Chris Foley
PGA Master Professional
Chris Foley is the owner and operator of Chris Foley Golf Schools and the Director of Instruction at The Legacy Courses at Cragun’s in Brainerd, MN. He is also a Head Coach for the USA Junior National Team.
Prior to his present position Chris served as the Director of Golf at The Members Club in Columbia, SC. and spent fourteen years as the head golf professional at Madden’s on Gull Lake in Brainerd, MN. It was at Madden’s, that he founded Chris Foley Golf Schools. The golf instructional school was the only one of its kind in the Brainerd Lakes area and under Foley’s leadership experienced tremendous growth.
The Minnesota Section PGA named Chris its “Teacher of the Year” in 2002. In 2001, Chris was awarded a Specialty Certification in Teaching (PGA Master Professional), one of only fifty nationwide and three in Minnesota. He is consistently among top three Best Teachers in Minnesota by Golf Digest Magazine. In 2005, Golf Magazine listed Chris at one of the Top Teachers in the Region. In addition, he was named to T&L Golf’s MASTER CLASS of Teaching Pros in America. Chris was also the 2004 Callaway Golf Club Fitter of the Year. Chris is also a Level 1 Certified Hank Haney Instructor and one of only six teachers certified in Laser Optics Putting.
Chris will be presenting key Ryder Cup Captain strategies of the past and present that resulted in wins and losses. Pairing highly talented golfers together and getting them to mesh is no easy task. In addition getting the entire team behind the strategy can be difficult and result in a lot of second guessing. Most recently Europe has won the past 3 cups and USA and Captain Davis Love III is under a lot of pressure to win this September at Hazeltine Golf Club in MN
Chris will be drawing from Ryder Cup historians as well as referencing the Best Selling Book written by past Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger Cracking the Code. Paul was the captain of the last winning USA team 8 years ago.
Lessons from the Ryder Cup can be applied to teams in organizations. Creating high performing teams made up of super stars with big egos can be a challenge and often time dysfunction occurs. Every company has their Tiger Woods and Phil Michelson. Finding ways to get these kind of stars to work as a team and not against each other is key. Also getting all team members and support members (like caddies) behind the larger goal is crucial
