Golfing Union of Ireland National Coach, Neil Manchip, has been given the John Jacobs Award for Teaching & Coaching at the Confederation of Professional Golf’s 2015 Annual Congress Gala Awards.
The John Jacobs Award is given to a PGA Professional that has excelled in the field of coaching be it with any type of player, elite or beginner, and since 2011 it has been awarded to coaches such as Rory McIlroy’s coach, Michael Bannon, and Spain’s Salvador Luna in 2014.
Manchip’s nomination came from the PGA in Ireland where he has been a prominent member and influential coach in the careers of many of Ireland’s top amateur and professional players, notably the European Tour’s Shane Lowry.
“I’m really fortunate to be in their [the players] company,” said Manchip during a Q&A with Confederation of Professional Golf Education Committee Chairman, Jonathan Mannie (pictured below, right), at the Annual Gala Awards Dinner at Gloria Hotels & Resorts in Turkey where he received his accolade. “They’re excellent golfers – I’m national coach and help them out with their programmes, help them with their golf and give them some guidance in all areas, and it’s just great to be in there to see them develop and thrive.
“I feel really excited to win an award in the name of John Jacobs…it’s just brilliant having grown up with him as such an idol as a golf teacher – I’m just so excited to be here and win the award.”
Manchip started his PGA training in 1992 at the world-famous Royal County Down Golf Club and subsequently became the Head Professional of Royal Dublin, before taking the position of National Coach with the Golfing Union of Ireland.
During his time there he has been involved in the development of all senior and boys amateur teams in Ireland, many of which have had international success along the way. Amongst those players have been five members of the recently victorious 2015 Walker Cup Team, including Paul Dunne who also faired well at this year’s Open Championship, as well as the aforementioned Shane Lowry.
Since 2005 Manchip and Lowry have worked together forming a successful partnership that has led Lowry to multiple wins, such as the Irish Open, the Portugal Masters and, most recently, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational earlier in 2015.
“My main job with Shane Lowry is to help him realise his potential,” explained Manchip. “It is not a matter of being an instructor, but much more of being a listener. I help him to be aware of himself, and what he is doing without being judgmental…The National Coaching role can be somewhat different, in that I am dealing with squads of 12 players in several age groups. We have a wonderful volunteer network who help with logistics, selection and planning. We also have other provincial coaches, along with Professionals who help with strength and conditioning, club-fitting, nutrition and physiotherapy.”
For more information on Neil Manchip and the Golfing Union of Ireland visit www.golfnet.ie.
For More Information On All of 2015’s Award Winners Visit http://eur.pe/2015AnnualCongress
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For more information and news visit the Annual Congress Hub Page (http://eur.pe/2015AnnualCongress), follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#AnnualCongress’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.
The 2015 Annual Congress and Gala Awards Dinner are supported by Rolex and the Ryder Cup European Development Trust and hosted by Gloria Hotels & Resorts – for more information on the event partners visit http://eur.pe/2015AnnualCongress.
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