Coach Profile: Andy Little
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For his entire life, Andy Little has only known golf. At the age of 2, he was given a small plastic club and was always playing with it. He eventually moved up to real clubs and big courses before a traumatic injury experienced playing the sport he loved nearly took his life at the age of 9. But that didn’t stop Andy from getting back on the course, turning pro years later, and eventually becoming a highly qualified golf coach.
Andy has an average rating of 4.99-out-of-5 stars on Skillest and is based out of London, England.
Zach Gray:
What was your first experience with golf?
Andy Little:
I got into it at a very young age, maybe 2 or 3. My half brother and I both started young and both our dads played golf as well. I remember going to a pitch and putt course when I was 4. Then I moved up to a par-3 course when I was around 6, and then joined a club and had a handicap when I was 9. My whole childhood was golf, even to the point where I had a fairly traumatic accident in golf when I was 8-years-old. My friend and I were mucking around hitting balls and I got hit in the head with a 7 iron. I still have the scar today. My skull was fractured in two places and I severed an artery; I nearly died. The doctors and my dad thought the whole experience would be too traumatic for me to play again. But I was literally in the hospital bed in London asking my dad when we could go play a round once I got out. All nine lives were taken in one go because I’ve had literally no side effects since.
Zach:
Did you try other sports?
Andy:
I tried football (soccer), but because my golf was quite good, my dad had me choose between the two because we couldn’t do both given it was too much of a hassle on the weekends. Plus, I wasn’t veery good at football.
My whole upbringing was simply golf. My parents were supportive in paying for lessons, letting me join clubs, enter junior opens around the area. I was fortunate enough to get quite good quite quickly. I turned pro at 18 and been doing it for 22 years now.
Zach:
So what got you into coaching?
Andy:
I turned pro because I was a good player and I wanted to play. At the time I was just working the shop, but I didn’t like the retail side. I’ve always been too nice to people and when you’re working for commission, that doesn’t work. For example, someone would come in looking for a new product, but I would tell them to not waste their money. I wasn’t a good sales person and I wasn’t had the golfer’s interest first before my own commission. So I got the opportunity to work in a teaching academy and they would only let me teach the kids to start. But I found it so rewarding that even when I became more qualified and eventually became a head professional, I still concentrated on all the kids. Over the years I did different aspects like ladies coaching, seniors, individual, group, and more. It’s just so rewarding. They want to get better. They’re investing their leisure time to do their passion and they trust in me as a person to give them the right sort of advice.
Zach:
What your average day look like.
Andy:
I got two other businesses: a junior coaching business called Little Golfers, and I also own an indoor golf studio just outside of London. So I’ve got 150 kids coming to me on a weekly basis for a group lesson and individual lessons. I’ve also got about 130 members that go to the golf studio and practice, and my average day is a mixture of both. But throughout the day, I’m also attending to clients on Skillest. I then head home, take a look at my social media, check in with all my subscribers, send them a message, send them a video, and so on.
I’m definitely looking to get more active on Skillest to allow more flexibility in my life. I need more family time with my partner and my 13-year-old son.
Zach:
Does your son have interest in playing golf?
Andy:
Yes and no. So my son is autistic, which you would say I that golf is a perfect sport for him. It’s a calm, quiet, and controlled environment. But I’ve never pushed it because I’ve seen the pushy parent syndrome and how it affects kids. We’ve gone through stages when my son was wanted to play and absolutely loved it, but also stages where he hasn’t played for months at a time. He does however enjoy playing crazy golf at the mini golf courses, etc. So if that for him is his golf experience, then that is completely fine. He beat me once at Crazy Golf and told me it was best of his life.
Zach:
Between teaching juniors at a young age and having a son with Autism, do you feel like that experience has helped you with your communication style?
Andy:
Definitely. Between teaching kids over the years and having my son that struggles with language difficulties, I’ve learned to keep it simple. I may not be as qualified as some other coaches, but I pride myself in keeping things simple because it resonates with a lot of people. Everyone has individual learning styles, so if someone wants to get into the intricate technical side, I’ll gladly do that too. But generally speaking, I try and keep it as as simple as possible because I think if you can keep it simple, then it’s easier to translate the advice to their game.
Zach:
If anyone was hesitant to take a lesson, what would you tell them?
Andy:
I would encourage them to jump on a Zoom call with me to have a conversation. I think there are still some misunderstandings when it comes to golf lessons, so I could explain the process and answer any question they may have.
Zach:
What is your favorite course you’ve played?
Andy:
I spent a couple months in Jamaica and I played a course called Cinnamon Hill. The views, scenery, and wildlife are absolutely phenomenal.
Zach:
If you got to play round with three other people, who would they be?
Andy:
My partner, my dad, and Tiger Woods. I love playing with my dad and partner, but Tiger is definitely my favorite golfer of all time.
Zach:
I’ve asked this same question to almost every Skillest coach I’ve spoken to and Tiger is always the answer. His influence is well documented in terms of people trying the sport and playing, but it seems like he’s still such a massive influence for a lot of coaches.
Andy:
Obviously, there’s there’s amazing golfers all over the world, but you wouldn’t look at someone like Dustin Johnson and say he’s got a picture perfect swing. I’m probably not going to teach anyone how to get to the top of the back swing like DJ. But Tiger? I feel like you could teach that to anyone. It’s the perfect swing.
Zach:
What’s your favorite club in your bag?
Andy:
My sand wedge. I like chipping, bunker play, and the creative side. I’m not going to to impress anyone with my driving, but with the sand wedge, it’s a club that you can do so much with.
Zach:
If you did a “normal job,” what do you think it would be?
Andy:
A normal job? I would be a Formula 1 driver. I love driving, but to be fair, I’d probably end up being an Uber driver. Although with my experience, I’d probably end up being a physical education teacher at a school.
Zach:
I like the journey you just took in that answer, realizing that driving in Formula 1 isn’t exact a “normal job,” so we came back down to Earth with ride sharing & teaching.