Teaching players to be self-reliant is the key behind the success of Denis McDade’s stable of Tour Professionals.

If tournament victories are proof of a teacher’s worth, then PGA Professional Denis McDade has enjoyed a remarkably successful 12 months. 

All six players he coaches on a full-time basis won tournaments in the past year: 

• Marc Leishman Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, South Africa 
• Marcus Fraser Maybank Championship Malaysia on the European Tour 
• Matthew Griffin BMW ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open in Queenstown 
• Bryden Macpherson Cadillac Championship and Lushan Open on the PGA Tour China
 
• Ashley Hall Victorian PGA Championship at Huntingdale 
• Ryan Ruffels Australian Boys’ Amateur Championship at Kooyong 

What’s interesting is that McDade wasn’t present for any one of those victories. It underscores what the 2012 PGA Teacher of the Year has been trying to achieve: McDade wants his players
to be self-reliant – able to analyse and correct a fault.

"One of the things I don’t want is a player to be on the other side of the world and hit a couple of bad shots, turn around, I’m not there and they think, I’m not going to be able to play well this week.

"I want them to have that self-reliance and presence of mind to objectively step back from what they’re doing. 

"In my experience, when they drop off it’s not because they’ve invented some new poor movement. It’s because they’ve regressed into an old pattern. It’s a matter of helping them understand that and going through a process where they make that correction." 

Fraser’s victory in Malaysia was an example of how a problem can be rectified quickly. The 37-year-old Victorian had been struggling at the start of 2016.
 His swing literally deserted him on the European Tour’s Desert Swing. 

He had broken 72 just once in
eight rounds and three
tournaments (MC, T59, MC). "He was aiming too far right," McDade explains. 

"He’s always liked to have the ball just fall a little right. He doesn’t like hitting the ball left. So he likes the ball to work, if anything, a little left to right. He’s done that his whole career. But the further right he aims, the more he’s got to come ‘over the top to start the ball far enough left for it to finish on target – which becomes a really weak shot for him with poor contact." 

Leishman is quite self-reliant, but he still needs contact with his coach several times a year. Usually, it’s a combination of McDade watching him play events and working with him away from tournaments. 

It also includes liaising with Leishman’s sports psychologist and trainer who are both based in America. Of course, it’s unrealistic for a teenager such as Ruffels to be autonomous. 

As an 18-year-old embarking on a professional career, he needs constant monitoring and feedback. While developing a set of mechanics for
all aspects of his game, McDade is spending more time with Ruffels than any other player. 

"My plan over time would be to step back from that a little," McDade says.
"I’m a great believer that you’re trying to build an athlete that can stand on their own two feet for the greater part of their career."