers I have helped over the years were employing some variation of this style golf swing - before deciding to adjust to the following.

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Lastly, there is the golf swing style that sits right in the middle of the see saw, on top of the tip of the pyramid.  I believe this to be the most balanced approach to playing golf, for many reasons.  This is the swing style I personally have used for years now and has led to me reaching my potential as a golfer.  Over the years, many successful amateur and professional golfers have begun employing this swing style.  We can talk about who does this on tour.  It is a 1-plane, 2-pivot swing style.  All the body parts move in unison and everything is connected throughout the entire swing in a smooth athletic motion.  In the backswing, you pivot around your center and the length of the backswing "looks" shorter or 3/4 (but it's really a full windup).  The shoulders/arms/club shaft/clubface never leave the same "swing plane" throughout the entire swinging motion, so consistent contact is much easier to make.  There are less moving parts in this style swing and nothing moves independently from other body parts.  This is athletically simpler, like throwing a baseball and does not require complicated "timing".  Everyone can do this, as it is like throwing a ball, where you don't have to think when you do it and it doesn't require much practice to figure it out.  But just like throwing a ball, every golfer, athletically speaking is going to have a different limit as to how fast they can move their body and still have directional and distance control. There is 1 simple way to do this (like driving an automatic transmission car).  You make a simple setup adjustment in your full swing (as the club you are using gets longer) and you have the added benefit of truly being able to move your body the same way with every club (most people don't believe this is possible, but I assure you that it is).  Every golfer that I have helped adjust to this simpler athletic motion says it is easier, more effective and feels effortless.  It is healthier for your body and healthier for your game.

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It is your choice what you want to do as a golfer.  I look at it as though my job as a teacher is to educate you (on what you are doing and what your options are) so that you can make an educated decision for yourself.  Then whichever approach you choose, I'll coach you to reach your potential.  We all have to stop saying that another player or coach is "wrong".  There are different ways to swing a club, some easier than others.  Let others do what they do and stay committed to what you believe in.  The only thing that ends up being "wrong" with developing a golf swing is when we don't know what advice applies to what swing style and we start mixing oil and water.  That never ends well.  

In coaching, I believe in a balanced approach to long-term development as an athlete.  To me, this means being with you as you play, so I can be most effective in coaching your practice (with a purpose) - so that you improve your skills and learn to play the game with more confidence.   

Over my years as a golf professional running many courses, I have been a certified club fitter for various companies (Ping, Titleist and Callaway) so I can help you if you are looking to buy new clubs and you can order them through Lakeview Golf Club.  I am an Eyeline Golf Certified Putting Coach, a US Kids Golf Certified Coach, and have been trained by the American Development Model (approach to athletic development), PGA Sports Academy and The First Tee in past years.  I look forward to helping Lakeview Golf Club's (Director of Instruction) John Rogers with his junior golf programs in the coming years.

Please email, text or call me to set up a FREE 10-minute consultation today, to tell me your story and see how I can help.  After a 10-minute conversation, you'll know if I am the right person to help you improve your golf game.  My personal website, Facebook page and Instagram account are all the same name (teachin.golf).  I charge $1 per minute (10/30/60 min “practice”, 2-hours on-course “play”).  My coaching services and the cost can be shared by up to 3 people at a time.  I can be reached via email, via a text or phone call, on my Facebook page (where all schedule availability updates will be posted), or through the "Schedule a Lesson" form at the very bottom of the home page on this website.

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In our training, we can take videos of your golf swing and break it down step-by-step so that you can use it as a visual tool for learning.  You'll understand why people say "what you feel is not often real".  Your swing videos will serve to help us in many ways through your long-term development as a golfer.

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This website is intended as a resource for all golfers - especially my local students, so that they may have the opportunity to study up on what they'll be practicing (before each training session) and also review what they have learned afterwards.  This online learning resource will be under continual development for 2023 - with videos, pictures and text explaining each aspect of learning the game.  I look forward to helping all golfers with constant learning, enjoyment of the game and reaching their potential.

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Thanks for reading.  I hope you feel that I can help you have more fun, simplify this complex game and reach your goals.  Reach out anytime.

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