Ep 231 - Matt Ballard: I Got Into Golf Coaching Backwards

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Matt Ballard's journey into golf coaching was anything but conventional.

A former touring professional himself, Matt actually began coaching Tour players while he was still trying to make it as a player — including one week at the WA Open when he realised he'd booked six or seven putting lessons for other professionals before he'd even prepared for his own tournament.

That moment helped set him on a completely different path.

In this episode, Matt joins the Your Golf Performance Podcast to discuss his playing career, how he got into coaching "backwards", and the lessons he's learned working with some of the best players in the game.

We talk about his early fascination with putting, what he learned from Greg Chalmers when he was one of the world's best putters, and how Matt eventually found himself coaching Adam Scott's short game.

Matt shares some brilliant stories from his time with Adam — including initially having to turn down the opportunity to coach him, a difficult conversation at TPC Sawgrass, and a reconnaissance trip alongside Adam and legendary caddie Steve Williams that changed the way Matt viewed tournament preparation.

We also dive into Matt's time as Singapore National Coach, what he implemented within their high-performance program to help Singapore become more internationally competitive, and the lessons he later took into his work with Golf Australia.

Finally, we discuss how Matt's coaching has evolved from being heavily technical to focusing on three key areas: technique, skill development and pressure training — and why improving technique means very little if a golfer can't transfer it to the course.

A fascinating conversation about playing, coaching, high performance and what actually helps golfers get better.

As mentioned in the episode I do offer training programs to help you get better at your practice outside of your lessons with your coach!

email me for more information info@yourgolfperformance.com