Hi my name is Piers Ward and I was born in a town called Wolverhampton which is actually now a city! No judging my age! I played multiple team sports to a good level, and loved the atmosphere and camaraderie with team mates. I actually didn’t enjoy individual sports that much. I didn’t start playing golf until I was 15 years of age, but I was instantly hooked because of the technical nature of the sport. I joined Oxley Park golf club in 1993 which is actually where I met friend, and now business partner, Andrew John Proudman.
I have always been fascinated by the golf swing. After years of having golf lessons, I grew to really enjoy experimenting with my own swing, sometimes to my own detriment, but I love finding out what does and doesn’t work. I became a professional in 1998 and qualified with distinction in coaching. I was off to the races after that and started coaching 7 days a week at Oxley.
Early in my coaching career I understood that golf coaching isn’t just about teaching the golf swing, but it was also about coaching the person. Every golfer is different – and that’s the approach I had to take. I always remember Butch Harmon being asked… “What is your swing model that you teach?” To which he would answer… “My model is, you book a lesson and you’ll make you better.” By that he means, there is more than one way to swing a golf club. With this is mind it has driven me to learn as much, and as many different ways as possible, to help golfers get better.
In 2006 Andy and I set up the academy 3 Hammers Golf Complex, which we ran together until 2012 creating the largest Junior Academy in the country! I’ve seen a lot of interesting golf swings over the years for sure!
To be the best, you have to learn from the best. We’ve been lucky enough to spend time with some of the best coaches and players in the world – such as, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose and David Leadbetter to name a few. We also coach top Tour level players – most notably, Aaron Rai who after securing 3 wins on the European Challenge Tour, now has a full tour card on the European Tour.
I love being able to create valuable golf content online and then be able to interact with people through these channels. When I hear people say they’ve shot their best score, reduced their handicap, cured their slice, or even gone onto the golf course for the first time, nothing gives me a better feeling than knowing I played a part in that. This is true job satisfaction!
Andy and I feel a deep responsibility with our influence online to create content which is designed to get the best out of every golfer. It would be easy to throw up loads of content describing every minute detail of the golf swing, but we always ask ourselves with every piece of content, is this going to really help the person? If the answer is no it’s not going up. Sometimes less is more for sure.
My guarantee to anyone who we have the opportunity to influence is, that I’m committed to delivering the best golf instruction and information possible to help you improve. I look forward to joining you on your journey to your best golf yet!
