PGASOFEUROPE
The immediate feeling we get with both coach and player is that you are both attuned to what is expected of each other and that the dynamic is well established – how did this come about?
LS: I first got introduced to Charley as a nine-year-old. Dave, her father, brought her to me and said would I take a look at Charley’s golf swing. The first words she said to me aſter I asked her how I could help with her golf was ‘I want to be world number one.’ Even in those words you could see she absolutely meant it, and that was awesome for me as it meant she had that drive and determination – if you aim there from the start then it means you have a chance of achieving it.
CH:My friend Simon Lilly who Lee coaches told me to go and see him…and it worked out great – we properly got together within a couple of years and have been working well ever since. Before that I was swinging like ‘a monkey falling out of a tree,’ but now Lee has got me to where I am at the moment.
LS: We’re a bit lucky really because Charley would come to see me once or twice a year maximum up until the age of about 13 or 14-years old, and at 14 she came for a lesson and she was probably maybe six months away from destroying her career before she started. The move she was making was putting so much stress on her body and on her ankles that she could have almost finished her career before we even got going. We showed it to her on the video and talked her through it, got her to understand the biomechanics of what she was doing and what it could do to her body if she carried on.
How do you manage your partnership with Lee based at the club, and Charley out on tour?
LS: When Charley’s away on the Ladies European Tour she texts me a lot and sends me a lot of videos and we phone each other around once a day to speak.
CH:Then sometimes when I’m playing really well he texts me asking how I’m getting on. I don’t text back because I have a bit of an OCD type of thing…but then I eventually text him!
LS: I get worried when I don’t get a text. I get nervous and hope everything’s alright!
CH:Then when I’m back home for two weeks for example, I’ll probably try and see Lee twice or three times, and try and do a playing lesson and a swing lesson in the studio.
LS: What’s great is that Charley really wants to understand everything she’s doing. Her greatest asset is that she is a nosey little so-and-so and keeps asking why – but then she learns that stuff she can self-diagnose a lot of the time. So then it’s just an extra pair of eyes to say that she’s on the right lines. She is becoming a superstar and her golf swing is becoming closer to how we want it to be.
What is Lee like as a coach? What is his strongest asset in terms of coaching? And Lee, what’s Charley like as a pupil?
CH: I feel like Lee tells me the truth…but what’s brilliant as well is when I’m swinging it good, some coaches would probably want to say something, but he just says if I’m swinging it right, just keep on doing what you’re doing.
LS: To be honest, that’s great for me to hear those words because they’re exactly what I would have wanted to hear from my pupils – one, the attention to detail is important, but two, when you are getting it right then you must know when not to overplay things, not overkill it. Why are you trying to work on something when it’s right? And then if there is something that isn’t going right, don’t be afraid to say something…you’ve got to say something.
I’ve always felt that we’ve got a good enough relationship that if I feel I’ve got to tell her to change something that she’ll go ahead and change it.
But as a pupil, could you wish for somebody better?! She’s got so much class, so much talent, so much determination and she works like nobody I’ve ever met. Actually stopping her working sometimes is a bit of an issue – trying to get her to calm down, slow down and do everything better. I make sure she’s practicing better to improve, as she does get a little bit excited – tempo is our word…and class!
So what do you think the success in terms of your partner- ship together is?
CH: I don’t know really – he’s a funny guy, we get on and he’s easy to work with. He’s just like a friend to be
honest...and is good to work with.
LS: Charley’s got a long time to be in golf and a long life ahead of her so she has to enjoy her job, and if she’s finding it hard work then it will be hard work, so we’ve always tried to keep it very serious but also very light to make sure she enjoys every day she’s out here. She’s going to be out here for a long time, earning a lot of money so we’ve got to make sure she enjoys it on the way.
And the biggest thing he’s taught you Charley?
CH: I think being honest is the key thing – the gel that sticks everything together. Because you need to be honest with each other and that’s simple and straightforward.
LS: I think we’ve built up a good enough relationship where if one felt the other wasn’t pulling their weight or doing the work then I’m quite happy to tell Charley you’re working too fast, you’re not well enough, and she’s quite within her rights to say whatever she needs to, to me. We haven’t come across that yet which is great and we’re working great together and we’ve got her going places.
CH: I also didn’t really understand the golf swing, I never knew what the right lines were or what a good posture was. I just used to hit it, which is good for me to understand because I know where I’m going wrong. Tempo’s a big thing and holding my finish, but I’m not going to tell you anymore because you’re going to have to go and see him for a lesson…!
LS: And that’s why I like working with her!
www.pgae.com
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