TESTIMONIALS
"Owen is an amazing golf instructor, with whom I have had great success. Initially coming to Owen I had way too much lower body movement, and an ugly over the top swing that produced some very questionable shot shapes. I can confidently say that the vast swing improvements I have seen over the past 2 seasons are due to Owens' guidance.
Each lesson, he will constantly and patiently revisit several important swing topics - grip, posture, stance, weight distribution, swing plane, club face direction, etc... and he is able to see flaws that are not always obvious to the untrained eye. He is also methodical, and will not overload you with too much information at once. After each lesson, he will send you a video with the highlights and main takeaways from your lesson, which helps a lot when you need a refresher during practice. If you are serious about improving your game, Owen will certainly take you to the next level."
Adam Pagan
"I started golfing about 2 years and started taking lessons with Owen last year - I obviously signed up again this year and will continue in the future. He has completely changed how I play. I was lucky to start so early in my golf career with Owen because he showed me the fundamentals of all aspects of golf which allowed me to practice the right way from the beginning. I highly recommend Owen's lessons to any level of golfer as his expertise will improve anyone's golf game."
Sam Powell
"I have had instruction from various golf pros over the years and Owen is by far the best. He works with my physical limitations and always gets the most out of “my swing”. He does not try to teach to a single approach or technique. His short game and putting instruction are also superb. Whether it is a private lesson or one of his clinics, Owen is a complete pleasure to work with."
Craig Merkle - CC of MD
"Owen has been instrumental in the development of my game over the last 3 years. He is always available to answer a quick question or to book a lesson and his lesson recaps on video that stay on a website are a great way to have all of your lessons in one place with his commentary. I would recommend Owen to golfers of all levels, his knowledge of the game and swing are second to none."
Vic Biscoe - CC of MD
"I first began working with Owen in 2012 and my game have really benefited from his unique style of communication and willingness to listen. I've been able to apply the drills that we've worked on over the years and I've seen my handicap from 12 to 8. I trust Owen and working with him has really proven to be a great decision for my game."
Ross Scott - Glen Dale MD
“I have been working with Owen Dawson for the past 7 years. During that time my swing has dramatically changed and improved. This has happened through Owen's drills and use of video. It is because of these techniques, that I understand how to hit good shots but just as importantly why I hit a shot poorly. I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to work with Owen and would highly recommend him.”
Sam Young - Men's Club Champion - CCofMD
"I have seen a few PGA instructors prior to seeing Owen but none have been as helpful. I am a left handed golfer and after receiving lessons from right handed instructors every statement always ended with "just reverse it for a lefty". Not Owen, on my first lesson he walked over to my golf bag grabbed a club and hit the shot he wanted me to replicate. He grips my club and then instructs. That was a first for me but it proved to me Owen is different and approaches teaching from his students perspective. After several weeks, I found that my range practice was not translating to the course execution. After discussing with Owen he immediately grabbed a cart and off we went darting in and out of folks on the course to play some holes. Once again he impressed me as most instructors would have given a pep talk but not Owen he showed me my lessons can be executed and it built my confidence. He accomplished confidence building that day without ever mentioning it. Owen is not about using templates to help his students. Everyone is an individual and he wants you to work within your swing. My arch nemesis is my driver and a huge slice. After using flightscope to analyze my driver he did not try to reconstruct my swing. He reckoned that would take sometime and he wanted to let me start using my club with some confidence. He simply changed my grip and told me this would be uncomfortable to get use to, but if I could, I would keep my ball more playable off the tee. I am proud to say I am now using my driver without hesitancy. When I miss it, is a playable shot with almost 30-50 yards further than my best slice. I cannot wait to see what he recommends next. For those who like objective data my handicap has dropped almost 10 in last 6 weeks. My enjoyment of the game has increased so much, not something I thought would be brought about by taking golf lessons. It was because of Owen. So if you want to change your love for this game, take the first step and see
Owen, I guarantee you won't regret it!"
SS - CCofMD
"This is the first golf season that I was committed to working on areas of my game that were holding me back from achieving some of my goals. I have been playing for 6 years with a high interest in the game of golf. I have achieved some local tours wins and showed promise to continue my goal as a competitive high school golfer. I have worked with Owen maybe 2-3 lessons a year for the last 6 years and questioned my parents "how do I go to the next level"… Being out driven off the tee was a constant bother! Putting inconsistencies and the occasional left shot got me into trouble. Owen's recommendations were to start working together on a regular basis so as to better work on the weak points of my game. We started in April and the results were there. If I were struggling on a specific shot or result, we would go the video. We learned early on, it is the Indian not the arrow!!I really like the iterative approach to building a better golf swing, it is like working with Legos. Once the foundation is in place you simply add to it…. But what I realized it always comes back the foundation. Owen's calm personality and mentoring approached has allowed me to enjoy the game more and more!
Trent Geritz -2014 Junior Golfer - CCofMD
Men's Club Champion 2017,2019,2020
Participant 2018 US Junior Amateur Championship at Baltusrol NJ.
"Owen is a great student of the game and the golf swing. He is passionate about instruction and takes the time to educate himself on modern swing techniques while seeking out the ideologies and thoughts of the game’s most renowned swing instructors. He proactively considers and adopts the latest teaching technologies allowing his students to clearly see the faults in their swing and work towards improvement. During his downtime between scheduled lessons, he scans the practice range looking for his students that are practicing and will stop by unsolicited if he sees something in your swing that he does not like. This exemplifies the commitment that he has to his students and his sincere desire to help you play better and enjoy the game. As a competitive amateur golfer for the last 25 years, I have been fortunate to work with many of the game’s top instructors. I truly believe that Owen has made the most impact on my swing and my ability to play the game in recent years. I had been struggling with the game over the last few years and was ready to give it up. Owen put me back on track and with a little hard work and his tutelage, I am playing much better and enjoying the game again. I would highly recommend Owen to any golfer looking to improve their game and shoot lower scores; regardless of their current ability."
Tim Osgood - CCofMD
"Like many people I owned golf clubs and played infrequently for many years because of family and business schedules. I didn’t have time for practice or lessons until about four years ago when I took one lesson each week from Owen Dawson for four weeks in the early spring. Owen’s thoughtful and patient approach to teaching allowed me to progress from having no golf swing at all to an ability to begin striking the golf ball fairly consistently with good accuracy. Thanks to Owen’s video recordings of each lesson which were easily downloaded to my iPhone, my practice on the driving range was greatly enhanced. I also appreciated Owen’s willingness to reinforce points from our lessons when he saw me practicing. By the end of that season my handicap index had improved from around 31 to 26. The following spring I took another four week series of lessons from Owen during which we revisited my full swing for improvements after short game shot instruction. The combination of the lessons, practice and the video recordings since then have improved my handicap index to about 18.
Overall, I have enjoyed Owen’s instruction and have experienced notable improvement in my play."
James DeGraffenreidt - CCofMD
“When I had my first lesson with Owen a year and a half ago, I had a very unreliable ‘scoop” swing that was producing weak contact and poor results. Owen took a look at my swing and asked how much I’d be willing to change. I summoned up my courage and told him he could do anything he wanted to my swing; that’s why I was there. Owen then proceeded to make some pretty radical changes, which I did not pick up quickly. It was many steps back before I started taking steps forward. I had a lot of bad-swing muscle memory that was tough for me to overcome. It took me over a year to feel comfortable with the new swing. I stuck with it because I had faith in Owen and because I had seen the progress that other pupils of Owen had made. My swing is now pretty reliable and solid, and Owen has shown me a path for continuing improvement. Owen promises me that the tough part is over, and now the improvement will be incremental. I am more excited about my golf swing and golf game than I’ve ever been.”
Gary Mitchell - CCofMD
"After receiving a set of 4 lessons from Owen, my game has changed dramatically. I went to Owen as a 9 handicap and had three main goals/targets. First, I wanted to improve my overall ball striking. Second, I wanted to correct my slice with my driver and my fade with my irons. Lastly, I just wanted to be more consistent in all facets of my game from tee to green. Nine months later and after many hours on the range and course, I am now a 5 handicap and trending down. Some of the things I thought I was doing right, Owen was able to pinpoint and correct right away. It was the basics such as grip, posture, and ball position. This was an easy fix and although it felt uncomfortable at first, I slowly worked them all into my routine. Owen was also able to clearly articulate why I was slicing my driver and fading my irons. I just needed to get on plane and he gave me multiple drills to work on at the range. Watching my swing on video and being able to compare it to some of the top professionals was also very helpful. On a video screen, Owen was able to show me where my swing was a little off, from take away to at the top of the back swing to ball impact. He was able to compare my swing from lesson to lesson and it was amazing how much improvement I had made in just a few short months. Once I knew what I was doing wrong and had drills to fix it, I began to hit the ball with a lot more consistency.One of the first things Owen said to me was that by the end of my lessons, I would be able to draw the ball. I was a bit skeptical because I had always hit the ball left to right (slice/fade). Fast forward three months and yes, Owen was right in that I am now able to hit the right to left shot. If he can fix me, he can fix anybody!I can't begin to express how happy I have been with Owen and his lessons. I can now hit a 4 and 5 iron with consistency when this was not even possible prior to my lessons. I am confident in my game from tee to green and recently just shot my low round of my career, 71, at the Country Club of Maryland. Owen is a great teacher and his passion for teaching is very clear. He loves what he does and to me, that was very important because he truly wanted me to get better. I highly recommend getting lessons from Owen if you want to take your game to the next level."
Matt Skellan - CCofMD
"When I first came to Owen I had been playing golf for less than a year. I had never had a formal lesson though I played sparingly as a kid. Owen took what little I had and made me a believer. He has given me the fundamentals to help improve all aspects of my game. I started out as a 19 and am now down to a 10. I constantly think back to our lessons and even look back onto the website at previous lessons when I feel myself getting away from what he has taught me. I am a visual learner so seeing video was extremely helpful."
Chris Edwards - CCofMD
“Owen does two things particularly well, in my opinion. First, he is a master of recording technology, and it really helps me to see what I need correcting, and what the new move needs to be. Second, Owen knows what the best next step should be in your own journey to a better swing. I have taken one or two lessons from Owen each year for the last three or four years – one relatively small step at a time, and then worked on grooving that step. In that period, my index has dropped about 8 strokes, and in 2007 I won the Club’s “Most Improved Player” award. Kudos to Owen!”
Bill Smillie - CCofMD
"I started taking lessons from Owen in order to learn proper swing mechanics. Mine was a "homegrown" swing; I felt professional instruction would lead to more satisfying golf. In Owen, you get that and much, much more. He uses the latest technology to record lessons with both video and commentary that are maintained on a server for easy access anytime. His analytical evaluation of posture and swing is very enlightening. For execution, Owen uses drills that form the building blocks for a complete swing; add his invaluable swing thoughts and he reduces the time from concept to application so that you can take your new swing to the course sooner. I can't say enough; the process is as much fun as the result - I've already recommended him to my friends."
David Langely - CCofMD
"I've been playing the game for 45 years and I have been flipping my wrists since high school. Through a series of lessons and many hours on the practice tee this summer, I have begun to meet the ball with somewhat of a lag. I've been able to narrow the breadth of my shots and this has lead to my index falling from 16.9 to 11.3 this season. I won my age division in the Baltimore Public Links, I was runner-up in A Flight of Mount Pleasant's Club Championship, I went to the semi-finals of the season long match play and won my consolation match, finishing 3rd, and I qualified for the end of season shootout. Owen's instruction and the use of the video camera gave me the vision to work on one thing at a time. These were simple, but radical changes for a Rusty Gate such as myself. He has helped me to understand my swing and I am able to correct swing faults during a round. You won't see me on the Champions Tour anytime soon, but with Owen's continued support, I will be smiling and enjoying this wonderful game. Thanks,Coach for a great season."
John Fink - CCofMD
" I am an 8 handicap player who was referred to Owen from a colleague at work. I have taken lessons from a number of teaching professionals, many quite well known. I have learned more from Owen about the golf swing, short game skills, and putting, than from any other instructor. I would (and have) gladly refer others to him"
Rick Heitmiller MD - Hayfields CC
"Over the 2 years I’ve taken lessons from Owen Dawson, I’ve dramatically improved my ball striking and overall distance. Rather than quick fixes, Owen focuses on solid fundamentals and the “feeling” of being on plane. Additionally, Owen has taught me a great deal about my swing and how to read my ball flight to determine minor adjustments that need to be made. I’d highly recommend Owen to anyone who has the desire to improve. "
Jonathan Vassil - CCofMD
"I heard about Owen Dawson from someone at another club. She raved about his teaching style. I had tried taking lessons from several professionals in the area. He is an outstanding golf teacher. He breaks down the golf swing to very basic movements that make so much sense. He keeps everything very easy to understand. I love the game of golf and owe part of it to him! "
Joelyn Yoder - Hunt Valley GC