The Claude Harmon Performance Golf Academy has recently welcomed Scott Graham, a teaching professional with a strong background and a reputation for excellence. Scott’s eager to infuse his extensive knowledge and passion for the game into one of the region’s most prestigious golf academies.
Having spent over a decade in the UAE, Scott joins The Els Club, Dubai, bringing with him not only a wealth of expertise but also a fresh perspective on the ever-evolving local golfing scene. We recently caught up with him to learn more about his journey and what led him to this exciting new chapter in his career.
On motivations to join the Els Club, Dubai
The main motivation behind joining the Els Club and particularly the Claude Harmon academy was the opportunity to join an elite team of coaches which as a unit are able to help a players’ physical, mental, technical, and performance side. The great thing about the coaching team here is that everyone works together to help each individual player rather than just one person looking after one individual. Everyone works as a team to achieve each players goals and needs. Also, working for an academy under the Harmon name is amazing as you get exposed to a lot of elite players not just in the region but across the world. Some of top players in the world come here to practice and of course attracting great players attracts great coaches so it’s an opportunity for me to learn and grow as a coach, and hopefully improve my craft.
On leading the GEMS Elite Programme at the academy…
The Elite golf programme provides a pathway for junior golfers allowing them to gain qualifications both academically and vocationally without impacting their training, coaching and development. Students enrolled in the elite golf programme receive a first class education from the GEMS First Point school, as well as coaching down here at the Claude Harmon academy. The clear objecting we have towards achieving their goals, combined with a bespoke education programme and personalised timetable that allows them to still facilitate their golf practice. My role is being the lead development coach, firstly helping to make sure the golf doesn’t impact their education side. Obviously with student athletes, school is always going to be number one, but once the timetable is set for kids then we can set aside their programme here at the academy. Over the summer we’ve implemented a bit more structure to the programme partnering with a strokes gained app which will help all players to truly understand their game and make better decisions about how to play and practice. This will help to improve their scoring average throughout the year and hopefully build and work towards a golf scholarship that combines with their studies.
On how the golfing scene has changed in the UAE…
I’ve been in the UAE now 11 years, worked at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club for a few years, Montgomerie more recently and now the Els Club. In the time I’ve been here the biggest thing that’s stood out is the amount of courses and indoor golf simulators. Definitely the accessibility for players has massively increased over the last 10 years, for sure. The golfing boom post Covid is not quite the same as it was, but it’s still higher than it was pre-Covid. A lot of people since Covid have realised that golf is a great outdoor sport. We are very blessed that in this country we get seven to eight months of really good weather on some of the best courses in the world. I definitely think golf is on the rise. I think having more opportunity to play whether it be indoor or outdoor has helped increased participation and more importantly just getting golf out there. A lot of people who may have never played golf before end up playing at Topgolf or come to one of the driving ranges and realise they really like the sport. This has a really good knock on effect to more members joining clubs, more people coming for lessons and growing the game.
On his life in golf and how much he still plays…
Prior to coming to the UAE, I played a lot of golf growing up, starting when I was 7 where I was playing at county level and with the School of Excellence. I followed golf at the University of Birmingham where I graduated with a degree in Applied Golf Management and completed my professional golf qualification at the same time. When first moving to the UAE I played a lot at the UAE PGA events. That was a fantastic way to meet fellow professionals, play the different courses and take part in a bit of competition along the way. Recently I’ve had a back injury that has put me out of playing over the last eight months. The goal this season is to play a lot more again, the guys here at the academy are all great players so I’m looking forward to the competition.
