Sally Hinton – ‘My passion for coaching and developing women and girls in golf’

03/08/2023

Close House’s PGA Fellow Coach, Sally Hinton, discusses her specialism and passion for introducing and developing women and girls in golf.

Based at Close House just outside Newcastle, the passionate teaching specialist was recently awarded PGA Fellow Coach status as part of the PGA Excel programme.

Sally Hinton comes from a long line of PGA in the footsteps of her grandad, dad and uncle. She has become a force for good in the game in the north-east of England since she joined the Close House team in 2010, where she is now a Senior Teaching Professional.

Sally has become an Advanced PGA Professional and this year was awarded the prestigious PGA Fellow Coach status. She also coaches the Northumberland county girls’ academy and the county ladies’ veterans.

How did you begin your journey in the game?

My grandad, uncle and dad all inspired me to follow their career paths as PGA Pros – it really does run in the family. I remember my dad marking pen lines on the TV screen when he was watching a VHS tape of a lesson so he was quite forward thinking! Dad was a traditional club pro – he did coaching and was a retailer too, and it was great to live on the course so I could play before and after school. I never needed a lift to play golf.

My grandad got into golf by caddying as a schoolboy before becoming the assistant at Copt Heath. Later he was the pro at Enville for 35 years. I’ve been told that my swing is similar to my dad’s. Teaching-wise, one of the things that I’m big on is making sure beginners put the ball on the ground, rather than on a tee, and get the club down to the ground. That sounds basic but a lot of beginners hit a ball off a tee which makes it easier to begin with but harder in the long run.

What do you remember about your PGA training?

I started the course in 2007 and graduated in 2010 with a PGA Foundation degree. It was distance learning but I did the residential at The Belfry. We covered all aspects of the game and I particularly enjoyed the coaching side of it. Anyone who does coaching will appreciate how you really get to know someone. When you give a lesson you develop a rapport with people and it’s not just about the golf.

What new skills have been most beneficial in your teaching journey?

I had never seen a launch monitor before I started working at Close House, I immediately thought that this was the future of coaching and I dedicated a lot of time to understanding how to get the most out of it. I now have my TrackMan University Levels 1 and 2.

A lot of people can get baffled by launch monitors. The coach doesn’t necessarily need it but it enables them to show the player what they are doing. You can put a number on someone’s in-to-out swing or attack angle, it’s such a good way of communicating what is happening in the swing.

I will probably have only four or five numbers on show at one time to get the player to focus on the specific parts of their swing that we’re working on.

You were recently awarded PGA Fellow Coach status via the new Excel system. Can you describe the process?

You upload all your coaching, achievements and qualifications into the Excel system and the PGA has a team of expert markers who review it and award you from there.

I was hopeful but you’re always pleased to receive this type of recognition. I’ve made a real commitment to the women and girls’ side of the game, especially increasing participation numbers, and that’s what I’ve always highlighted.

What do you think that you are particularly good at?

I like to build a rapport with the player – not just in the coaching, but as people. Communication is a big part of it and you have to find out what the client wants to get out of each lesson. Then you have to understand whether they are visual learners or do you need to explain something verbally. With beginners, it really is getting them to enjoy golf. If that happens then they will be eager to come back. Next you can work on how to hit it further, straighter and then different shapes of shots but it has to be fun at first. Taking someone from hitting their very first shot to getting them out on the course and enjoying it – that is so rewarding.

What works best with coaching women beginners?

A lot of women’s coaching for beginners is group based so we don’t tend to use a lot of technology. However, most beginners are excited to see how far the ball’s gone, so we might look at some ball flight data but nothing overly technical. In groups, I tend to focus on the short game as that always works well especially with mixed ability groups.

We will have a coffee at the beginning or the end of the session or we’ll go to the range and play the short course and then have afternoon tea which is always a popular one. The social side is really important for recruiting and retaining women in golf.

How would you like to see the women’s game grown?

The big thing for women’s golf is visibility. For example, women’s football has experienced a huge increase in visibility. The women are on TV a lot and have become household names while, with women’s golf, you have to seek it out on Sky.

At grassroots level, PGA Pros keep making great strides. At Close House we recently had Women On Par and Girls Golf Rocks events to help get more women and girls into golf. We now have a female Assistant Professional, Emma, at Close House and two other female players I have coached are studying to become PGA Professionals.

What is your teaching style?

I strongly believe that there isn’t just one way to swing the club, you can do it many ways. I look at the ball flight and try to improve that. I won’t change anything for the sake of how it might look. There are a lot of different swings on TV but coming into impact is where things look very similar. I like to use technology but I also like to get the players away from the numbers too with some short game.

What is the secret of retaining clients?

I often send a report where the player can watch a video of their swing with some notes or a voiceover. When people leave a lesson I will make sure they understand what we worked on and why. If they are unclear, then they can always contact me. Or if they’ve done well or won a competition then I love to hear about that too.

What advice would you give to a coach starting out?

Listen – and make sure you know what the player’s goals are. Build a rapport and learn how best to communicate with them. As a coach I love to demonstrate and hit shots. If I play a shot and they then hit one, there is an immediate side-by-side video of their swing and my swing. On-course playing lessons are very underrated. They are a fantastic way to learn about a player’s strengths and weaknesses.