P.G.A. Qualified Golf Professional Gary Shipley was born in the northeast but moved south at the age of 19 to progress as a Professional Golfer.  In the south of England, he progressed as a player and developed his coaching skills. His reputation grew and as a result he coached golfers of all abilities including County Teams in Surrey, Berkshire, Essex and Kent.

After returning to his roots in the northeast and a spell at Whitley Bay Golf Club and Parklands Golf Club, Gary joined George Washington Golf Club as Head Coach for 9 years until 2018 and has now moved on to progress his coaching at the Sunderland Golf Academy. 

In the last few years Gary has been instrumental in developing a Golf Academy at Gateshead College and, alongside his other coaching, has worked with England Golf, Universities, Colleges and schools to help develop younger players. Gary coaches all levels of players in all aspects of the game from psychology, to method, from nutrition to course management. 

 PHILOSOPHY:  Don’t overcomplicate your swing, keep it straight forward.

Gary concentrates on refining a player’s method through increased knowledge and understanding of how their swing works. Gary will guide the player through all adjustments and changes in a straight forward and concise way to instil a belief and confidence in their ability to improve performance.

He is always looking to keep up to date with current theories on the game and technology to ensure that all his players are given the best professional advice on their golf. Positive practice is essential, therefore, drills, skills tests and the use of Coach Now are used to compliment coaching to enable players to maintain their swing plan and improve performance outside of the lesson environment.

“I always get a huge amount of satisfaction when a player comes back after a lesson to tell me how much better they have played”