Photo By Lance Cpl. David Brandes | Zachary Gower, golf director at the Medal of Honor Golf Course, poses with U.S. Marine...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – From professional golfer to a three-year, top 50 golf coach, Zachary Gower improved the golf swing of MCB Quantico personnel for past 7 years.
Gower, who started coaching at the Medal of Honor Golf Course in 2018, explained that he enjoys working on the installation where he can help and give back to veterans, service members and their families who want to learn and improve their golf capacity.
“I feel like you’re able to have a broader impact on people’s lives,” Gower said.
When he took the position, he quickly noticed the junior programs that needed attention and set his focus there.
“Our first junior academy session had 12 students,” he said.
While trying to improve the program with his coaching style, he applied Operation 36 golfing methodology; this methodology starts instruction at the green and ends at the tees, ultimately teaching golf in a reverse sense. The methodology has six tiers of skill levels, starting with level one that begins 25 yards away from the hole. Once level one reaches a score of 36 over nine holes, they move to the next level, increasing the distance by a margin with the same goal score of 36 to move to the next level, and the continues through six levels until you can shoot 36 from the full tee box.
Coupled with his coaching style and methodology, Gower received the title of top 50 golf coach with the program for the past three years.
“... and now [the program has] a wait list of 30-40 kids,” he said. "It’s been great teaching and making an impact on a lot of people's lives.”
Gower explained he thoroughly enjoys coaching but admitted he didn’t see himself playing golf originally. When in high school, Gower looked to be a top-college prospect for football until a health condition prevented that from happening. One day in college, he passed by the school’s golf team flyer calling for walk-in tryouts. He spoke about it with his family, and they encouraged him to try for the team.
“My dad said, ‘Hey golf tryouts are next week,’” Gower recalled. “So, we went to the local store, bought a golf set, went out, tried out for the team and made the team.”
He played on the team for a few years, but during his last year of college, his golf coach left, and Gower volunteered to fill the coaching position.
Gower ended up coaching that same team for another four years, developing instructional strengths like teaching, club fitting, and player development.
“Playing golf is just one of those sports that you fall in love with quickly,” he said and wanted to share with others, which landed him at the MOH Golf Course on MCB Quantico.
“I stepped into that role [as a coach] and that’s when I fell in love with golf and figured out that I wanted to do it for a career,” he said. “I figured I wanted to try and broaden my scope in the golf world, and try and help more people, rather than just a small team.”
Over the years, Gower coached a variety of golfers with varying experience levels.
One of them was Marco Zarate, a son of a retired Marine aboard MCB Quantico. Zarate met Gower through his father but eventually became Gower’s student.
“He just cares about the people here, anyone that comes here, he cares about,” stated Zarate, student of Gower’s since 2020. “It doesn't matter who it is, he's here for retired Marines, their children, anyone living on base, anyone coming from base. He’s willing to help everyone.”
Zarate, an intern at a local golf club, said that he is close to playing the sport without a handicap thanks to Gower’s coaching.
Gower recalled another client of his—a young veteran—who was looking to improve her game leading up to a tournament hosted by the company she worked for. The tournament was only four months away, and they did two lessons a week until the day of the tournament.
“We worked on it really hard,” said Gower. “Then the tournament came around pretty quickly; she played and ended up winning.”
He explained that after winning the tournament, the veteran received a promotion and continued playing golf with her customers and clients.
Proud of this achievement of the veteran, he also added that being a coach is about, “... how many people can I help enjoy the game.”
He also expressed that golf resonates with people especially as they grow in age, where they aren’t able to play contact sports as often.
“Golf is a fitness tool for life,” Gower emphasized. “You’re not able to play sports like football, soccer or basketball until you’re 80 or 90 years old.”
Gower explained starting anything can be difficult, but that people shouldn’t try to be perfect with golf at the start.
“I would tell someone to just get out there and play,” said Gower. “The part that makes you fall in love with golf is the golf course.”
To sign up for a tee time or coaching information please visit: www.quantico.usmc-mccs.org/recreation-fitness/recreation/outdoor-recreation/golf-course. To learn more about Zachary Gower, please visit: www.pga.com/coach/ZacharyGowerPGA?srsltid=AfmBOoq7fQ_rL60Dq8dWzpJGJAePKyCD0azbUNP_bJgN9O_hQeqsF5wj
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2025 07:11 |
| Story ID: | 500878 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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