Nick’s journey began with a summer golf membership in 1992 and quickly flourished into an NCAA scholarship which included 2 team wins and an individual national championship by 2000. After many years of membership at most of Ottawa, Canada’s finest private golf clubs, he turned professional in 2004, won the zone playability test, and moved to Toronto to join the Academy at Glen Abbey Golf Club to work closely with Sean Foley.
Since joining the Canadian PGA in 2004, Nick earned the title of Class ‘A’ professional and CNC Trained Golf Coach, the highest education provided by the Canadian PGA. He has been featured in Score Golf Magazine, Golf Scene, the A-Position, the AJGA Insider, and GothamGolfBlog. Today, Nick has advanced his training with fitness certifications with Can-Fit-Pro and Titleist Performance Institute, golf’s leader in physical fitness and performance. He is certified with Nesta Biomechanics and 3D movement analysis with Kvest and Zenolink which has allowed him to tune in effective body movements. From the mental perspective, he is a trained NLP Practitioner (neurolinguistic programming), a GolfPsych performance coach, and worked under Dr. Bill Meyer’s Unlocking Potential golf development program. Nick’s been fortunate to help prepare and coach 3 junior Team Canada camps, a Trinidad and Tobago junior Team, and a junior elite Team from the Mexican Golf Federation. As a self proclaimed swing engineer, Nick evaluates the golf swing in terms of 2 extremes and a center, where players can train toward this middle ground without complete overhauls.
Nick has been fortunate to work closely with some of the world’s best coaches, including Gary Gilchrist, Andy Plummer, and Mark Evershed where the theories and models couldn’t be further from one another, giving Nick more tools to work with what the player brings to the course. Some of Nick’s players have played competitive junior golf and at a professional level, but most are looking to become more consistent for their weekly round. Nick quotes “A golfer’s swing can’t change from day to day but their thoughts and attitude can.”
There are 2 programs in which Nick has founded which he is most proud of – the Muskoka Woods Golf Academy and the Golf Programme at St. Mildred’s Lightbourn School, in Oakville, ON. Both Muskoka Woods and SMLS offer nurturing curriculums where it’s always evident that their efforts are driven by the kids and for the kids. Nick has a passion to help junior golfers play to their ability and give them the help they need to compete, which was articled in the October 2010 Issue so the AJGA Insider, junior golf’s competitive leader in North America. He actively shares his golf ideas online through social media avenues to help players create a better idea of their game. This has lead to providing online golf lessons and video tutorials, where players from all over the world can email a video link and have a full review and lesson in 24 hours. You can follow his blog, vlog, and commentary online with Twitter, Facebook, and CanadianGolfer.com
