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Nike Golf Canada Pro Profile: Sean Foley
Canadian coach a rising star on the PGA Tour
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Photo: Courtesy of the Junior Golf Academy of Canada
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Burlington’s Sean Foley, a Nike Golf Canada staff
member, is on his way to becoming one of golf’s most renowned instructors. |
Sean Foley, Director of Instruction
Junior Golf Academy of Canada
Orlando, Florida
Nike Golf Canada staff member Sean Foley is one of Canada’s hottest golf properties.
His successful coaching relationship with Stephen Ames, a fellow Nike Golf Staff member, and with others such as Salimah Mussani and Nationwide Tour player Chris Baryla, have given the young swing instructor a tremendous reputation on the major professional tours and in the Canadian golf media.
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Photo: Brent Long
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Sean Foley has helped PGA Tour player Stephen Ames to overcome back problems and to sharpen his game, culminating in a PGA Tour victory last fall.
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With his coaching skill and colourful personality, many golf insiders are predicting that he will some day rank among renowned instructors such as Hank Haney, Butch Harmon, and his good friends Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett.
Based on his meteoric rise, Nike Golf Canada signed the 33-year-old Burlington, Ont., native to an agreement last July. Foley is ecstatic about the relationship.
“It’s great that Nike Golf Canada is trying to help put me and the Junior Academy on the map in a number of ways, including an instruction series with Stephen and me on their www.nikegolf.ca website,” says Foley, who lives in Orlando, Fla., where he is Director of Instruction at the Junior Golf Academy of Canada.
(Nike Golf Canada is also the official supplier of apparel, headwear and footwear to the Junior Golf Academy of Canada.)
“I certainly have tried to represent them as well as I can. For me, it’s been an ideal partnership. I like Nike’s products. They’ve come a long way in a short time as a golf company. What I especially like is their passion.”
Foley, a fine player in his own right, has been employing Nike’s SQ SUMO 5000, a driver he deems “the best, most consistent driver I’ve ever hit,” while going back and forth between Nike Golf’s CCi Forged Irons and Forged Blade Irons. Admittedly, he has a tough time choosing.
“I really like the way they both look. Some days I can’t decide,” he laughs. “Both are forged and have those great players’ lines you love to see. Aesthetically, all of Nike’s stuff is that way. It’s quality gear right through the bag.”
Equally important to the clubs he plays are the clothes he wears. As a swing instructor who makes his living on the range, Foley’s needs for moisture management, style, fit and wearability have all been admirably addressed by Nike’s line of apparel.
“Stephen and I were talking not long ago about how good the apparel is,” Foley says. “It’s got more of a European feel to it now and it fits very nicely.
“I’m out in the sun every day, all day, sometimes in temperatures as high as 100 degrees. For keeping perspiration off me and really allowing me to stay cool under those conditions, it’s been great. Very comfortable.”
Since he began working with Foley in the fall of 2006, Ames has overcome his back problems, improved his swing—he was already highly regarded as a ball-striker—and won a PGA Tour event (the Children’s Miracle Network Classic last fall).
The relationship has been mutually beneficial, bringing out the best in both of them.
“Working with Stephen has been one of the highlights of my career,” Foley says. “He is hardworking and loyal to the path we are taking. He’s one of the most talented players in the world.
“People I’ve met on the PGA Tour who know Stephen from his days on the Hogan (now Nationwide) and European tours keep telling me that it’s the best they’ve seen him hit it. We continue to work on his alignment, his posture, and his swing sequencing. It’s gone very well for both of us.”
Foley says Nike Golf’s role in Ames’s success should not be understated.
“Stephen wants to win. He’s not going to play equipment or wear apparel that doesn’t help him do that. Nike has done a tremendous job getting him into all the right stuff.
“They’ve been involved in professional sports for such a long time at the highest level. They know what it takes. They know these guys aren’t going to settle for anything that doesn’t help them perform their best.”
Just a few days from having his first child with wife Kate (Quinn Alexander was born on March 29), Foley believes he’s approaching another level in his career, or as his father says, “where your walk equals your talk.”
“I don’t want a huge stable of players like some of the big guys have,” Foley says. “My No. 1 priority is Stephen and to have a few more—not just really good players, but really good people.
“My hope is they succeed on and off the golf course. At the end of my career I think more players will say I helped them more as people than I did with their golf swings. That’s important to me. That’s my goal.”
For more information on Nike Golf Canada, please contact:
Vitalis Gomes
Nike Golf Canada
905.771.2058
vitalis.gomes@nike.com
Tim O'Connor
O'Connor Golf Communications
tim@oconnorgolf.ca
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