Day in the Life: Tiger's teacher remains true to his roots
By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM Site Producer
WINDERMERE, Fla. -- As far as work days go, Sean Foley's rates pretty well. He wakes up at 7 a.m., has a protein shake and fruit, he helps get his 2 1/2-year old ball-of-energy-of-a-son Quinn ready for his day and then makes the 8-minute drive to Orange County National, where he'll give lessons until 4 p.m. or so before calling it quits.
Once Foley gets home, he spends the rest of the day with his wife, Kate, and Quinn, who never seems to run out of energy.
"When I come home, I'm home," says Foley, whose name recognition has grown exponentially last summer since taking on Tiger Woods as a client. "My priorities are family first, players making a living on TOUR, then everyone else."
Despite being thrust into the vortex that is Woods's world, Foley's life, save for his bank account, hasn't changed all that much, though. He doesn't have a reality TV show or a grand entrance to his workplace. He even fumbles through a few takes for a taping of Inside the PGA TOUR because as articulate as he is he's still a little uneasy about all the attention he's suddenly getting.
Foley's house, like him, is low-key -- it's a quaint yellow structure with tan brickwork that's tastefully decorated with maybe a couple thousand square feet of living space and a yard that's nicely manicured in a development of similar homes that's not gated or even very private.
Inside the house, there are no visible pictures of his most prolific client, save for one in a small office he keeps at the front of the house just to the left of the front door. In fact, the place looks like the house of pretty much anyone's with a 2 ½ year old wreaking havoc -- toys are scattered about, including a Sure Shot hockey game atop the refrigerator (Foley, after all, is Canadian).
On this particular day, it is Foley's last day of work until the week of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, where, ironically, his No. 1 client and the former No. 1 player in the world, isn't even eligible to participate.
| Foley's quick tips | |||||||||
|
Not that Foley is too worried about Woods. On the heels of an injury rumor that turns out to be false, Foley further squashes it by saying he'd spent the last few days working out with Woods, who was dead-lifting 285 pounds.
Between takes during the shoot, Foley talks about his other clients, too, saying that watching Hunter Mahan practice is like watching a machine and that Sean O'Hair is like looking at a piece of art.
"Mahan is arguably the best driver of the ball in the world," Foley says. "And I like to call O'Hair my 6-3 Hogan he has so much flexibility and feel."
Justin Rose draws perhaps the highest praise with Foley saying Rose is his best all-around player.
What about Woods? He's a work in progress at this point. Foley is trying to get Woods to take the unnecessary movements out of his swing and get him to make a centered turn with his weight forward.
In all, Foley says he spends about 18 weeks a year on the road with his clients, Tuesday through Friday of tournament week.
But Foley is about more than golf, and that's evident by the collection of books in his office -- everything from Introduction to Buddhism, to autobiographies on Jack Welch, Bill Clinton and, his personal favorite, Malcolm X. He was also raised in liberal Canada by parents by parents that taught him about world struggle, and he attended historically black Tennessee State University, where he studied philosophy.
Between takes he even delves into his favorite hip-hop artists (Ra Kim, Big Daddy Kane, Wu-Tang and Tribe Called Quest, to name a few) and shows off the influence Bob Marley has had in his life by the Jamaican tattoo on his upper shoulder.
For now, though, it is about golf and Foley, who lives halfway between Woods' club, Isleworth, and Orange County National, has lessons to give.
He sees a half-dozen clients, including Canadian Tour player Matt Johnston, whom he'd met earlier in the year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
"The first lesson he gave me," Johnston says. "He didn't say a word for the first hour and 45 minutes."
"I never have a plan, I just go with what I see," says Foley, who admits that "Matty J" as he calls him, is like his Petrie dish. "But I [am] quick to throw something out if it's not working."
Another one of Foley's clients on this day is Ryan Corbin, who from a distance could pass for Sean O'Hair in terms of swing and body type. Like O'Hair, Corbin didn't have the easiest childhood and that prompted Foley to help him out however he could. In this case, that means landing Corbin a deal with Nike and giving him $3,000 a quarter to pay for his entry fees.
And on it goes for Foley, who also spends time with LPGA newcomer Christine Song and two Canadian teens, Johnny and Christina Foster, the latter of which looks LPGA ready at least in terms of driving and ball-striking at age 15 as she pounds one tee shot after another 250 yards down-range in a steady wind.
"That would turn heads on an LPGA range," Foley says.
During the lesson, Foley makes one small change to Johnny's grip and instantly the shots are more pure and penetrating.
"A lot of this happened by teaching all day, every day," says Foley, who recalls how he used to work 80 hours a week but charge for only 40 because he needed to be a better teacher and his students sometimes couldn't afford to pay for every hour.
"I could charge $1,000 an hour but that's not what it's about," Foley says. "You end up teaching CEOs."
Indeed. For the day, Foley makes $250 and then goes home, where he ends the day with a few beers on the back patio. Family, TOUR players, then everyone else.
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
FANTASY
PGATOUR.com is part of Turner Sports Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network 