Let's just say I'm waiting for the day they invent a time machine so I can go back and tell my younger self how to play better golf. If that were to happen, I know exactly what I would tell my younger self, and it has very little to do with how to swing the golf club. Do you know what you would tell yourself in order to become the player you want to be?

By day, I'm a professional golf coach who helps players reach their potential through a better understanding of their game. By night, I'm usually doing one of two things: spending time overseeing my non-profit, Eastern Iowa Junior Golf Association (EIJGA) or spending time with my fiancé, Michelle, and our black lab, Piper.

Early in my golfing career, I experienced some moderate success and had aspirations of playing golf in college and maybe even beyond. However, I hit a real roadblock when I lost my passion for the game due to a monumental collapse at the World Am Golf Tournament in 2013 when I was just 21-years-old. I found myself in the lead by two shots entering the final round, shot my worst score in years, and finished in 13th Place. Why did I collapse down the stretch? I'll get to that in a bit.

After a few years, I decided to try to compete again. I played golf at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for two years while earning a degree in Finance. Upon graduation, I worked your typical office job, and things were going well... until they weren't. The memory of that collapse kept haunting me until finally I said, "It's time to get back into golf and figure out why I lost my game that day."

That's how I stumbled upon my passion for coaching. Coaching led me to understand what happened to my game that fateful day. The lightbulb really went off when fellow PGA Professional Will Robins shared a similar experience. He told me his failure had nothing to do with his swing. What I realized is that I didn't have the tools I needed to manage the stress of the World Am.

This is just one of the reasons why I'm a holistic golf coach. I want to get the whole picture: out on the course to watch you navigate your way through the same situations I was in. So, what would you change if you could go back in time? I know what I would change. I would start playing earlier, practicing with a purpose, and taking a different mental approach to the game.

If you would like to learn how coaching can benefit not just your golf game but your everyday life, I would love to hear from you. You can find me out on the course or you can reach me on my cell, 319-310-7234. I look forward to hearing from you.