Ritchie Smith, left, with star pupil Min Woo Lee.
RENOWNED West Australian golf coach, Ritchie Smith, has made two life altering choices albeit years aside.
The primary was to give up enjoying the Australian PGA Tour as soon as his spouse, Lou, grew to become pregnant with their first little one.
“It was the right time for me to give up the tour. I used to be turning right into a little bit of a wanker, anyway. I didn’t just like the individual I used to be turning into,” Smith says frankly.
The second huge choice was not that way back reducing his consumer listing from 1000 to simply 12.
“It was simply killing me. It was too laborious,” says Australian golf’s teaching man of the second who will journey to this 12 months’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush to supervise three of his expenses – Min Woo Lee, Ryan Peake and Elvis Smylie.
Lee and Peake are long run college students of Smith, with Smylie coming below his tutelage simply 18 months in the past.
Throughout teaching journey Smith has guided many effective gamers, Hannah Inexperienced, Minjee Lee, Oliver Goss, Matt Jaeger and, extra not too long ago, Sue Oh, amongst them.
“I used to be on the Australian Institute of Sport within the third 12 months of my traineeship. I might play however, in my thoughts, I at all times had weaknesses. However I used to be good at disguising that on the AIS. I feel they thought I used to be a greater participant than I assumed I used to be. I had that interior self-doubt.”
In hindsight, he says he would have amounted to little or no however for the affect of cutting-edge elite coaches Ramsay McMaster and Ryan Lumsden, believing his time on the AIS nonetheless helps him when he’s coping with the complexities surrounding the numerous gifted gamers who’ve come below his tutelage.
“All I actually aspired to be was the top skilled at Melville Glades Golf Membership, which I did for 14 years. I used to be teaching more often than not anyway, so I made a decision to do it full time.”
He speaks brazenly about his personal journey and the three very totally different gamers he’ll help at Royal Portrush.
Peake, 32, the massive hitting left hander who hung out in jail after becoming a member of an outlaw bike gang, is within the Open after profitable in New Zealand Open this 12 months.
A fantastic story, Peake was working with Smith as a gifted 17-year-old.
“Like a whole lot of kids that age he fell out of affection with the sport. I don’t suppose, to be sincere, he ever felt comfy or that he ‘belonged’ within the recreation.
“He was at all times a tremendously gifted and a really loyal individual.
“(As a teen) Ryan went looking for someplace to belong…it might have been a footy membership, a cricket membership or any group he could possibly be with.
“Sadly, he selected a bikie gang and it was by loyalty to these those who he landed himself in jail.”
The large hitting left hander, now, 32, is now writing a brand new chapter in his life, because of the person who mentored him as an adolescent.
“I had misplaced contact with him so wrote a letter and was shocked when he replied in a letter from inside jail.
“It was superbly written and in it he apologised for letting me and so many different folks down. I stated he had made a mistake and inspired him again into the sport.”
Min Woo Lee, like Peake, has been coached by Smith since he was an adolescent. However that’s the place the similarity ends.
Ritchie Smith again in 2017 with a younger Minjee Lee.
Min’s best asset is his “lack of concern when acting on the massive stage”, his coach says.
“He’s not afraid of failure and he likes the limelight. He has lengthy been world class driving, chipping and placing.
“He’s a really tough scholar. The toughest one I’ve. He has a brief consideration span however he’s had unimaginable outcomes. The large factor he has had going for him proper from the beginning is his preparation off the course. He seems like he’s a celebration boy, however he by no means has been.”
Smith says Min has by no means been that within the technical aspect of the sport till comparatively not too long ago.
“He was solely thinking about ball flight He favored to focus on what he noticed.”
Smith says all his expenses are advanced and provides, “it’s simply the way you unravel them to get essentially the most out of every one.”
Requested what he thinks he brings to the desk as a coach, Smith says merely, “real care, endurance, data and expertise. Belief, honesty and a capability to attach with them are additionally important components.”
Above all he calls for a powerful work ethic.
Smylie has solely been below Smith’s tutelage for 18 months and needed to conform to tackle a wholly new group together with a psychologist, physiotherapist and bio mechanist earlier than he might be a part of the secure. All Smith-coached gamers work below his specifically assembled help crew.
“Elvis is a expertise however nonetheless very a lot a piece in progress.”
Smith thinks he’s been lucky to have the ability to information such an important group of gamers.
“I’m having fun with it. My journey right here has been a comparatively upward trajectory. It has not had too many up and downs, though my spouse would possibly disagree,” he says jokingly.
“I nonetheless look again at tournaments my gamers have misplaced and I really feel accountable for that. However that’s a part of elite sport, I assume.
“Although it’s good once you hear your phrases come out of their mouths, after they have performed nicely.”
One factor all Smith proteges have proven is a capability for laborious work, with expertise alone not sufficient.
“There are a whole lot of very gifted golfers promoting golf tees over-the-counter at Drummonds,” he concludes considerably dryly.
Smith and Inexperienced recognised on the WA Golf Trade Awards
RITCHIE Smith was named PGA WA Coach of the 12 months for an eighth time, whereas Hannah Inexperienced acquired the Excellent Golf Achievement Award, in addition to being introduced because the WA Golfer of the 12 months on the ADH Membership Automobile WA Golf Trade Awards held at Crown Perth.
The 2 excessive profile Western Australian professionals had been simply two winners on the annual occasion, which is a joint initiative occasion between GolfWA, the PGA, Golf Course Superintendents Affiliation of WA and Golf Administration Australia (WA).
Inexperienced, who loved a three-win season on the LPGA Tour in 2024, beat out a top quality listing of finalists to win her second WA Golfer of the 12 months accolade, with Minjee and Min Woo Lee, Kirsten Rudgeley and beginner stars Isabella Leniartek and Spencer Harrison amongst the opposite nominees.
And whereas Smith’s award got here within the Excessive Efficiency class, Mark Tibbles of The Vines Golf & Nation Membership was awarded PGA WA Coach of the 12 months – Recreation Growth, for a second time.
Hannah Inexperienced, named WA Golfer of the 12 months for a second time.
Busselton Head Skilled Grant Williams was the Hilary Lawler PGA WA Membership Skilled of the 12 months for the second consecutive 12 months, together with his younger colleague Jeremy Crabb the PGA WA Affiliate of the 12 months.
Busselton was referred to as to the winner’s podium for a 3rd time in taking out the Excellent Recreation Growth Program class, the place the extremely profitable ‘Swing & Sip’ Girls’s Newbie Program was recognised.
Margaret River Golf Membership was one other to gather three gongs on an evening which featured 17 separate award classes, headlined by the membership being introduced because the Regional Golf Facility of the 12 months after an impressive 2024 the place they added 151 new members and elevated income by $168k, permitting for vital reinvestment in course enhancements and services.
In recognition of the position he performed in driving this success, the PGA WA Administration Skilled of the 12 months went to Margaret River’s GM Andrew MacAuslan, whereas Jackie Dickson took house the Volunteer of the 12 months Award.
Kalgoorlie Golf Course and Lake Karrinyup Nation Membership gained the respective Regional and Metropolitan Golf Course of the 12 months classes, with Mandurah Nation Membership – host of the one hundredth WA Open final October – the Metropolitan Golf Facility of the 12 months.
Lake Karrinyup stalwart John Hopkins, who has held key positions with Golf Australia and was beforehand President of the Australian Golf Union, acquired the Distinguished Service Award. Hopkins has additionally served as a referee at main tournaments world wide, together with The Open Championship, US Open and Australian Open.
