By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
Tim Conaway has over 20 years of coaching experience, helping countless students improve their skills and gain increased enjoyment from time spent with family and friends on the course and at the driving range. With an extensive understanding of technology, human movement, skill development and the mental aspect of the game, Conaway is a three-time Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional. Whether his golfers prefer today’s innovative golf entertainment venues or your more traditional green grass facilities, golf is better with professionals like Tim Conaway leading the way.
“Growing up in southern Connecticut, my father introduced me to the game when I was barely 10 years old,” Conaway recalls. “I played at Longshore Golf Course in Westport, Connecticut, and took lessons from George Buck, the PGA pro there. I grew up playing competitively in Metropolitan PGA Section junior events and played competitively through high school.”
Conaway took a rather non-traditional path to becoming a golf professional, moving to Florida when he was 21 to attend San Diego Golf Academy’s Orlando campus, where he got an associate’s degree in Golf Management with an emphasis on being a golf professional. From there, he started working at the Saddlebrook Resort near Tampa.
“I moved to Bradenton in 2002 and had stints as an assistant golf professional at the Longboat Key Club and The Oaks Club,” he explains. “At the end of 2011, I decided to move out on my own to start teaching independently, starting at a local driving range and then relocating to two different public golf courses before opening my own indoor performance center in the fall of 2023. Along the way, I was a Lead Instructor with the Golf Channel Academy from 2015-2021.”
In the fall of 2023, Conaway opened a 1,400 sq. ft. indoor performance studio in Bradenton, Florida. His facility has two hitting bays, a putting studio and a fitness area. He provides memberships for clients that include private instruction and practice sessions in their hitting bays, as well as access to the putting studio and fitness area.
“We use Flightscope technology for our launch monitors and Motion2Coach Studio with dual force plates for 3D Motion Capture and Ground Forces,” Conaway says. “In the putting studio, we use WellPutt and have an 11×11 custom putting rug. We use GolfForever in the fitness area to address the total performance aspect of the game.”
Conaway teaches all levels of golf athletes, from beginners to elite club players. With many success stories over the years, among them is a student who recently shaved 15 shots off his average score within his three-month membership. Other members have gone on to win club championships, as well as their flights in regional amateur tour events.
“I’ve been fortunate to have several coaches who have helped me and supported me along the way,” Conaway boasts. “Barry Cheesman, a former PGA TOUR Player turned coach, was the first coach who believed in me and supported me as I was just starting. As I was developing my career as a coach, Larry Ward, PGA, in Lexington, Kentucky, was very influential in helping me become the coach I am today. Other coaches who have helped me along the way include Andrew Rice in Savannah, Jon Sinclair, PGA, in Dallas and Rob Strano in Destin, Florida. Lorin Anderson and Andy Hilts, PGA, have been very helpful as well with business advice and career development.”
Looking ahead, Conaway says motion capture is here to stay and will continue to be developed further. As a coach and mentor, he considers the endless possibilities in teaching as AI advancements are also made.
“I have already seen with Motion2Coach how it goes beyond just measuring the golf swing and actually gets deeper into how the individual parts of the body are either being used correctly or are inefficient. I think that my role going forward has to expand beyond swing mechanics and develop a fuller understanding of functional mobility of the human body so I can help my members move better on the course and off. As I tell my members now, I view myself as a human movement coach as it’s applied to the golf swing, and that’s where I can provide additional value to my members going forward,” he concludes.
For more information on Conaway Golf Performance, log on to their website today!
