Tim O´Connor
Whether you are a novice just learning how to play, someone seeking more consistency, or an elite amateur or professional looking to break through, I love to empower golfers by:
- providing coaching in which people swing with freedom, confidence and a sense of mastery
- facilitating them in learning how to make solid contact
- share experiences that when golfers draw on their innate talent and play instinctively, they have more fun and play better
- freeing golfers from their tendency to self-interfere by focusing on technique
- creating a context where golfers can discover how capable they are when they stop fixating on mechanics
- fostering a sense of fun and creativity by shaping shots
- creating a learning environment that is free of judgment
- providing a context that allows golfers to develop a dependable short game
- lead golfers through experiences that allow them to overcome troubling patterns such as the yips and chronic misses
- exploring and building skills that enable people to learn how to be present, manage their emotions and thinking
- discover how resilient and capable they are in competition
- develop a sense of mastery, have great golf experiences and learn more about themselves
Through my work facilitating men for 20 years in the ManKind Project and my own research into psychology and mindfulness, as well as my own experiences as an obsessed golfer, I have developed a reputation as a performance coach and life coach, including coaching club golf professionals.
I owe a great debt to Fred Shoemaker, who is the greatest influence on my coaching. I have incorporated a number of practices and exercises that I learned from Fred and his Extraordinary Golf coaches into my coaching.
In the golf season, I’m available for private and playing lessons at Blue Springs Golf Club in Acton.
For more than eight years, I have co-hosted the Swing Thoughts podcast with (Humble) Howard Glassman, and delivered workshops and keynotes for golf clubs and businesses.
I conduct Quiet Mind Golf putting clinics at golf clubs, and I’m currently leading a six-month Quiet Mind Golf coaching program with Nate Robinson, PGA of Canada professional.
In the 80s, I was a music critic and interviewed David Bowie, Pink Floyd, U2, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Chrissie Hynde, Joe Strummer, Johnny Rotten and more for The Canadian Press news agency.
In the 90s, I travelled the world as a golf writer, covering major championships such as the Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and more and interviewed many of the world’s greatest players and coaches for CBC Radio, The Financial Post daily newspaper and magazines such as SCOREGolf, Golf World, LINKS and more.
I have written four golf books, including The Feeling of Greatness: The Moe Norman Story, the best-selling biography of the man considered the world’s greatest ball-striker and one of golf’s greatest stories. With Todd Graves, I co-authored The Single Plane Golf Swing: Play Better Golf the Moe Norman Way.
In 2020, I was honoured by Golf Ontario with the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award for “major contributions to golf in Ontario.”
And … I play bass in CID—a Guelph punk band! If you like The Clash, Stranglers, Buzzcocks, Ramones, Green Day and more, check us out.
In winter, I’m available for lessons at The Office Golf in Guelph, which features the Uneekor QED launch monitors and simulators.
To discuss the possibilities for your game and pricing, please send an email to tim@oconnorgolf.ca.
