The outdoor golf season may be over but for Bradford resident David Armstrong, life on the green continues year-round with his golf coaching business.
Armstrong started his business earlier this year as a way for him to do what he loves while staying close to his young family.
In the summer months, he would work with clients outdoors at the local driving range and has since started working with them in his garage, which he has converted into a training facility using a TrackMan golf simulator.
He says his business offers the best of both worlds: the experience of a highly professional coach along with the best measurement technology in the industry.
"I want to make this more of a destination," he said. "They show up, train for an hour, we have coffee and play sim-golf for an hour."
Armstrong fell in love with the game of golf at a young age, playing with his grandfather. He says he likes how the game is individual and personal.
"(You don't) have to rely on anybody else," he said. "No coach has to put you in the game, a teammate doesn't have to pass you the ball...it's all me and based on what I do."
His grandparents lived near Eagle Lake Golf Course in South River, Ont., where he would spend his summers playing golf from morning to night. The pro at the course became his first mentor, who he is still friends with today.
"It was kind of like a dream (for a kid) because I had the opportunity to hit as many range balls as I wanted, I only had to drive the golf cart around to pick them up," he said.
As a teen and young adult, during the summer months, he worked at golf courses in Richmond Hill.
"I realized I had to get a job at a golf course because that was how I could play as much as I wanted to," he said.
In 2007, he obtained his card for the PGA (Professional Golfers' Association) of Canada, allowing him to play at a professional level. Afterwards, he spent a few years working on courses in British Columbia and spent some winters caddying at private clubs in Florida.
He coached at Cardinal Golf Course in Newmarket for four years and then in 2017 moved over to the Eagle's Nest Golf Club in Vaughan, where he worked for Henry Brunton, one of the world's leading golf coaches. Brunton was the men's Canadian golf coach for 13 years.
"He was my best employer ever without a doubt," said Armstrong.
He then spent about a year and a half working at Modern Golf, offering coaching and club fittings before deciding to open his own coaching business.
Armstrong, his wife and his young family moved to the mature part of Bradford from the city after falling in love with one of the town's heritage homes, built in 1880, which used to be the home of Presbyterian Ministers in the 1920s-30s.
"She (his wife) just saw the picture in the listing of this house and said 'We are going to live there," recalled Armstrong.
"It kind of reminded me of the house I grew up in," he said, noting the home's symmetrical facade and Eclectic Neoclassical features.
Armstrong is looking to work with clients who are focused on improving their game.
"I am trying to build a community of like-minded people," he said. "I like to think this studio is the red-velvet rope experience...I can fully support my clients here, I have the time, the resources."
He offers lessons for all skill levels and ages, as well as customized club fittings.
To learn more about David Armstrong visit his website here.
Check out the video below of BradfordToday's Natasha Philpott in one of Armstrong's lessons:
