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It seems the number one has more than just “one” meaning….(no pun intended) when talking about Coach Bill McInerney Jr. and The Golf Channel’s BIG BREAK CONTESTANT and Bill’s student, Susan Choi. One means everything, especially when referring to this coach, who by most accounts, has with his one-handed coaching style; put Choi on the golfing map.

Meet Susan’s Coach Bill McInerney:
Bill McInerney Jr. has been a professional golf instructor since 1994. After turning professional in 1992, Bill played nearly three years competitively under the instruction of world-renowned golf instructors Bob Toski & Jim Flick, continuing to study under Toski for an additional five years. As a Titleist Performance Institute Golf Fitness Instructor (TPI), McInerney has proven that golf fitness is a vital element in any successful player, on or off the tour. He takes this knowledge and experience with him as an instructor and a coach for the Wellesley College Golf Team.

Meet Susan Choi:
Susan Choi had always been an admirer of golf and decided to join the Wellesley College golf team her freshman year. This prestigious all-girls college had little or no recognition in the area of golf and Choi felt that she wanted to become more serious about playing the game of golf and wanted to test her ability in competition and try to gain recognition for the college in the area of golf. Within a year, Choi and McInerney put Wellesley on the map in Division III golf. “I knew right off that there was true talent with Susan,” explained McInerney. “Susan’s father would take her out to the range as a teenager, and he was a good enough player in his own right to ingrain wonderful fundamentals in Susan from the get go.

When I met Susan I recognized that she had an incredible ability to swing a golf club with such beautiful rhythm and grace. I could see how determined she was to become the best and I knew that with the right mental disciplines, physical conditioning and swing tweaks, she had a realistic chance at accomplishing great things in the game of golf,” smiles McInerney.

Instant Success:
Coach McInerney and his team, lead Wellesley to an unprecedented year in 200, earning him the coveted title of the 2005-2006 NCAA National Golf Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year award for leading his team to the most wins and second place finishes ever recorded in a single season at Wellesley. Choi went on to graduate, having earned the spot on two NCAA All-American teams, and after winning the Athlete Of The Year Award at Wellesley her senior year. She then played one full season of amateur golf, and turned professional last December, setting her sights for tour play and a chance to compete on the Golf Channel’s Big Break.

The Future Looks Bright:
So with hard work and determination comes reward, and so is the case with Choi and the spring 2008 golf season. Choi is currently a member of the Sun Coast Series Golf Tour, Futures Tour, Victory Tour, and is competing in the Golf Channel’s Big Break, which began airing on April 15th. So as the golfing world anxiously awaits a new winner of The Big Break, Susan Choi and Coach McInerney, do what they do best, keeping focused, organized and in shape.
“There was no “preparing” for The BIG BREAK, explains McInerney; this is something that Susan has inadvertently been training for throughout her entire, and thus far, short lived golfing career.” “At this point, she is more than ready to go out there and give it her best physically and mentally. “The wide range of creative shots that they have Susan hit on THE BIG BREAK are very similar to the creative training that we have been working on developing for years, now it is up to her mental game to put two and two together.” Coach McInerney is more than familiar with Choi’s mental game; for it is McInerney, who is Choi’s mental coach, swing coach and fitness coach. “Because of my training and my experience, I am able to encompass an “all in one” training approach, that works best with Susan at this point in her life and her career,” explains McInerney. “I grew up with a father who played on the golf tour. His wife was a nationally ranked amateur player, who won the United States Mid-Amateur Championship, and my brother was a top junior player, and is now a well-respected golf professional. Golf has always been a way of life, not an occasional hobby for me. So with Susan having limited financial means, a talent, and a determination to succeed, one coach for her has worked very well so far,” explains McInerney.

A One -Man Show:
Discussing with Choi the one-coach approach to her game, she could not be happier. “With me, I needed someone to organize my game and my life; they pretty much go hand in hand. Bill and I met when I was a very young college freshman and he has been able to organize my game and create a fun way for me to strive for greatness. He has made golf fun, and he has made fitness fun. If you have a plan for your days, your practice sessions, your workout sessions, or whatever you want to accomplish, you can achieve anything” expresses Choi. “We take the time to make each day as clear and as organized as possible for me. We have a plan for everything we do. The plan is simple… make my weakest link my strongest link. Bill has taught me that there really is no such thing as a setback. Even if it looks like I may have had a bad round on paper on a given day, I learn, I grow, and I get better from that experience as a person and a player. I have a purpose and I have a plan. That’s what’s important!”
A day in the life of Choi and McInerney can be anything but ordinary and seem too many, anything but possible. However, Choi and McInerney break each day and each aspect of the game down into very simple increments, and the rest seems to fall into place. Below is a sample of McInerney’s on course goals for Choi as part of her on course mental disciplines, or “mental fitness” routine. On the course your energy should be 100% focused on what you have control over, nothing more!
– Perfect pre-shot routine. This should be as simple as seeing the entire shot you want to hit, feeling the shot you want to hit (in a practice swing or stroke), and then hitting the shot.
– 100% Commitment to each and every shot. Truly believe in yourself over every shot, genuinely believing you’ve made the correct decision and that you will hit the perfect golf shot. “If a player can measure the success of a round based on commitment level rather than score, the player will never get in his or her own way. The player will then improve at a much quicker pace,” says McInerney.
– Never care about results. After the ball has left the clubface, no longer does the player have control of the shot. Because the focus is to put all energy towards what the player has control over, the player never has to worry about results. Just look forward to the next shot, even if it’s a challenging one. This encourages an attitude of hitting shots with no fear. “Fearless golfers are dangerous golfers!” says McInerney.

Hitting the Gym:
Just as important as McInerney’s philosophy on a consistent mental training approach, is his approach on the physical side of the game. McInerney divides this training into two basic elements, equal in importance. The first is fitness training; the second is how a player practices.

“The number one goal for hitting the gym is injury prevention, then power, speed and strength training.

The second element in McInerney’s physical training is how a player practices. He refers to it as “P squared,” meaning PERFECT PRACTICE. He expresses that practicing with a plan or a purpose is the key to consistent progress. “Drills, along with challenging and fun games keep me focused and always grinding and concentrating. It forces me to think and really have a perfect practice session each day, explains Choi. “One of my favorite drills is hitting balls off of balance disks on the driving range. Bill has me work on this particular drill to improve on or maintain my balance and swing sequence. I hit 5 balls off the discs, then move off the disks and hit 3 balls simulating a real shot on the golf course, going through my pre-shot routine and everything. Doing this really helps me swing from the subconscious rather than forcing a certain move I’m trying to make. This is also Bill’s creative way of making sure I don’t get bored,” laughs Choi, “and I never do.”

View Susan’s Workout Here

What’s Next?
So as the golfing world gets ready to witness firsthand the power of P squared, Susan Choi continues to embark upon an experience that she has trained for every day since college, and is ready to take it on head first. We at Golf Fitness Magazine eagerly watch and cheer her on as she applies the values of golf fitness to a whole new level of physical and mental competition in The Golf Channel’s THE BIG BREAK. We also hope for our readers, that you can take Coach McInerney’s ideas and his fitness routine for longer drives and apply it to your game and possibly get a BIG BREAK yourself, or at least a LOWER SCORE!