From closed shop to open door of opportunity as McCook revels in PGA training

As a full-time touring professional, Hannah McCook hadn’t given The PGA’s training programme much thought.

Her reasoning was pretty simple. “I thought The PGA may have been a bit of a closed shop for people like me,” she admitted. “I thought I’d have to wait until I was finished as a player.”

The traditional training route may remain one of the bedrocks of The PGA qualification but, in a changing golfing landscape, its flexibility is helping to attract a fresh wave of trainees.

McCook is one of them. The 32-year-old competes on the Ladies European Tour Access Series but she’s also juggling her PGA degree in the Tournament Player category.

From that perceived closed shop, McCook is now looking at an open door of opportunity. It’s suiting her down to a tee.

“Those of us in the Tournament Professional category don’t need to be attached to a club or put in the shop-based hours,” explained McCook.

“The number of hours we put in as a Tournament Professional, whether that’s playing, practicing or going to the gym, counts as our shop hours. And we do put in a lot of hours. We still do all the same studying, the assignments and the exams of the traditional trainee.

“We can’t actually play in PGA trainee events, but it does work out very well.”

While originally unaware of her own potential PGA possibilities, McCook did have a connection to the Association.

“My partner, Sean (Gunn) finished his PGA training a couple of years ago and I had watched what he was doing,” added McCook, who turned professional at the end of 2018 after a successful amateur career which was illuminated by wins in both the Welsh and Irish Women’s Open Strokeplay Championships.

“It got me thinking that I should maybe do it too if I want to coach. But I was still playing full-time, so I put the thought to one side. Last spring, though, I was doing some caddying at Castle Stuart to earn some money. I was looking at all the players of various standards and thought ‘maybe it would be satisfying to do some coaching and help others?’. 

"After all these years of playing, I must have some knowledge in there somewhere. I’ve watched a lot of golf swings, and I’ve had a lot of people tell me what to do. I wanted to help people instead of just helping myself.

“Someone told I could do my training while still being on tour. It made so much sense to do it now instead of finishing playing in a few years’ time and thinking, ‘right, what do I do now?’ This way, I’ll have the qualification in the locker.”

A graduate of Stirling University, McCook is revelling in this latest chapter of her golfing education while her coaching activities at Macdonald Spey Valley near Aviemore continue to give her fresh impetus away from the trials and tribulations that can be par for the course as a touring golfer.

“This gives me something else to focus on,” said McCook, who made her pro breakthrough in 2023 with a victory on the Rose Ladies Series.

“You may have missed a few cuts on the tour but then you come back, you give a lesson and you forget about you and focus on who you are coaching. I may not have been happy with my week on tour but at least someone else is happy.

“It’s very rewarding leaving a range and seeing someone you’ve given a lesson to looking happy rather than just leaving the range by yourself after yet another practice session on your own.

“I’ve found the studying very interesting too. I’m 32 now and I’m classed as a mature student. When I was at University the first time, I loved it but, obviously, there were a few modules I found a bit boring.

“I think I’m more engaged this time round. I’m enjoy reading, studying and writing much more now. I’m much better at those things too. I’m almost thinking, ‘how did I get through university?!’.”

While she still harbours ambitions of climbing the tour ladder, McCook is keen to spread The PGA gospel too.

“I’d certainly encourage other golfers in a similar situation to me to look into it,” said McCook, a type-1 diabetic who has been managing her condition since the age of eight.

“In fact, I know one or two players from the tour who are starting their PGA training after we spoke about it. They never realised this option was available to them.

“But the landscape of golf has changed, and The PGA has changed with it.”