November 27, 2017

Meet Patrick Gocklin of KGOLF 360 in Manchester

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Gocklin.

Patrick, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Manchester, NH, began playing golf at 4 years old, and have been competing in tournaments since I was 8. Since I started playing the game at a young age I knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, growing up in my area I found it difficult to find a coach to help me develop my game to a level that was needed to compete at a very high level of junior golf and college golf. However, in 2007, I met my personal swing coach and now closest friend, Tony Morgan. The first day I met Tony he told me one of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve ever received and will never forget. That advice was to surround yourself with people around you that will make you better in all areas of your life.

In the Fall of 2009 I entered my freshmen year at Florida Southern College (FSC) with the goal of walking on to their golf program. FSC has 13 NCAA Championships, the most in all of Division 2, and decorated with conference championships and all-americans. I had to shoot 1 under-par my last nine holes to make the team in a tryout and I did. There was great relief and joy with this accomplishment. I was grateful to have enjoyed a wonderful 4 years as a member of the golf program and be a part of a National Championship team in 2010. These four years have had a profound impact on how I have approached developing the junior golfers I coach.

When I graduated in the Spring of 2012 I was at a crossroads between deciding to try and play golf professionally, take a job at one of the best private clubs in FL, or start my own golf coaching business from scratch back in my home town of Manchester, NH from scratch. After months of thinking about the pros and cons of each potential decision I decided to take the chance of starting my own golf coaching business for kids and adults. In my gut this felt like the decision I was meant to make. I truly felt there was a need for golfers of all ages and ability levels to have a coach available to them all year round whose passion and dedication was %100 about helping them improve their game to the level they wanted to aspire to.

In Fall of 2012 I opened up KGOLF 360 and www.kgolf360.com with the goal that it would become the premier year-round golf coaching academy for kids and adults around NH. I opened up the facility inside the Executive Health and Sports Club (EHSC), located in Manchester, NH right near the Manchester, Airport. WIth great help from my friends Tony Morgan and Wayne Jean, and the support of Mike Benton, owner of EHSC,I had a strong foundation to pour everything I had into growing my business. The first 3 months of opening I only had 5 students working with me at the time. However, I kept telling myself to follow the steps of my business plan, listen to my close advisers, and stay patient… I knew this would not happen over-night.

Fast-Forward a year from that time I had been able to create and retain a clientele that had me coaching clients an average of 25-30 hours per week. After that first year I was only beginning to understand the formula I needed to continue to improve upon that would help me continue to grow my business. To spare the details, that formula revolves around making sure you have a genuine passion and love for what you do, realize that if you want to be one of the very best in any profession you must be willing to devote that same effort to your craft, be willing to listen to criticism from the opinions of those you trust, and most importantly do not be afraid to make a mistake… instead look forward to that mistake because that is where you find the opportunity to learn the most.

Over the next 5 years to this day I am forever grateful to have been able to coach some amazing students of all ages and ability levels. From having multiple students who have improved their handicap by at least 10 strokes in 6 months to helping others win their club and city championships and grow their love of the game. Also, the success my junior golfers have had means as much to me as anything… having 5 NH State High School champions, multiple collegiate champions, a Junior Student ranked 15th in the entire country as a US Junior Amateur Quarterfinalist, and having helped multiple kids earn college golf scholarships to top level Division I programs such as Wake Forest has and will always be a great motivation for why I get up every morning.

In summary, this has been a team effort from day one and will always be that way. I’m truly grateful to love what I do everyday and for my friends, family, and students who have supported and guided me along this journey.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The toughest challenge beginning my business was creating a large enough clientele for the business to sustain itself from month-to-month. However, I kept telling myself and still tell myself to this day that every new student I meet for the first lesson and every lesson after is as important to me as the last. It just takes one student to begin improving, playing better with their friends, and in tournaments, which then makes them want to tell their friends about how they are getting better, allowing the business to grow organically. This process allowed me to go from having only 5 students in the first 3 months to coaching 25-30 hours per week in one year, and then 35-40 hours per week consistently now.

Another struggle was having my main facility be an indoor location that was only visible to those inside the Executive Health and Sports Club. This put a great emphasis on me relying on social media marketing, email marketing, and word of mouth to grow the word of my business. I do provide coaching to students outside at driving ranges and playing lessons at golf courses around the area, along with caddying and watching them play in tournaments.

I’d say a constant struggle that is a fun challenge for me is continuing to figure out where my business needs to improve. Whether it’s been creating a better website and scheduling system, knowing what new technology is the best value for my students for me to purchase, learning how to use social media to market my business effectively, and continuing to educate myself as coach and businessman every day.

I believe that we have a choice to make ourselves worse or better every day, which some days is easier said, than done. However, to me it is so important, whichever profession we choose, if we want to be successful. There have been times when you have a slow month of revenue and it’s easy to get depressed. The hard part is being able to assess your strengths and weaknesses in that moment and know what you need to do to improve or change in order to achieve your desired results. When you see your results improve because you took the time to assess what change was needed, the success is even more rewarding.

Please tell us about KGOLF 360.
In 2016 we were selected to run the only year round indoor Golf Channel Academy, KGOLF 360 in the New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine region. The Golf Channel recognized me as one of the elite Golf Professionals in the United States for my continued efforts and results as a leader in the world of golf coaching. Our coaching philosophy of customizing golf coaching programs to fit the needs of each individual helps golfer’s of all ability levels from beginners to tour level players. Our understanding of technology, the golf swing, biomechanics, physical assessments, and golf-specific fitness places us at the forefront of the golf coaching world. I am a K-VEST Level II Certified Professional, a TPI Certified Fitness Professional and Level II Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Certified Junior Golf Coach.

We utilize 3D Biofeedback and measurement technology for swing, Titleist Performance Institute’s golf specific fitness programs, high speed video, ground force and ball flight data. Patrick is recognized as one of the top Junior Golf coaches in New England for developing students who have played at the highest level of Division I Golf. We have multiple students who have improved their handicap by at least 10 strokes in 6 months, helped others win their club and city championships and grow their love of the game. Also, the success of our junior golfers in the last 5 years has demonstrated us as a leader in developing the best young golfers in our area… having 5 NH State High School champions, multiple collegiate champions, a Junior Student ranked 15th in the entire country as a US Junior Amateur Quarterfinalist, and having helped multiple kids earn college golf scholarships to top level Division I programs such as Wake Forest is why we love what we do.

Our willingness to work with all ages and ability levels of students on course, watch them play and compete in events, and provide them customized coaching to fit their desired needs all year round gives the student every opportunity to achieve their goals of better golf as fast as possible. We also have the ability to provide remote coaching for our students as well. When we have students traveling to other parts of the country and the world, because of our technology we can provide real time feedback, customize a student’s program, and improve their game even if we are thousands of miles apart.

In Fall 2012 Patrick was featured in the New Hampshire Union Leader Newspaper and in 2014 on WMUR Channel 9 News on NH Chronicle as Owner of KGOLF360. He received his degree from Florida Southern College where he was a member of their 2010 National Championship Golf Team.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I believe if I had the chance to start my business over I would have been more aggressive in financially spending what was necessary to set up my facility where I can now coach multiple students at the same time. My current facility now allows me to provide more options for student programming and also gives me more freedom to design my coaching programs. I’d say also becoming more consistently involved with social media at an earlier period would have helped to speed up the process of growing the reputation of the business in my area.

From the beginning I would have setup a better online lesson scheduling system. Once my business became consistently busy I setup a scheduling system that now allows my students to be able to book a lesson with me through my website without having to play email or phone tag up to 90 days in advance. That saved my students and myself a lot of time.

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