Certified Putting Instructor (CPI) and PGA Professional Kieron Gaskell is ready to make some changes as he embarks on a new career focus this upcoming season.
For a number of years, Gaskell has been the golf professional at Westhoughton Golf Club near Bolton however in early March he will make a move to Crosland Heath Golf Club in Huddersfield to focus more on his passion which is coaching.
Certified Putting Instructor Kieron Gaskell
“My new role will be teaching and some retail work. Crosland Heath has excellent practice facilities and I will be coaching juniors, members and visitors. The CPI qualification will be a beneficial asset to my coaching in my new position,” said Gaskell who is looking forward to the new opportunity and has already applied what he has learned to his own putting as well as that of his students, and has seen much success.
“The CPI Course has given me much more confidence, knowing that I am doing things right and my own putting has improved as a result. It is very helpful in analyzing the putting stroke and in solving problems. As putting is such a short stroke it is sometimes difficult to see what is happening but having become a CPI I am able to pin point and solve problems more quickly.
“There is not much about putting in the PGA training, there is more about chipping and long game. The CPI Course helped me learn a lot more about putting. It was interesting to learn about swing plane and posture. The CPI Course showed the movements that can happen and was an in-depth look at what can go wrong. I already taught using the Lock and Rock, but the CPI Course really cleared up swing path for me. In putting there are many different methods and it can get confusing.”
Gaskell always dreamed of being a golf professional. He has been hooked on the game ever since his uncle took him and his brother to a local field on Christmas Day and he first picked up one of his brother’s golf clubs. Fast forward a few years and he had acquired his own set of golf clubs and joined Haigh Hall Golf Club, near Wigan. In only 3 years he reduced his handicap to 6 and played for the South Lancashire team. He worked in banking for a number of years, but after his mum passed away, he decided that life was too short and chose to follow his dream and become a golf professional in 2004.
Gaskell is excited about the future with his recent CPI qualification and continuing his professional journey in his new role.
“I look forward to helping students play and putt better. I will also have some more time to play in events like the North Region Tournaments, Yorkshire County events and pro-ams as well as the Club Pro Championships qualifying. I’ll also give the Open Championship qualifying a go.”
Frank Thomas, founder of Frankly Golf and the CPI Course, former longtime USGA Technical Director and inventor of the graphite shaft said,
“Kieron is a wonderful example of how to take full advantage of the CPI Course. It is rewarding for us to see how quickly and easily he has been able to adapt his teaching with the principles included in the CPI Course. He has a bright future ahead of him which we will be following as one of our CPI family.”
Certified Putting Instructor 