Danielle Carr-Thomas has embraced new opportunities throughout her career. In her current role with Acushnet, she is the UK & Ireland Consumer Fitting Manager for Titleist, which builds on the experiences she has gained working at 59club, for The PGA and in a coaching business
Starting as Academy Manager at Chase Golf Club in 2007, Danielle Carr-Thomas became a Regional Coaching Development Officer at the PGA, while also building The Golf Academy business with two other PGA Professionals for a number of years.
After transitioning to a business relationship role with The PGA, Carr-Thomas moved on to become an Area Manager at 59club, before being appointed as UK & Ireland Consumer Fitting Manager at Titleist in January 2024.
Covering the spectrum of coaching, business and customer service, Carr-Thomas has prioritised personal development at each turn.
Here, she speaks about her motivation to embrace new roles, how she manages and invests in her team at Titleist, and what she has learned along the way.
Taking opportunities and gaining ‘bumper stickers’
Opportunities have presented themselves, and I've grabbed them when they've come along. Throughout my journey, personal development has been a focus.
I like education, I'm interested in learning. It's always been a natural place to gravitate to. I started off in coaching, and I really enjoyed coaching. Through my PGA role, opportunities to become more business-orientated came along.
I jumped at that chance and then I've done bits of development that haven't always encouraged me to step into that area with my coaching.
It wasn't a plan to do different things, but because I've invested in my development, when opportunities have come along, I've been able to succeed.
I've always felt like I've had to work harder being a female in the industry. That’s probably one of the reasons why I've been committed to my own development. I refer to them as bumper stickers. You collect bumper stickers to get your foot through the door and then show people what you know.
Migrating to business from coaching
I'd done my two-year Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Coaching through the University of Birmingham, and it was great. I thought I might go on to do my Masters in Sports Coaching, but I realised while I was doing it, that maybe being pigeonholed into coaching was going to limit my opportunities.
As much as I might still want to do my Masters, doing it in Sports Coaching was taking me down a narrow pathway that I didn't feel was a good enough investment in those resources.
An opportunity came up at the PGA to transition from the roles of coaching development officer into a business relationship officer, which I jumped at. Stepping into the broader business sector was going to be beneficial.
Danielle Carr-Thomas pictured at the 59club Awards in March, 2023 at St. George's Park
Investing in the team
I talk to my team a lot about developing and how we develop as individuals within that.
That's why I'm continuing with my own development. It's not just something I preach about, it’s something I practise. We did a session earlier this year – we did a TNA (Training Needs Analysis) with the team. I created a skills wheel based on their roles as fitters, essentially focusing in on the jobs they do and the key skills that they need.
We talked about how we could get better in those areas and the team went through the skills wheel, looking at where they felt their strengths and weaknesses lie.
As a company, we believe in goal setting. We goal-set annually and we support them in achieving these throughout the year, it's a big part of our continued development.
Embracing the responsibility and challenge with Titleist
I manage a team of 13 remote-based fitters across UK & I, some of whom are PGA Professionals, alongside our National and Regional Fitting Centre network and I manage our fitting event programme. It’s a bit of a beast of a job. There’s been so many elements where I've really had to step up to the mark and, if I’m honest, where I thought I don't think I'm the right person. There's been lots of times where I've had to hold the mirror up and go, ‘No, I was given the job because they believe I am capable’. I'm a bit of a self-doubter!
There are times when you're managing people, you have difficult conversations, and you have to make tough calls, but that's part of learning and becoming a leader.
"If you invest in people, you get the best out of them and your work is more rewarding as a result" - Danielle Carr-Thomas
The value of a PGA Qualification
For me when I am recruiting, it’s a quality stamp. I know firsthand what they've been exposed to, and the modules they will have covered.
If somebody asks, to say I'm a PGA Professional, it gives us something extra.
It speaks quality, and as a brand, that's what we're trying to do. We want to be the best we can be on the fitting tee. The PGA badge aligns with that perfectly.
Learning from people along the way
You have to treat people as human beings. I'd like to think if you spoke to one of my team, they would say, ’Danielle genuinely cares for us’, because that's who I am. If you invest in people, you get the best out of them and your work is more rewarding as a result.
When I was at The PGA, I was lucky to have two really good bosses. When I worked in the coaching team under Dr Jonathan Wright, Jonathan is the epitome of how I try and manage people - he cared for us deeply.
The second was Joe Kelly. He was more black and white. But there's a time in life where you need to be like that. I would say I've never been great at difficult conversations, I would have shied away from that. You can't always do that when you've got a management role.
Joe definitely helped me get over this fear and speak with confidence when difficult things need to be said. I still speak to them both now and ask for advice. They are great mentors.
