From AGMS Graduate to World Number One
Kipp, who was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy called Spastic diplegia that affects his lower body, is currently the World Number One on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD). He won the inaugural G4D Tour event - G4D @ Betfred British Masters in May 2022 and followed it up with three more wins in the Tour's first season. The AGMS graduate also teamed up with Novak Djokovic at the All-Star exhibition match ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup.
“For me it was the perfect degree. I had time to play golf. I had a lot of extremely smart people coaching me. Expert advice. The amount that I’ve learned off that degree I’ve got a great base knowledge of the industry. You can use that to create whatever career you want.”
AGMS Graduate, Kipp Popert
Tell us a bit about your background, how did you get into golf?
My Dad started playing golf when I was born, before that he played county cricket. He watched Bobby Jones videos and used to sit me in front of them. I was about three at the time. When I was four I was in the 2001 preview of The Open Championship, because my swing was like Bobby Jones, which is pretty cool to look back on. I love golf. I love competing and pushing myself. I love the challenge. The reason I play is because I don’t want to be comfortable. I want to be pressurised. The things I aspire to and the things that seem unobtainable aren’t to me. If you’d have asked people eight years ago what I’d be doing I think they’d be surprised. But by constantly doing little bits every day seems to get the job done. Being able to play golf for a living is absolutely amazing and I’m having the time of my life
Did you ever think it was possible to play for a living?
100%. I always knew I wanted to play. When I was sat in my second lecture at university I was playing off plus one. It was all about what you want to do in the golf industry. Some of my mates wanted to do coaching, others were more focused on caddying, others wanted to work in golf operations. When it came around the room to me I just said “I want to be a professional golfer.” My caddy Ben is a fellow graduate from the course. He coaches in Croydon and lives about 30 minutes from me and because he’s self-employed he’s able to manage his time so that he caddies the rest of the time for me. It’s been amazing to share the experience with him. I hope we can make a good career out of it for both of us. Having someone like that who i knew from uni who was a friend. He tells me when I’m struggling a bit, he tells me when I’m doing well. His an honest friend and a great caddy as well. He didn’t always get his work done on time at uni. I would be the one who got my assignments in early on the programme but he would leave it to the last minute, but he was never flustered. He was always really calm, so that’s why I picked him. One he was my best mate from the course but two because he is calm and that’s what I need going down the stretch, 16, 17…someone who is calm the whole time, no matter how pressurised it gets and we’ve adapted on that a lot together. We work really well together.
Tell us a little about your fellow graduates from the course
My friends are all doing really well. Sam Hadden is at Puma marketing. Will Downs, I did my dissertation with, he’s doing very well for himself. Mitchell Green is here, he always knew he wanted to work in golf operations. I see him a bit. I think he’s just moved from Little Aston to another club down in the south. The friendships I’ve made off that course I’ve kept.
Have you always believed that you could make it?
No-one really knows if they are going to be good enough but I knew it. I have just done all the things I needed to do so that if everything fell into place I would be ready to take that opportunity. I think if you are doing the right things it produces results and that’s something I truly believe. Any wins I’ve had, any good fortune I’ve been given I’ve grabbed. I’ve been very lucky with two parents who are supportive. The results on the golf course it all comes from practice and preparation, working extremely hard. If you do the work the results will come. So sitting in that lecture at the start of my degree saying I wanted to be a professional golfer I just knew I would. They did a documentary about me on the European Tour a few years ago and they interviewed Ben and he tells the story of how we were sat in that lecture and I told the room that I would be a professional golfer competing. He said a lot of people say that as a big statement but he said that when I said that it meant something. I truly believe it.
What made you start your own YouTube channel?
I just thought that if I need a few years to get to the level to compete then I would need to attract sponsors. I also thought that it was a great way to earn a living, a little bit of money on the side, whilst I practice. It became a bit of a ritual. They actually showed that in a lecture, that I was doing things for myself. I’ve always been someone that has been very driven and determined and that’s why the AGMS degree was perfect for me. Go to Uni, have the opportunity to learn. Then to go out and get a taste of the industry because a lot of people say that after university you learn even more.
So what was your motivation for choosing the AGMS degree?
Very simply both parents helped me make that decision. They are both doctors so education has always been important in our family. The thinking was that if I got injured or I broke an arm or my leg gives up tomorrow then I would have a degree behind me. I have always been someone who believe in Plan A but makes sure that I have something to fall back on and AGMS was perfect for me. I didn’t know that all the disability golf would come about. It timed perfectly for me during the covid period, I was going to turn professional straight after University but then covid happened so there was no point turning pro as there was nothing to play in. Eight months prior I saw that the amateur rules were changing so I thought I would stay amateur so that I could play in every event. I feel like I tested my game a lot more at the big amateur level than say the mini tours. Mainly because I missed all those big amateur events having so many operations growing up. The motivation was degrees in the UK to do golf. I wasn’t good enough to go to America. A lot of people get sold that dream and it’s not really it, they come back after a year. Obviously if you’re a big dog and you’ve got the funding that’s great. But my parents wanted me to pursue my dream of playing golf but to make sure that I had a back-up degree that was world-renowned. So that if I went to America I would have had a degree that’s not recognised in the UK, which wouldn’t have been very useful if I needed to go into work. Whereas the AGMS was perfect for that. We looked at all the other UK options at the time. There were a few Universities that were doing easier courses, less academic courses, and playing six months abroad like in Portugal. My Mum said to me if you’re going to be a world-renowned golfer you’re going to make it wherever you go. AGMS has given me the best education, the best back-up. I know that I have a degree that is recognised around the world. I haven’t really had to use it yet which is fortunate, I’m lucky that my playing has done so well. But to know that I have contacts all around the world is great. There are three people at Wentworth who were on my degree the year ahead of me, there is a golfer in New Zealand. To have those connections, even now as a player, is priceless. To have friends in the industry is amazing.
In terms of the different elements of the course, sports science, coaching etc. Were there any elements of that you were particularly drawn to or liked the most?
I like marketing because I thought I might need it, I thought I would have to market myself. I went to the degree thinking of playing as my career. My business was going to be as a golfer. I was learning in my lectures, learning how to speak to people, learning how to do business meeting. Because you are around very educated people all the time you pick up things. There was also a lecture about being self-employed and employed and how the government taxes, how benefits work and medical insurance. I remember thinking, I’m going to be self-employed so I need to listen to this. I didn’t know if I was going to go straight into playing but I knew that it was important information. That lecture was mainly aimed at coaches who were going to be self-employed. I feel as though I could sit in any of those various lectures and there was things that I could take out of them that I’ve used now. You’ve obviously got to have the vision and the drive. The realisation that everything that you learn you can use to help you. As well as marketing I liked the sports science, learning about PNF and stretching. I’ve always stretched and worked on my mobility but learning that if you hold a stretch and then contract the muscle you can get a deeper stretch.
Does it make you think as a player what brands will benefit you?
I definitely learned a lot from the Equipment Tech element of the course. Anyone that knows me knows that I like to keep golf very simple, I just swing and the ball goes. I was learning Equipment Tech as though I was having to go and do a fitting. I’m very good at compartmentalising things. I’m very good at switching between Kipp the player and Kipp the Plan B. It’s just that I had a dream. Basically I’ve followed my dream, I’m giving it a go and it’s paying off at the moment, but plan B was other areas of the industry. So if I have to custom fit someone, how do I do it? Because I’m not a technical golfer, I’ve always just hit the ball. I know and understand all of it but I just don’t think about it. I know spin rates and I understand them but I don’t ever tinker. I just think that some of the fitters have been doing it for 20 years and they know their job. I never want to make playing golf feel like being a golf coach because I think that for some players that works well. If you ask Ben what my biggest attribute is, he would say my belief and my ability to just press on, to get the most out of a round. But I don’t think technically. I don’t think about any of the coaching lectures that I’ve had. I definitely learned a lot at those. I feel as though I could coach someone with that information, which I couldn’t have done before the degree.
Where did you do your placements?
I did them with my golf coach, at his academy, because if I had to work in the golf industry that would be where I went. It gave me a bit more freedom to play in events. It was amazing. When I look at other guys on the course that went on placements to Wentworth and other venues I think that’s fantastic but at Uni I was very focused on being Kipp as a player. If I thought that playing doesn’t work out then I would offer my services to do work placements after the degree. I also had a massive operation during that time. I was in a boot for six months so once that came off I just wanted to play golf. I was extremely fortunate that they were very accommodating to me at AGMS, always checked up with me about accessibility, so if anyone wants to come to the degree with a disability, it’s absolutely set up for you. The first week I went in they sat me down and asked me what I needed. It wasn’t in a pitying way or anything, they were just being helpful. How can we help. They were exceptional. The other thing I would say about AGMS is that it’s a small degree, so everyone knows everyone. The level of support to get the most out of your degree is exceptional. You get looked after. Not spoon-fed, but mentored very well.
What’s the next steps for you? You’ve talked about the European Tour being your ultimate goal. How close do you think you are to being able to do that?
Extremely close right now. I really wanted to go to Tour school at the end of this year but I missed the cut-off date. I’m loving golf. Ben and I work extremely hard every week. He takes Tuesday off work to come and help me. He doesn’t coach me, my coach is Steven Orr at Rustington Golf Centre. The reason I went to Steven is very simply because I’m an extremely hard worker. The first meeting I had with him, I’d just left my long-time golf coach that I’d had since I was 13, he was an amazing golf coach of the swing, he taught Bob Torrance as a kid, but knowing where I wanted to get to I needed a coach that was younger and who would come to events and we could schedule it in. Steven came and had a look at I knew that he got me. He works out before he goes to work. He’s very diligent in everything he does, which suits me because I’m quite a relaxed person, but when I’m thinking of what I want to achieve I’m extremely driven. Steven is amazing, he puts in as much effort as I do. He knows his own strengths and weaknesses. If he doesn’t know something he won’t make it up, he’ll go out of his way to find it out. Hence why he’s such a highly regarded PGA Professional. They don’t come up very often. Short game is my strength and it’s only got better since I’ve been working with Steven. I cannot rate him highly enough. He’s a close friend and I’m lucky to have someone who is extremely diligent in my corner.