Rich is an elite performance coach for athletes including current top golf professionals on the PGA, LIV, LPGA and Korn Ferry Tours, as well as junior, college players and athletes in other sports.

2025 Northern California
PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year

Rich’s approach to performance coaching is built on pillars of comprehensive fundamental psychological training and experience—both clinical and practical—coupled with a depth of understanding in competitive athletic excellence and a comprehensive knowledge and experience of modern instruction and coaching techniques. He views the combination of these disciplines to be the hallmark of world class performance coaching.

Six Elite Performance Coaching Pillars

• Depth of understanding of athletic excellence as an athlete — #1 ranked junior golfer in the US, USGA Junior Amateur Champion, captain of the Stanford University golf team, professional player.
• Extensive experience in modern coaching and instruction — National Director of Instruction for Nike Golf Schools, Director of Instruction and owner of Pure Golf Academy, Head Instructor for Hank Haney, and Instructor for TPI in Europe and the US.
• Player Development — Coached, developed and built over years the golf games of many hundreds of junior golfers to compete as juniors, earn scholarships to play in college and play professionally.
• Collaboration at the Highest Level — Rich has worked alongside many of the game’s most respected coaches and performance specialists, including Julie Elion of CAPE Performance, and continues to collaborate with top instructors and high-performance teams worldwide.
• Advanced Training — A master’s degree in Depth Psychotherapy and comprehensive clinical training.
• Meditation and mindfulness — Extensive training in advanced attention, awareness, and mental regulation methods that now form a central part of his performance work.

Background / Career

• U.S. Junior Amateur Champion
• #1 ranked Junior Golfer in the U.S.
• AJGA First Team All-American, Vice President and player representative on the board
• Junior World Cup, U.S. team member
• Stanford University Men’s Golf Team, Captain & full scholarship athlete
• Played professionally, worked with Jackie Burke Jr.

Instructor and Coaching Roles

• National Director of Instruction, Nike Golf Schools & Camps
• Director, Nike Junior Golf Camps at Pebble Beach
• Head Instructor for Hank Haney
• Guest instructor on Golf Channel “Golf Academy Live”
• Assistant Men’s Golf Coach, UC Berkeley
• Director of Instruction and owner of Pure Golf Academy
• Instructor for TPI in Europe and the US

Mental Performance Coach

• Contributed to integrated high-performance teams alongside Julie Elion of CAPE Performance, supporting PGA & LPGA Tour winners
• Works across sports with professional golfers, mini-tour and tour players, elite juniors, collegiate athletes, professional basketball players, and high-level swimmers
• Collaborates within integrated high-performance teams alongside many of the world’s leading instructors and performance specialists

Education

• Stanford University — BA English Literature
• Pacifica Graduate Institute — MA Depth Psychotherapy
• CIIS Psychological Services Center — Psychotherapy practicum
• PGA “Class A” Professional
• TPI Certified: Golf 3, Junior 3, Power 3, Fitness 3