Coach Profile: Giles Gill
Posted by
At just 25-years-old, Giles Gill has already made a name for himself in the remote coaching world. He’s amassed over 52,000 followers on Instagram & TikTok, with some videos amassing hundreds of thousands of views. But for Giles, the journey is just getting started.
Giles Gill has a 4.99-out-of-5 star rating on Skillest, with over 1,200 lessons completed.
Zach Gray:
When did you first get into golf?
Giles Gill:
I first started playing golf when I was 13. I was really big into all sports, had a couple of injuries and sort of just fell out of love with football over here in the UK. One of my best mates who actually won the British Amateur last year, Laird Shepherd, asked me to go play golf and I got absolutely hooked.
Zach:
Did you have aspirations of becoming a professional golfer?
Giles:
I started to become pretty good when I was 16. I then got offers from America to play Division I golf. It was only when those offers came in that I thought I was good enough to take it to the next level. I ended up going to Texas State University playing three seasons, was injured my last year, and then decided to red shirt so in order to give it a go on the tours and play professionally.
Zach:
What was the transition like going from the UK to Texas?
Giles:
I absolutely loved Texas.I didn’t know what to expect and it was everything that I expected in a sense of it being completely nuts. It’s 100% true that everything is bigger in Texas. I think growth wise, it was awesome because there’s so many good universities, so many good colleges, so many good players in Texas that even when we’re playing in state events, the standards were so high and the courses are so different. You’ve got every kind of course there and it really took my game to the next level. I was lucky enough to play against some big universities and some big players. It was an awesome experience.
Zach:
What was what was the injury you suffered?
Giles:
I had tendonitis in my left wrist, but the one that put me out was a pinched nerve in my back. I had the option to go back and play, but once I graduated, I just wanted to turn pro.
Zach:
Just to jump ahead for a moment, how have your injuries helped you in terms of coaching clients who may be facing injuries of their own?
Giles:
So I did the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), and the whole inspiration behind that was I wanted to understand the biomechanics of the golf swing. So not only do I understand how the body works, but also how to work around injuries. I had to find work-arounds with my own game and I wanted to do the same with everyone else. We have different mobility, different abilities, different injuries. With my coaching, I try to get the most efficient swing for them and work around any injuries or limitations they may have.
Zach:
So after you graduate, you plan to turn pro. Talk through that journey and then what eventually led to coaching.
Giles:
I turned pro in 2019, starting with a couple of mini tour events here in the UK. I was being coached at the time by Zane Scotland. He was a big ambassador for the MENA Tour. I ended up getting four invites to that tour for the back end of the season. So I went out there, played well, made a couple of cuts, and just loved it. I loved the courses, playing in Jordan and around UAE, just absolutely amazing. The next season I went back Q School for the MENA Tour and got my card. I played pretty much a full season and then COVID hit, bringing everything to a halt. During COVID, I had a lot of time to reflect, as everyone did, and thought about if touring professionally was the way I wanted to take my life. I realized that it wasn’t, but I still had such a passion for golf and I had a high technical knowledge. So I started out my coaching journey with TPI, then did the Leadbetter Course to help with my communication style, and from there everything snowballed. I ended up coaching at Burgess Hill Golf Centre, and business started really booming after a couple of months. I bought myself a TrackMan, got onto Skillest. Been successful so far and have absolutely loved it. And then recently now I’m coaching for Zane Scotland at the ZS Academy / The Bear Tiger Club.
Zach:
How has the Skillest experience been for you?
Giles:
It’s sort of changed my perspective on the golf industry. It’s kind of like the fitness industry being less in person and more online. There’s pros and cons to both sides, but the online side can definitely help a hell of a lot of people around the world. For me, it’s so easy to use. You can get so much done in such a short period of time. The thing that I really like about Skillest is the clients. They have an open communication line with me, so I have people messaging me pretty much every day asking all sorts of questions about their own game, the sport, equipment, and more. I’ve found that it’s really helped people become more confident in their game. The lessons and information is fantastic, but the ease of communication has been a game changer. I talk more to my online clients and I have a better relationship with my online clients and I do my in-person clients for me.
Zach:
You’ve built up a great social media presence. How has that helped your business?
Giles:
It’s helped massively in a couple of different ways. When I create a tips video, it makes me sit back and think, “okay, what’s the purpose of this drill? What am I actually trying to give people the benefit of?” It’s helped me create useful content instead of just throwing drills out there just because. But in terms of Instagram and TikTok, every penny that I’ve earned on Skillest has come through there. So for me, it’s everything in terms of the marketing. There’s not many places you can pay a small amount of money and get high exposure. I get a lot of people in person who tell me they saw me on Instagram or TikTok.
Zach:
Where do you see your career going in the next 10 to 15 years?
Giles:
I want to grow my online business as much as possible to the point where I can pretty much become self-sufficient off of online coaching itself. But the real goal as well is I’ve always wanted to move back to America to set up academies. And maybe I could set up some in the UK, the Middle East, wherever.
I want them to be a place where you get everything: golf instruction, nutrition advice, biomechanics, fitness, everything. That’s the dream.