When Aaron Rai holed the winning putt at Aronimink to claim the PGA Championship, it represented a landmark moment, not just for English golf, but for the role that PGA Coaches play at the highest level of the game.
The victory made Rai the first Englishman to win the event since 1919 and only the fourth English major champion this century.
For PGA Members Andy Proudman and Piers Ward, who played golf together when they were juniors, it was the culmination of a journey that began 20 years earlier.
The duo behind Me and My Golf have coached Rai since 2006, guiding his development from a talented junior golfer into one of the world's leading players. While building one of the most successful online coaching brands in the game, they remain by his side as trusted coaches and mentors.
Rai's major success is a powerful example of the long-term impact that PGA Members can have on elite players.
"We always knew that he was going to win a major in our minds," said Ward.
"As coaches, you inherently have that positivity, but when it happened, it was still weird. As much as you're prepared for it, when it happens, it's still going to feel like shock.
"As good as he is, I wasn't sure he could win it the way that he won it – the way he dominated that back nine - it was amazing, and a lot of people have said if it was Tiger who did that, or Rory, or Jack Nicklaus who did that, everybody would be raving about it."
Having first started working with Rai two decades ago, Proudman and Ward have witnessed first-hand the qualities that have enabled him to steadily climb through the professional ranks.
While his technical ability has always been obvious, both coaches point to less visible attributes as being equally important.
"We always knew that he was going to win a major in our minds” - Piers Ward
"There's a good list,” said Proudman. "Aaron's strength is his ability to focus. I don't think I've known anyone with the ability to focus as much as Aaron.
"Coming down the stretch, he was in his lane, he was able to focus on the task, the process, what he needed to do. That ability is incredible.
"Another strength is his discipline. His discipline is huge, to stick to his game, to not be influenced by other people, to not listen to what others say, it's his ability to just stay within his lane and know what works for him and not be pulled into the surrounding things."
Ward believes patience has also been a defining characteristic throughout Rai's career.
"Patience is one," he said. "He’s really patient in that we never set goals based on - we're going to do well in this tournament or we're going to win this or we're going to improve this specific stat.
"Of course, we're working towards that as a goal, but all we're really doing is - if tomorrow's a better day than today and we keep compounding that, we're going to be okay, and what will happen will happen. You'll be given what you deserve."
Pictured: (L-R) Andy Proudman, Piers Ward and Aaron Rai
That philosophy was perhaps best demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a rare break from tournament golf created an opportunity to address weaknesses in Rai's game.
"The biggest change for Aaron was during COVID," said Proudman.
"We were at the Astbury in Shropshire and they closed the golf course down, but off the back of COVID, we had a period of time where Aaron wasn’t playing any golf, and his short game really wasn't that good - his game wasn't great for playing out of the rough, so he was very one dimensional, so we had a real chunk of time to not only work at Aaron's short game but also work at his rough game.
"He's a fairway finder, so he'd always just be in the fairway, he never really knew how to play from out of position, so we had two or three months of putting him out of position. If he hit the fairway or if he missed a certain part of the fairway, we threw him in the rough and then we challenged him.”
The result was a more complete player, capable of dealing with the varied challenges presented by championship golf. That evolution was evident throughout his PGA Championship victory, particularly on the back nine at Aronimink, on which he made four birdies to win by three shots.
Ward points to one hole in particular as a perfect example of Rai's decision-making and independence of thought.
"The thing that epitomises Aaron in so many ways was how he played the 15th hole at Aronimink," he said.
"It's 500 yards, it's uphill, it's a big sloping right to left fairway, everyone feels like they have to hit driver and they were really struggling as a result of it.
"He hit a 3-wood fade against the slope off the tee, which has killed all the speed in the shot, and he's hit a five iron, big high draw, so we got to see a screenshot of two main things: Aaron's versatility when he plays golf, hitting faded and hitting draws, pure shot-making, and then his willingness to not follow the sheep."
While their work with Rai remains an important part of their professional lives, Proudman and Ward teach recreational golfers through Me and My Golf as well, the online coaching platform they launched in 2011 after their time coaching at 3 Hammers Golf Complex in Wolverhampton.
The YouTube channel has grown into a global coaching platform with more than one million subscribers and members around the world. Their growth shows, again, the many ways in which PGA Members can broaden their reach as coaches in the industry.
The concept emerged from recognising that many golfers face the same challenges.
Pictured: PGA Members Piers Ward and Andy Proudman
"I'd say that the reason we started it with the YouTube channel was because golfers tend to make the same mistakes," said Proudman.
"A lot of golfers were coming to us in person, and we thought people just keep doing the same things, they're thinking the same thing, a lot of commonalities, and we thought, if we put videos out there that are addressing these issues, then surely that's got to be helpful, surely we can help golfers around the globe, rather than just one-on-one at 3 Hammers Golf Complex in Wolverhampton.
“We can just answer questions that people have, and also solve some of the issues that we already see people having. It just felt like it was the right move in order to do that. Golfers all want very similar things. There are not really many different things that golfers want. They want to strike their irons better, they want to hit the golf ball a little bit straighter, they want to improve their short game.”
Ward and Proudman attribute much of their success to what they have learned from other coaches they have met along the way. In 2006, at a coaching summit at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall, they were able to pick the brains and meet other coaches such as Dr. Jim Suttie, Greg Rose and Dave Phillips who co-founded the Titleist Performance Institute, and Martin Hall.
They highlight the importance of meeting Dr Karl Morris, a performance coach and specialist in psychology, and Jamie Edwards, who works across golf and range of sports in performance coaching, too.
The pair were also led to David Leadbetter after they posted a video on YouTube, discussing Leadbetter’s book ‘A Swing’. Leadbetter was one of the first people to contact Proudman and Ward with congratulations after Rai won.
“The first one in 2006 was opening us to the world of elite coaching, so we were aware that there were people out there who were a totally different level to us,” Ward explained.
“And then, when you look at it with Karl and Jamie, that changed us as coaches. That made us understand why player A got better and player B didn't get better, even though they looked like the same person.
“We just knew straight away. It was almost like the light bulb went off about 1000 times on people we coached. That's why they didn't get better, or that's why they get better.
“Our philosophy on coaching is that we coach the player, not just the swing. When we saw Jamie and Karl, they opened our eyes to think - there's a very human side to this,” Proudman added.
“I think one of the things that stuck with me, which they said years ago, the best coaches in the future will understand human beings and technique.
“This is a path of delving into not just technique, but just the person standing there, what makes somebody tick, and psychology, all these different facets of performance.”
Today, online coaching forms a significant part of their business, although both still coach in person and continue working directly with both club golfers and elite players.
The growth of digital coaching, and the Me and My Golf platform in particular, has also allowed them to build a community that extends beyond in-person lessons.
“Our philosophy on coaching is that we coach the player, not just the swing. When we saw Jamie and Karl, they opened our eyes to think - there's a very human side to this” - Andy Proudman
"I think one of the biggest things is the community," said Proudman.
"I've just had a message from one of our members this morning, who had just played golf with another member of Me and My Golf, so they got together and played.
"Because in a world of social media, when you hear about the lonely epidemic - people are crying out to feel a part of things, and building a community online is powerful for people who haven't necessarily got that social circle in real life, but they can be a part of things online.
“We can underestimate how powerful that is for people.”
Proudman and Ward have embraced the modern coaching method of using an online platform, where golfers can book packages and purchase training aids. Both emphasise the role that their PGA qualifications have played in their careers, and how it has helped them reach where they are today.
"It’s huge," said Proudman. "We definitely wouldn’t be here without the PGA.
"The credibility of it is massive.
"When you've got that behind you, it's a very credible brand to look at as a PGA Professional. It has some clout behind it, and it's warranted as well. I think the stuff that we've been through with The PGA has been massively valuable, and shaped our careers in a hugely positive way."
