Boosting Client Progress & Balancing Life: My Golf Coaching Model

Why I Transitioned to a Year-Long Golf Coaching Program

For years, I offered golf lessons as one-off sessions or short series of three-lesson packs. But over time, I realized these approaches weren’t effective at driving the meaningful improvement my clients wanted. Two years ago, I made the transition to year-long coaching programs exclusively, which has not only helped my students grow but has also improved my own work-life balance and business structure. Here’s a breakdown of the three main reasons I made this shift.

1. Player Progress: Accountability and Structure Are Key

When I began my coaching career, I noticed a pattern, especially among my adult clients. Every season, there was this New Year’s Resolution mindset—a sense of “This is the year I’ll work on my game!” Adults would sign up for weekly lessons with the best of intentions. Yet, more often than not, attendance would fall off; players would show up for 7-11 lessons across the whole season, rather than the committed weekly practice they had envisioned.

This drop-off wasn’t due to a lack of enthusiasm but rather a lack of accountability. Life happens, from busy work schedules and vacations to bad weather. A few sporadic lessons just weren’t enough to see real improvement. To make an impact, I realized that clients needed a more consistent structure and accountability, which a year-long program could provide.

On the junior side, things were different but no less challenging. Junior golfers, especially those aspiring to collegiate or competitive levels, require much more than a series of lessons. They need practice time, on-course experience, nutrition guidance, peer interaction, and often competitive experience. To help them progress in all these areas, a one-off lesson model simply wasn’t enough. It required a well-rounded approach, more resources, and time to nurture a pathway to becoming high-level players.

In response, I created coaching models that provided that structure. Adult players gained the opportunity to get consistent coaching all year long, while juniors were given a structured development path that covered all aspects of their growth, both on and off the course.

2. Business Efficiency: Maximizing Time and Income

The shift to a year-long coaching model wasn’t just about improving outcomes for clients—it was also about making the most efficient use of my time and resources. When I started, I took a hard look at my schedule and mapped out the whole year. After factoring in holidays, club events, and personal commitments, I determined that I had about 40 solid weeks for coaching. Within those 40 weeks, I committed to a sustainable pace of around 12 coaching hours per week, leading to a total of roughly 480 hours a year.

I then decided to pre-sell half of those hours as part of year-long programs, booking about 240 hours in advance. This setup provided a reliable source of income, while the other 240 hours remained flexible for package sales or new clients. For adults, my year-long programs offered 24 hours annually, with 20 hours of instruction and two 9-hole rounds. For juniors, I created two tracks: a development program and a performance program, with the latter including individual lessons, group sessions, and on-course practice rounds.

Tracking hours in this way allowed me to manage my time and finances efficiently, and it allowed clients to feel invested in a program where they were sure to see growth.

3. Personal Balance: Protecting Time for Family and Myself

The third reason I made this shift was to carve out time for myself and my family. Coaching, while still working at a club, can easily take over your life if you’re not careful. I feel many coaches don’t approach their career with a business-minded structure, but I quickly learned the importance of setting boundaries. By establishing a 12-hour work week and clearly defining operating hours, I could manage my work-life balance effectively. This not only improved my quality of life but also allowed me to communicate my availability with clients and maintain clear expectations.

With this system in place, I was able to protect my personal and family time, allowing me to enjoy the game myself while helping others improve. The result was a healthier balance between work and home, which, in turn, made me a better coach.

Transitioning to year-long programs was a decision driven by my desire to see players improve consistently, to manage my time and income effectively, and to strike a balance between my career and personal life. The approach has proven to be more rewarding for my clients and for me. It’s a model I believe can benefit other coaches looking to help players reach their potential and grow their own practice in a sustainable way.