Chris Oehlerking, PGA

Managing Partner | Senior Coach 

Chris, a proud native of Canada, has a passion for helping people who have a desire to learn. Chris believes anything can be learned when commitment, consistency and patience are present.

Teaching Philosophy
Chris educates his student on why certain shot patterns occur.  He instructs them on what specific changes will make an immediate impact and then coaches the player through the process of learning that particular skill both physically and mentally.  Chris’s hands on approach provides a unique kinesthetic experience that enables the player’s body to interpret the correct feel.

 

Training
Chris has been under the tutelage of Hank Haney and his staff in Dallas, TX the last 8 years. His training with Hank has provided him with the knowledge, experience and confidence that’s needed in helping serious players.

Teaching Credentials

  • Hank Haney Certified Associate Instructor
  • PGA Class “A” Professional
  • Endorsed by Stan Utley

Playing Experience
Chris played Division I golf for Chicago State University, where he captained the team for all four years.  Chris also earned the most valuable player award all four years.  Chris successfully completed his PGA Playing Ability Test in 2003.

Teaching Experience
His full swing experience comes from countless visits to Haney’s Ranch where he worked with top juniors from all over the world.  Chris’s Putting and Short Game Expertise continues to grow through his experience teaching alongside Stan Utley in almost a dozen Putting and Short Game schools.

Chris utilizes state-of-the-art training technologies used by Tour Professionals to collect objective measurements to completely understand the dynamics of their strokes.

  • Certified with TrackMan, measuring all dynamic club delivery statistics, ball flight, ball and club fitting, distance of all clubs both flight and projected roll (perfect to know your distances).
  • Extensive experience with SAM Putt Lab.  The Science and Motion Putt Lab is the only true way to get precise feedback on putting mechanics.  Since putting makes up more than 40% of your strokes, Chris recommends putting improvement will be the best area to concentrate on to reduce 5 or more strokes per round.

Prior to The Golf Practice, Chris spent three years at Winnetka Golf Club where he developed and sharpened his skills as a teaching professional. Chris spent countless hours on the lesson tee and played an instrumental role with their adult and junior programs.

Preceding Winnetka Chris spent two seasons with the Illinois PGA.

Team Coaching

Chris was the Head Varsity Coach at Northside College Prep for 6 years where he lead the school to numerous Team and Individual Titles.

Affiliations
In addition to his position at The Golf Practice, Chris was a golf-specific trainer at Re-defined Fitness in Wilmette, where he helped golfers eliminate any physical limitations along with conditioning their bodies for the golf season. Chris has assisted in the development of their golf performance program.

Chris also serves as a board member of the Illinois PGA Foundation and as a member of the First Tee’s Ambassadors Society.

Features

  • Presented alongside John Daly at the Chicago Golf Show
  • Authored article in Golf Time Magazine “Preparing Juniors for Competitive Golf”
  • Authored two articles on PGA.com “Best Practices for Teaching”
  • Chicago Sun Times “Oehlerking’s Student Wins City Championship for 2nd Year!”
  • Chicago Sun Times “Coach Outlines a Program that Puts Mustangs on Par with their Peers”