Golf Coach Carlo Kok inherited his love for sports from his father and mother who both played competitive tennis. As a young boy he would try to hit the golf ball through the posts on a rugby field from the opposite end of the field, a distance of about 80 metres. He did this to gain length with his strike, but it also played a role in improving his accuracy. In primary school he competed in most school sports, including rugby, tennis, athletics and he played provincial cricket for Western Transvaal for 2 years. In high school his passion shifted and he started to focus primarily on golf. 2 Years later he made the provincial team, being selected for the Gauteng North U15 Golf Team. He played provincial golf at all age group levels thereafter, including the U19, U23 and Senior Inter-Provincial Gauteng North Teams.
A highlight for Carlo was being selected to represent the U21 South Africa team that travelled to Austria and Spain to compete in a series of test matches in 2001. Other members of that team included current European Tour player Thomas Aiken and Asia Tour player Shaun Norris, who is presently ranked 93 in the world.
Carlo played the South African Amateur circuit full time for a year and a half, getting his national ranking down to the top 10. He was offered a golf scholarship in Scottsdale USA which he accepted. After studying for 6 months he decided to return to South Africa to pursue a career in the golf industry. He worked in the retail sector for 3 years as a qualified salesman at the Pretoria Super Store.
Carlo recognised that his passion and desire was to assist young golfers to improve and excel in the game and he decided to complete his 3 year PGA apprenticeship. He has been coaching since 2005. In 2007 he moved from Gauteng to the beautiful Garden Route region. He initially coached at Fancourt before moving to Kingswood, where besides his coaching duties he was also involved in other causes, including the SAGDB (South African Golf Development Board). In 2013 Carlo joined KeNako Academy as a full time coach and he is currently the Short Game Skills Professional at the academy. He still makes time to teach a group of disabled students and he recently assisted Morné Els in preparation for the ISPS Handa World Blind Golf Championships played this year.
Carlo enjoys coaching and gets a thrill in seeing his students’ progress and advance from a technical perspective. He enjoys running an effective and challenging programme, training students to be more competitive, strive for greater improvement; technically, physically and mentally. He is an integral member of the KeNako Professional Team and he works closely with Head Coach Roger Wessels and Sports Science Professional Jan-Harm Venter. His compassion and unlimited amount of patience makes him an excellent coach!
