Ryan Robillard

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Leaving the Club Pro Life: What I Didn’t See Coming Nearly five years ago, I made the leap. I left my job as a club pro—structure, security, team—and stepped out on my own to build a business from the ground up. Just me. Full control. No one to report to. The dream, right? And honestly, it has been amazing in many ways. But here’s something I didn’t expect to miss: Being part of a team. For most of my club pro career, I worked shoulder to shoulder with other pros, staff, backshop teams, food and beverage, operations. There were always people around. People to collaborate with. People to bounce ideas off of. People to just talk to. When I went out on my own, I gained full control—but I also lost that daily interaction. And over the years, especially during the winters, it caught up to me. Even with great friends, a strong online network, and mentors I could text… there’s a difference between digital and in-person energy. There’s a difference between chatting with someone and feeling seen by someone. Fast-forward to now: Elevate Performance Golf sits right next to Apex Performance & Wellness. We share a wall—and more importantly, we share a sense of community. The team at Apex has unknowingly become a support system. They’ve seen me in grind mode, good moods, bad moods. They’ve helped me test ideas. They’ve pushed me to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. Being surrounded by like-minded people again has been a game-changer. And if you’re out there building your own thing—whether it’s a business, brand, or career pivot—let me say this: 🧠 Don’t underestimate the value of human proximity. 🚀 Having smart, invested people around you isn’t a weakness—it’s a superpower. You can still run your own race. But find a few others running nearby. — Ryan

Excited to continue to be part of the Callaway Staff Team for 2025! Grateful for the continued support and proud to represent a company that produces some of the best equipment in the game From drivers to wedges to golf balls Callaway gear helps me and my players perform at a high level day in and day out Thanks again to the team at Callaway Golf for making it easy to believe in what I use @CallawayGolf

Golfers love to call it a grind. One player shoots 70 with 7 birdies and calls it a grind. Another shoots 77 with no birdies and says the same. But maybe it’s not a grind—it’s just golf. Ups, downs, great shots, bad breaks… all in a single round. The sooner you stop fighting that and start embracing it, the better youll play.

Want to get better at short putts? Try this 👇 This is one of my favorite games to build confidence from 4 and 10 feet. You only need 1 ball and 6 tees ⛳ 🟡 Set up 3 tees at 4 feet (for par) 🟡 Set up 3 tees at 10 feet (for birdie) 🟡 Alternate distances around the hole (4–10–4–10–4–10) 🟡 Pick any tee to start, then putt out until holed 🟡 Move clockwise and keep going until you’ve completed all 6 🎯 Goal: Get to 3-under par Tag someone who needs help cleaning up their short putts and save this game for your next practice.

Struggle with rotation in your golf swing? Start here. One of the most common faults I see is players lifting up and losing posture—especially in the downswing. In this lesson, we started by adjusting the setup posture so the trunk is slightly more back and the chest is more down. Then we used an alignment rod across the shoulders to train the feel of proper rotation. ✅ In the mirror, your goal is to see the rod move to a 45° angle in the backswing ✅ Then rotate it back to 45° on the opposite side through the downswing This is a rehearsal drill—not something you need to hold perfectly in the full swing. But it’s a great way to teach your body how to turn without lifting or losing balance. Try it next time you’re practicing indoors or in front of a mirror. Your spine—and your swing—will thank you. #GolfSwingTips #GolfDrills #GolfTraining

💥 Stop Sliding — Learn to Use Your Lead Leg the Right Way If you’ve ever been told to “get into your front leg,” but still struggle with sliding in the downswing, this is for you. In today’s golf lesson, the player thought the goal was to shift into their lead leg at the end of the downswing—but by then, it was too late. That movement pattern was causing them to lose rotation and control. Here’s the fix: ✅ By the top of the backswing, you should already be into your lead side ✅ From there, your lead leg needs to push you up and back ✅ Think of it like doing a 180° jump—that push is what drives rotation and power Ever feel like your lead side just isn’t doing enough in your swing? #GolfTips #GolfSwing #Golf

🚨 Fix Your Chicken Wing for Good! 🏌️‍♂️ Struggling with the infamous chicken wing in your golf swing? That’s when your lead elbow kicks out and disconnects from your body, Let’s fix it! Here’s the drill: 1️⃣ Start in the finish position—lead arm straight, club vertical, pointing to the sky. 2️⃣ Make a backswing from this position and hit the ball. Why does this work? By starting with the result in mind, you’ll build the feel and understanding of how to get back to a strong, connected finish. 💡 Pro Tip: Feedback is key! Record yourself on video to ensure you’re nailing the drill the way you think you are. Seeing is believing! Tag a friend who needs to clean up their chicken wing, and let’s get those swings dialed in. 🏌️‍♀️🔥 #GolfTips #FixYourSwing #GolfDrills #GolfPractice #BetterGolf

🚨 Backswing Length Matters! 🚨 An overly long backswing can wreak havoc on your swing path and strike location.  During this Golf Lesson, we worked with a golfer whose backswing was way too long, leading to a over-the-top club path (7° out-to-in!) and toe strikes galore. By shortening her backswing—feeling her hands stop at 10:30–11 o’clock instead of 12 o’clock—we saw dramatic improvements: ✅ Club path reduced to just 2° out-to-in ✅ Strikes became more centered on the clubface The result? More consistency, better ball flight, and a lot more smiles! Sometimes less is truly more. If you’re struggling with path or toe strikes, check your backswing length—it could be the key to unlocking your best swing yet! 🎥 Let me know your thoughts in the comments or DM me your swing questions!

🎯 Win a Rapsodo MLM2PRO! 🎯 Hey golfers! Want to take your game to the next level? I’m giving away a brand-new Rapsodo MLM2PRO Mobile Launch Monitor & Simulator! 📊⛳ This incredible device delivers ultra-accurate metrics like ball speed, spin rate, and carry distance, while offering access to over 30,000 simulated courses. Plus, with features like Shot Vision and Impact Vision for swing replays, and the award-winning Rapsodo Combine, you’ll level up your game like never before. Whether you’re practicing indoors or outdoors, this is the ultimate tool to sharpen your skills. Click the link below to sign up now, subscribe to my newsletter and get your chance to win! Good luck, and I hope YOU become the lucky winner! 🏌️‍♂️✨ 👉 golfneversleeps.beehiiv.com/… 👈 @RapsodoGolf

🚨Become an expert at these three things to elevate your golf game! One of the biggest mistakes I see golfers make is neglecting the basics in their setup routine. It’s so easy to get lazy with these steps, but trust me—if you master these three things, your game will thank you: 1️⃣ Set your grip away from the golf ball – Don’t plant your feet first and then adjust your grip. This leads to misalignment. 2️⃣ Use alignment rods to ensure your toe line is properly aimed parallel to your target. Your alignment is very important. 3️⃣ Perfect your ball position – Too many players get sloppy here, and it directly affects contact and ball flight. Small changes can make a huge difference! These simple yet essential habits will set the foundation for better swings and better scores. Don’t overlook the fundamentals—it’s where great golf begins! 🏌️‍♂️ #GolfTips #GolfSetup #GolfPractice #GolfCoach

Boosting Client Progress & Balancing Life: My Golf Coaching Model Why I Transitioned to a Year-Long Golf Coaching Program For years, I offered golf lessons as one-off sessions or short series of three-lesson packs. But over time, I realized these approaches weren’t effective at driving the meaningful improvement my clients wanted. Two years ago, I made the transition to year-long coaching programs exclusively, which has not only helped my students grow but has also improved my own work-life balance and business structure. Here’s a breakdown of the three main reasons I made this shift. 1. Player Progress: Accountability and Structure Are Key When I began my coaching career, I noticed a pattern, especially among my adult clients. Every season, there was this New Year’s Resolution mindset—a sense of “This is the year I’ll work on my game!” Adults would sign up for weekly lessons with the best of intentions. Yet, more often than not, attendance would fall off; players would show up for 7-11 lessons across the whole season, rather than the committed weekly practice they had envisioned. This drop-off wasn’t due to a lack of enthusiasm but rather a lack of accountability. Life happens, from busy work schedules and vacations to bad weather. A few sporadic lessons just weren’t enough to see real improvement. To make an impact, I realized that clients needed a more consistent structure and accountability, which a year-long program could provide. On the junior side, things were different but no less challenging. Junior golfers, especially those aspiring to collegiate or competitive levels, require much more than a series of lessons. They need practice time, on-course experience, nutrition guidance, peer interaction, and often competitive experience. To help them progress in all these areas, a one-off lesson model simply wasn’t enough. It required a well-rounded approach, more resources, and time to nurture a pathway to becoming high-level players. In response, I created coaching models that provided that structure. Adult players gained the opportunity to get consistent coaching all year long, while juniors were given a structured development path that covered all aspects of their growth, both on and off the course. 2. Business Efficiency: Maximizing Time and Income The shift to a year-long coaching model wasn’t just about improving outcomes for clients—it was also about making the most efficient use of my time and resources. When I started, I took a hard look at my schedule and mapped out the whole year. After factoring in holidays, club events, and personal commitments, I determined that I had about 40 solid weeks for coaching. Within those 40 weeks, I committed to a sustainable pace of around 12 coaching hours per week, leading to a total of roughly 480 hours a year. I then decided to pre-sell half of those hours as part of year-long programs, booking about 240 hours in advance. This setup provided a reliable source of income, while the other 240 hours remained flexible for package sales or new clients. For adults, my year-long programs offered 24 hours annually, with 20 hours of instruction and two 9-hole rounds. For juniors, I created two tracks: a development program and a performance program, with the latter including individual lessons, group sessions, and on-course practice rounds. Tracking hours in this way allowed me to manage my time and finances efficiently, and it allowed clients to feel invested in a program where they were sure to see growth. 3. Personal Balance: Protecting Time for Family and Myself The third reason I made this shift was to carve out time for myself and my family. Coaching, while still working at a club, can easily take over your life if you’re not careful. I feel many coaches don’t approach their career with a business-minded structure, but I quickly learned the importance of setting boundaries. By establishing a 12-hour work week and clearly defining operating hours, I could manage my work-life balance effectively. This not only improved my quality of life but also allowed me to communicate my availability with clients and maintain clear expectations. With this system in place, I was able to protect my personal and family time, allowing me to enjoy the game myself while helping others improve. The result was a healthier balance between work and home, which, in turn, made me a better coach. Transitioning to year-long programs was a decision driven by my desire to see players improve consistently, to manage my time and income effectively, and to strike a balance between my career and personal life. The approach has proven to be more rewarding for my clients and for me. It’s a model I believe can benefit other coaches looking to help players reach their potential and grow their own practice in a sustainable way.

Stop making this mistake!  Many golfers want to feel the club working behind them in the downswing, aiming to “shallow” the club for a smoother, more powerful swing. But before you can achieve that feeling, there are two common mistakes made in the backswing that can throw everything off. Here’s what to avoid: 1️⃣ Open Club Face: If you start your takeaway with an open club face, it’ll be tough to shallow the club in the downswing without hitting it way off target. Instead, keep the club face neutral or slightly closed. When the club reaches the P2 position (a quarter back), check that it matches your spine angle. 2️⃣ Inside Takeaway: Taking the club too far inside in the backswing makes it nearly impossible to shallow it later. Going too inside often causes golfers to lose posture and come over the top on the downswing. Want to feel the club working behind you? Start with these two checkpoints in the backswing and set yourself up for success in the downswing! 🏌️‍♂️

3 Keys to a Consistent Putting Stroke—and 2 Things to Stop Worrying About! Here’s what I’m looking for in a solid putting stroke: 1️⃣ Palms Facing Each Other: No matter your grip style—traditional or left-hand low—your palms should be facing each other to allow both hands to work together for a smooth, controlled stroke. 2️⃣ Elbows Pointed In: Check if your elbows are pointing in toward your chest and rib cage. This helps keep your arms steady and supports a connected stroke. 3️⃣ Upper Body Connection: Keep your arms and upper body working together. Try placing an alignment rod under your armpits to feel what it’s like to have your arms and rib cage in sync. And here’s what you don’t need to do: 🚫 Stop Locking Your Arms: Forget about maintaining a rigid “triangle.” It’s okay for your joints to move a little—keeping a natural connection is what makes a repeatable stroke. 🚫 No Straight Back, Straight Through: Don’t force a straight stroke. The putter naturally has a slight arc due to its design. Embrace this for smoother, more consistent putts. Give these tips a try, and watch your putting improve!

When your @beehiiv newsletter that goes out on Thursday is done Tuesday at 8:00pm... You feel relief! golfneversleeps.beehiiv.com/…

4 Keys to Boosting Club Head Speed After Plateauing When we identified speed as a major area for improvement, we went beyond just analyzing the golf swing: 1) We assessed mobility and created a routine for him to complete 2 days a week. @MyTPI Level 1 Screen 2) We evaluated his power output and, with the help of a trainer, built a workout plan for 3 days a week. @MyTPI Power Screen 3) He started running 1 day a week. 4) We implemented overspeed training 3 days a week with @SuperSpeedGolf Does it seem like a lot? Yes, but Jagger was serious about improving his game, so we put together a detailed plan, and now it’s all about executing that plan consistently. I’m proud of the effort he’s put in so far, and I can't wait to see how much speed we gain this offseason. The best part? The offseason is just getting started!

Next one comes out on Thursday, this week I am going to fix your crummy alignment! golfneversleeps.beehiiv.com/…

4 Reasons Why I Pitched the Golf Ball So Well Mid-Season If you have any comments on my technique, let me know! I’m always looking to learn. Pitching has been a weakness for me, but mid-season I made some changes. Here are the four things that made the difference. I hope I can remember them during the offseason, lol. 1Started neutral with my pressure and moved into my lead in the backswing.
After testing on Force plates, I realized I was setting up with too much pressure (65–70%) on my lead side. This caused me to unload early and lose low-point control. Starting neutral and moving into my lead side during the backswing was a game-changer. 2Stopped worrying about wrist hinge in the backswing.
For me, the less I think about wrist hinge, the better I pitch. I prefer to keep my right hand more on top in short game shots, which matches well with less hinge in the backswing. 3Managed my low point by having a better pivot.
Stability on my lead side was always an issue. I’ve been working on balance and stability, especially in my lower body. While I still struggle with a diving knee, my ability to post up on my lead leg and pivot around it has improved my low-point control. 4Letting the club release.
When I had too much pressure on my lead side, it led to excessive forward shaft lean and poor contact. Sometimes I’d try to hold the angle too long, thinking it would guarantee good contact. Now, letting the club release naturally has been a big improvement. Hope you enjoyed me sharing some thoughts!

These three moves look easy, but for many golfers, they’re not. A golfer's ability to disassociate their upper body from their lower body, and vice versa, along with controlling their pelvis tilt, is crucial for an efficient golf swing. Unfortunately, many golfers lack the ability to perform these basic movements. For example, a golfer who struggles with disassociation can try as hard as they want to start their downswing with their lower body, but if they don’t know how to move it independently, the upper body will always come along with it. It’s very common for golfers who deal with early extension to lack the ability to control their pelvis. As a golf coach, one of the most important things I can do is understand how my golfers move. I believe we can waste so much time trying to get golfers into positions their bodies simply won’t allow. I use the @MyTPI Level 1 Physical Screen as a benchmark to identify what my players can and cannot do with their bodies.

If you struggle with a slice or block, don’t skip this video! So many golfers who struggle with slices and blocks spend too much time trying to fix it in the downswing. What I want you to consider is that if you hit a slice or have an open club face, it normally starts to open much earlier than the downswing. There are a couple of checkpoints I want you to focus on beforehand: 1Is your club face open at setup? This is a super easy one that a lot of people skip. They don’t pay attention to where the club face is pointing relative to their start line and often set up with an open club face. 2Check your takeaway, specifically the P2 position when the club is parallel with the ground. For many golfers who come over the top or have an open club face at impact, the problem starts here. The club face is already open, and often the club is too far inside. So before you go to the driving range and spend a ton of time trying to fix your downswing without success, make sure your takeaway and backswing are organized first. It’s almost impossible to make a good downswing if you have a bad backswing!