Sean Foley Article in Golf World

[mvmac]

Interesting look at the guy that is Tiger Wood's swing instructor.  Foley is a quirky, smart, sometimes controversial guy that has done very well for himself.   What really stood out when I watched him on on the range at Olympic this year was the connection he has with each of his students.  Foley also employs different communication styles, with Hunter Mahan and Stephen Ames he's more hands on and with Tiger and Justin Rose he'll tend to sit back and listen, waiting for the right opportunity to respond and share his input.

Read the full article HERE

Quote:

Both brothers attended university in the U.S. Tennessee State, a predominately black school in Nashville, was the only college to offer Sean a full golf scholarship, and he took it. As a player, Foley had a problem taking his game from the practice tee to the course though, in reality, the practice tee was where he wanted to be all along. "Sean always told us when we were sitting around that this is what he was going to do," says Kevin Gunter, a teammate and roommate at TSU. Gunter says Foley kept a black garbage bag in his room filled with clippings of instruction articles. "They would date back 15 years," says Gunter. "His goal was to be one of the top golf instructors in the world."

Being a self-described short kid (5-foot-7) with cystic acne, Canadian and on a golf scholarship at a black university wasn't an ideal prescription for social integration. "You don't feel accepted," he says. "You feel like you have to prove yourself. Tennessee State, I could not have learned more at Harvard about those necessary things in life. You have to be who you are, be exactly that way, be a good person, be compassionate, be empathetic and just keep doing that. People were insanely cruel."

Foley fought depression. He figured out how to open the lock to the roof of his dormitory, Boyd Hall, and would sit there by himself, "like, eight stories up, and kind of philosophically get my head around it," he says. He came out of Tennessee State with a large debt ($56,800 Canadian) accumulated from the cost of summer school classes (to stay eligible), the expense of too much fun (including a taste for recreational marijuana expressed, in part, by the Rastafarian symbol tattooed on his upper right arm), and an internship at the John Jacobs Schools

[Beachcomber]

Great read.  Thanks for sharing.  I think it's funny to hear how Mahan talks about Tigers swing pre-Foley.  I'm kind of surprised that he is that brutally honest about what he thinks to the media.  Even if he thinks it... I'm surprised he said it.

[JetFan1983]

Fun read. Thanks for the link, Mike.

[Beachcomber]

Also, am I the only one who finds it humorous that Foley has 'KOK' tattooed on his shoulder?

[Evolved]

He's obviously a very good teacher but he also has quite a few check marks on the "douche" list.

White belt, hat pulled down to his eyebrows, gelled up swirl hair when not wearing a hat and Asian tattoos. It's like he goes out of his was to hit every corny "trend".

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by Evolved

He's obviously a very good teacher but he also has quite a few check marks on the "douche" list.

White belt, hat pulled down to his eyebrows, gelled up swirl hair when not wearing a hat and Asian tattoos. It's like he goes out of his was to hit every corny "trend".

This post made me laugh.  While I agree to a point... I don't care how anyone looks.  If they are successful at their craft... I'll listen.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

Fun read. Thanks for the link, Mike.

Thank Erik, he posted it on facebook first :-)

Originally Posted by Evolved

White belt, hat pulled down to his eyebrows, gelled up swirl hair when not wearing a hat and Asian tattoos. It's like he goes out of his was to hit every corny "trend".

Better than Leadbetter's straw hats and pants hiked up to his belly button lol

[RonTheSavage]

Originally Posted by Evolved

He's obviously a very good teacher but he also has quite a few check marks on the "douche" list.

White belt, hat pulled down to his eyebrows, gelled up swirl hair when not wearing a hat and Asian tattoos. It's like he goes out of his was to hit every corny "trend".

So we're judging people on the way they look? And how are we supposed to grow the game again?????? He has gel in his hair and a white belt he's a problem. Who Cares????

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Also, am I the only one who finds it humorous that Foley has 'KOK' tattooed on his shoulder?

Foley has three tattoos on his upper left arm: a K, a Q and another K. The first K is for Kate. The Q, for his oldest son Quinn, surrounds a Chinese character that means perspective. He got that when he was an instructor at Glen Abbey GC after doing a golf clinic with pediatric cancer patients all of whom were terminal. The other K, for Kieran, surrounds a character that means courage.

Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2012-07/gwar-sean-foley-feature#ixzz20uJXDjmo

[Bo the Golfer]

Thanks for the link Mike. Great article. I would also like Foley to give credit where credit is due but you can't deny his students hit the ball well!

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by dsc123

Foley has three tattoos on his upper left arm: a K, a Q and another K. The first K is for Kate. The Q, for his oldest son Quinn, surrounds a Chinese character that means perspective. He got that when he was an instructor at Glen Abbey GC after doing a golf clinic with pediatric cancer patients all of whom were terminal. The other K, for Kieran, surrounds a character that means courage.

Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2012-07/gwar-sean-foley-feature#ixzz20uJXDjmo

Yeah I read the article... But missed the Q.  When I went back to this thread and saw the tat - it looked like KOK... Not KQK.  haaha  I guess it isn't as bad... But.