From Frustrated Golfer to Functional Golf Academy

I started playing golf when I was about 3 years old and played consistently until I was 9. I loved the game from the start - the feel of a solid strike, the challenge of mastering something difficult, the beauty of the course. But what I didn't love was the traditional instruction environment.

Taking lessons felt overwhelming to me. I didn't fit in with the typical junior golf culture. So instead, I threw myself into team sports - basketball, football, soccer, track, baseball. I was an athlete, just not a golfer. At least not yet.

When high school came around, I thought about returning to golf and playing competitively. But I was a football player, and golf season conflicted with football season. Golf took a backseat. For the next several years, I maybe played once or twice a year with my dad or grandpa. That was it.

Fast forward to college and the years immediately after. I started playing quite a bit of golf again. I had some friends at home, and we'd play during the week or on weekends whenever we weren't working. We'd try to get twilight rounds in. It was some of the most fun I've ever had.

The problem? I was terrible. My handicap was probably close to a 20 at that time, maybe even an 18 if I'm being generous. It was incredibly frustrating because I wanted to play well. I was competitive by nature, and shooting 95-100 wasn't cutting it.

But golf took another backseat when I went off to medical school. I started studying medicine, the human body, biomechanics - how the human body moves through space. I was training to become an osteopathic physician. And during that time, golf became my stress relief. My happy place. My escape from the intensity of medical school.

At some point during medical school, I made a decision: I was going to figure out how to get really good at golf. And then something incredible happened.

I was playing at Merrill Island Golf Club in the Bay Area on a Friday afternoon. Late afternoon. The wind was howling off the bay - incredibly difficult conditions. I came to the third hole, a par 3, 205 yards downhill with out of bounds left and big bushes to the right. You basically had to hit the green or you'd lose your ball.

I hit what I thought was one of the best shots of my life - a perfect little cut that spun into the wind and landed about 15 feet short of the pin. I was proud of that shot. I looked behind me and saw a guy playing by himself, moving quickly. I waved him up.

He stepped onto the tee, set up, and boom - 5 feet. I thought, "Wow. What a shot." Because I knew exactly how hard that shot was. That guy turned out to be John Erickson.

John Erickson was a former tour pro. He played in Canada, he played in Asia. Now he teaches an advanced ball striking course online. But more importantly, John and I became very good friends. We played a lot of golf together over the years.

When I met John, my handicap was maybe an 18. By the time I left to complete my medical training, I was down to a 7. That's 11 strokes - a massive improvement by any standard. But what I learned from John wasn't just about swing mechanics. I learned what great golf actually looked like. I learned what it took to compete on really challenging golf courses. I learned what it meant to be a real golfer.

John never charged me more than about $1,000 for years of instruction and mentorship. That generosity has stuck with me, and it's why I'm committed to keeping this academy affordable.

When I started my medical training, I thought I was going to be an orthopedic surgeon. But I couldn't shake this idea that I wanted a better understanding of the biomechanics of a golf swing and how the human body moves through space.

I ended up training in neuromuscular medicine and eventually went on to study regenerative medicine. Through that training, I also became certified by Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) to understand the golf swing from their perspective.

But here's what I discovered: the people teaching the TPI courses weren't necessarily great golfers. Having played with John, I knew what great golf looked like. TPI wasn't built to teach individual golfers - it was built to teach coaches, medical professionals, and fitness professionals about the golf swing. It's a B2B model, not a direct-to-golfer system.

That's when I realized there was a gap in the market.

If you look at the data, dropping your handicap from an 18 to a 7 is actually much easier than dropping from a 7 to a 3.5. And I experienced this firsthand.

Along the way, I learned that golf isn't just about having a biomechanically sound swing (though you need that). It's also about:

• Understanding how to actually play the game correctly
• Learning when to practice swing mechanics vs. when to just play
• Managing your dispersion cone instead of chasing perfection
• Making small daily adjustments based on your tendencies
• Accepting that golf is a game of misses, not perfect shots

I'm still learning. I'm still trying to get to scratch. I'm trying to get to John's level. I may never make it there. But I believe that given my unique skill set and knowledge, I can help a lot of people.

Golfers are a special breed. We think a little bit differently. We're kind of obsessive. And ultimately, we just want to go out there, play good golf, and have fun.

I created Functional Golf Academy because I saw too many golfers struggling with the same issues I faced:

• Generic instruction that doesn't account for individual physical limitations
• Swing tips that work for some bodies but not others
• No clear path from "here's your problem" to "here's how to fix it"
• Missing the strategic element of the game entirely
• Instruction heavily biased toward male anatomy (my daughter experiences this constantly)

I also realized that my background is genuinely unique. I'm not some high-profile, extremely naturally talented athlete. I'm much closer to the common man than not. Before medical school, I owned a handyman business and worked a lot of different jobs that had nothing to do with medicine.

I'm a doctor, so yes, I'm very smart and understand the science. But I'm also someone who ground their way from mediocre to good through hard work, obsessive learning, and a willingness to try new approaches. If I can do it, you can do it.

This academy is for everyone - regardless of age, gender, athletic background, or current skill level. My kids (my son is 9, my daughter is 7) are both into golf, and I see already how golf instruction needs to be more inclusive and thoughtful about different body types and learning styles.