Kian O’Donnell
A Class A PGA professional working on the strength side of the game, connecting what your body can do to what your swing coach is asking for.
GOLF PERFORMANCE COACH
Seattle Golf Fitness · Mercer Island, WA · kian@seattlegolffitness.comHe came to performance from the golf side
Kian studied Professional Golf Management at Methodist University, one of the original PGA-accredited programs, and earned his Class A PGA card. He then went after the physical side, certifying as a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, which focuses on finding and fixing the movement compensations that show up in a swing.
He spent his first years in the field at AMPD Golf Performance in Dallas, training junior golfers, collegiate players, executives, and senior golfers. The same swing fault looks different in a sixteen year old and a sixty-five year old, so he’s able to account for which one is standing in front of him.
He is also a PGA of America Golf Fitness Coach, and has written for the Golf Fitness Association of America on building distance off the tee.
At Seattle Golf Fitness, Kian is a strength and conditioning coach. Your sessions with him are training sessions, and your swing stays with your swing coach.
What the PGA background gives him is translation. He can look at what your body is doing in the gym and tell you how it shows up at impact, and he can talk to your instructor in their own language rather than around them. Separately, he serves as Head of Instruction at Mercer Island Golf Club, the private simulator club within SGF Group. That’s where he teaches, and is a distinct role.
Kian grew up in Cleveland, where golf and the weight room were two separate interests long before they became one career.
BACKGROUNDEDUCATIONBS, Professional Golf Management, Methodist University
CREDENTIALSCERTIFICATIONSClass A Professional, PGA of America
Golf Fitness Coach, PGA of America
Corrective Exercise Specialist, National Academy of Sports Medicine
TPI Certified, Level 1
EXPERIENCEGolf Performance Coach, Seattle Golf Fitness
Head of Instruction, Mercer Island Golf Club
Golf Performance Coach, AMPD Golf Performance, Dallas
WHAT I WORK ONSpeed and distance
Distance off the tee is what most golfers want and it is trainable. I work on producing more force from the ground and getting it through the body in the right order.
Bridging the gym and the swing
I can tell you why a drill your swing coach gave you is not sticking, and whether the reason is technical or physical. Most of the time it is physical, and that is fixable.
Juniors and senior golfers
I’ve coached across both ends of that range. A junior needs a base built carefully, and a senior golfer needs mobility protected. Neither should be training like a tour player.
Train with Kian
Every client starts with a performance evaluation. Submit a form with your preferred times and we will come back within 24 hours with availability and more information.