Coach Profile: Charles Sandison-Woods
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As the son of a psychologist and an Oxford University student-athlete, it’s no surprise that Charles Sandison-Woods became a pro golf coach. Over the years, he traveled the world to work with some of the best coaches and experts to help improve his own craft. As a coach at Moor Park Golf Club, Charles shares his passion of golf by helping golfers of all ages improve their game.
Charles has a 5-Star rating on Skillest and is based out of London, England.
Zach Gray:
What was your first introduction to golf?
Charles Sandison-Woods:
I was about 11 years old and I saw Nick Faldo beat Greg Norman in the Masters Sunday night on TV. Before that, I had no interest in golf because it used to take up cartoon time. Following the 96 Masters, my role model and idol was Tiger Woods. He was cool and made golf possible for inner city kids. I grew up in central London with no green parks near me, no golf courses, and none of my friends or family played. Tiger made golf hip, so to speak, in relative terms compared to other sports.
Zach:
Did you start playing shortly after?
Charles:
I would say the summer immediately after Nick Faldo won against Greg Norman, I went to junior group classes at a local driving range. There weren’t any golf courses nearby, so it was my only access to golf.
Zach:
Did you have aspirations to play professionally?
Charles:
I was a huge fan of Arsenal, but I realized at about 14 or 15 I wasn’t going to be good enough to be a footballer. So then I kind of put all my eggs in one basket and start playing golf full time. My goal wasn’t to be a professional. I just loved watching it on TV and playing with my friends. Then I stopped playing completely for nearly seven years when I was studying at university. After I graduated, I started playing again while working in retail. I soon got so many lessons from great coaches from around the world that it inspired me to become a coach. I never really wanted to be a player. I knew at around age 22 that wanted to be a coach full time.
Zach:
Would you say it was just those coaches that inspired you to be a coach?
Charles:
My mom is a psychologist, so my whole life I’ve been around a family environment where helping people develop and evolve as human beings has been the crux of my family life. She could have swum for England in the Olympics, but in her era, it wasn’t considered feminine to get big shoulders. So my grandmother refused to let my mum go to the Olympics because she “would get too masculine and then wouldn’t find a husband.” My dad played for Oxford University in every sport. So in my house, I had psychology and sport as the constant themes. My sister went to America to play professional basketball. My oldest sister is a national volleyball coach, and then my younger sister was really good at soccer and other sports. So I had three sisters that were really good at sports, and I didn’t want to play a sport they played in case they were better than me. So that’s how I ended up going with golf.
Zach:
How much of your mom’s psychology background has helped you with coaching?
Charles:
I would say it’s almost like my mum is in the back of my head talking to the clients when I speak. A huge theme in our family is about developing as a person. So when I coach, when I guide, when I think even in life, I believe anything is possible. And I believe all of my customers are able to get to the highest level that they want to get to. I quite often inspire them to get to levels they never even thought were humanly possible. Every time you stumble or find it hard, I’ll boost you and give your confidence back.
Zach:
Who are some of the coaches that you’ve gotten lessons from that stick out to you?
Charles:
So the main one is Mac O’Grady, who created the MORAD system, which has evolved into stack and tilt. I’ve had putting lesson with Phil Kenyon and David Orr, my two main mentors. Every area I thought was possible that someone could make an error, I would find the leading experts at the time to study and work with.
Zach:
Looking over your Skillest page, I notice you have a ton of certifications, but one I’ve never heard of is course management coach. What exactly does a certified course management coach do?
Charles:
If I’m working with you remotely, I will take your stats or general shot patterns. You’d send me images of your golf course and/or the website link and then I’ll teach you how to practice to get your shot to work on certain holes. Ideally you would be talking to me on video as you’re paying on your home course. We would go over a number of things: How did it go? Where did it go? How did you feel? Where were you aiming? We would fit your golf game to your home course. I’m taking your skill set, matching it to the environment you’re playing in, and then helping you not make silly decisions or overstretch your current skill set. If you wanted to get to a more advanced level, then I’ll help you develop those skill sets to be able to tackle the problems you face.
Zach:
So you’re like the a caddy/coach morphed together and put into anyone’s phone.
Charles:
Yeah, I’m giving you life advice, sport psychology advice, golf technique advice, mathematical planning. So my first degree was actually in geography and planning. So my mix of experience with surveying land and golf instruction makes me your go-to guy around the course.
Zach:
What’s your favorite club in your bag?
Charles:
My putter, because I’ve always loved putting since I was a kid. It’s the one club that I can beat anyone in the world with. And I don’t have to be an athlete to excel.
Zach:
What is your favorite course you played?
Charles:
Hillside, next to Royal Birkdale near Liverpool where they host The Open. It’s half the price for the same plot of land and it’s absolutely breathtaking. Beautiful course, well sculpted. It challenges you in every aspect of the game.
Zach:
If you had a “normal” 9-to-5 job, what do you think it would be?
Charles:
A lawyer. I’m the only male in my family that’s not a lawyer, so I’m the “let down” in the family. I didn’t want to do the 22 hour days.
Zach:
How has the Skillest experience been thus far?
Charles:
It’s been absolutely revolutionary. I wish I’d had this around when I was a kid. I’ve helped guys from Australia, Southeast Asia, Africa, America, Canada, Northern Europe, even within my own country. I’ve been able to guide them despite being on different time zones. I don’t think enough golfers really appreciate how much you can learn on Skillest. I quite often joke with a lot of the coaches that when you’re learning online, you almost cut out most of the time wasting that goes on in and around the lesson environment, whether that be turning up late, sharing with other people and feeling crowded, or upset or vulnerable to be yourself in front of a group of people on the range. You can just do it at your home into a net. Things like that are just game changing.
Zach:
What would say to someone who was hesitant to take a lesson?
Charles:
I would ask them to be brave enough to contact me or any other coach to have that conversation, whether it be a Zoom chat or a written message. There’s no strings attached. You don’t have to be a good player. You don’t have to have a great swing. You don’t have to have any prior experience. You can be a complete beginner and you will gain from it as much, if not more, than a really high-level golfer.