Meet WPGA Committee Member Alison Nicholas

14/08/2023

This year two-time Solheim Cup captain and former US Open winner Alison Nicholas joined the WPGA committee along with Adrienne Engleman. We caught up with Alison on her coaching journey and what she hopes to bring to the position.

How did you joining the committee come about?

A couple of people were due to come off the committee and I was asked if I would like to join. I’ve been a PGA Professional for a long period of time and I hadn’t given anything back from that point of view so I thought that I would give it a go.

I’ve been involved in two meetings so far and I’m there to make suggestions and to help move things forward in terms of playing opportunities and for more girls to participate in every aspect of the industry. We can’t just do this on our own but we can help to get girls known out there, whether in retail, coaching or playing. It’s a bit of a man’s world sometimes but you have to keep plugging away, things have moved forward in recent years but we have to keep doing things a bit better.

When did you qualify as a PGA Professional?

I actually did it in 2009 while I was the Solheim Cup captain. I was wondering whether I could finish it but I did manage it so I have been a Pro for years. I felt that it was important to get into coaching and that this would be the best path to do that and it covered everything.

For me personally I didn’t want to get involved in something like retail but, if you did, that’s something that you need to learn. Overall I just thought that it was a good idea and these days I now coach at Redditch GC in Worcestershire.

What is your style of coaching?

I’m definitely not someone who thinks that you have to swing it one way. It’s more how a person moves and what they’re able to do. I try and tailor my lessons to the pupil as we’re all different - some clients want every single detail, some do it by feel and some just want a drill. Not everyone is the same so you have to help them in the best way that you can to help them improve. A lot of people take up the game when they’re older and that’s quite a challenge as they can’t move as effectively as a young person.

Who have been your influences?

I was taught by a guy called Richard Bennett who was from Sheffield. He helped me know how I swung the club and why I hit certain poor shots so I could put it right. When I was playing Lawrence Farmer was my coach and he really taught me lots.

These days I follow all sorts of people on social media like Dana Dahlquist, George Gankas and Sean Foley. You have to be careful as anyone on social media will only post the good stuff, they don’t post the difficult lessons! Michael Beaumont has helped me over the past 10 years and I’ve worked closely with him as well as him having a look at my swing.

How else have you added to your coaching repertoire?

I’ve done a Level 3 sports massage therapy qualification so I know a bit about the body now and how it moves and I use the Sportsbox AI 3D app which measures body motion. You can overload with information and get too technically minded as, at the end of the day, you have to hit the shots under pressure and I think that it does help that I’ve come from a playing perspective and the mental aspect is huge. Planning your way round a course with your strengths and weaknesses is a key aspect as well.

When I played I didn’t think of anything too technical. I would think of set-up and ball position but not too much else other than my pre-shot routine and course management. You can’t think of loads of things when you’re playing, you’re trying to hit the shot that you see.