The Charlene Bendt Story: From College Golf at UCLA to Changing Lives Through Coaching

One of my favorite aspects of golf is that every day is different.  

The variety of experiences and challenges that we encounter as golfers provides tremendous opportunities to learn, grow, innovate, refine and improve. That’s why, to this day, I’m still a student of the game.

As a kid, golf wasn’t one of my favorite activities, but over time I grew to love the swing, the mental aspects of playing and competing, and the intricacies of the game.  I actually had a very early clue that I was meant to be a coach when I found myself comforting one of my fellow competitors during a tournament — she was in tears after it took her five tries to get the ball out of the bunker!  

After competing in numerous junior tournaments and high school golf on the boys team, I played college golf at UCLA.  I worked hard and would do anything to improve: lessons, golf-specific workouts, reading mental game books, talking to sports psychologists, you name it.  Looking back, my constant quest to improve was a huge motivator and very educational, but also a big source of struggle.  The more my mind was occupied with swing mechanics, the less reactive, natural and athletic I became. That experience has proven to be very valuable in my work today as a PGA Coach.

After I completed my college golf career, I decided to turn professional and play on the various mini-tours, traveling the world and visiting places like Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and China. As I traveled and competed, I was regularly reminded of what everyone comes to terms with at some point.

Golf is a difficult game.  

I was doing everything I could to improve but wasn’t seeing better results.  Nearly every minute of my day was devoted to golf, and while I was proud of my work ethic, I began to feel the frustration that comes with putting in a lot of effort and no return on investment.  This was not a fun experience at the time, but it has been extremely helpful in being able to empathize and relate to my students when they’re struggling.  

When my passion for playing competitively began to wane, I realized it was time for my role in golf to pivot.  

To the golf business.

My first job was as a Golf Operations Coordinator for the University of Southern California (USC).  I had an inside look at coaches who were working with the best up-and-coming talent.  I learned the intricacies of recruiting — from the other side than I had previously experienced as a student-athlete — plus the formality of the rules and regulations from the NCAA, and how to build and maintain an incredible support system for the program.

During one of the tournaments at USC, I was introduced to Jamie Mulligan, PGA, who invited me to assist in the golf shop and teach alongside him at Virginia Country Club (VCC) in Long Beach, California.  It was a tremendous opportunity to have Jamie as my teaching mentor — not only was he the 2021 PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year, but Jamie was also coaching several tour players, top-level amateurs and recreational golfers that were club members.  It was fantastic to observe first-hand how he worked with a wide variety of students, and his passion continues to inspire me.

While at VCC,  I had the privilege of helping one of my fellow PGA Professionals, Mike Miles.  As a former PGA Tour player, Mike wanted to revamp his game and we got to do it together.  He eventually qualified for the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and several other PGA Tour events,  and I was on the bag for all of them.  Being inside the ropes at major championships provided countless insights to playing golf at the highest level.

Eventually, my role evolved beyond coaching.  I was invited to sit in monthly committee and board of directors meetings, helped script important club documents and correspondences, handled membership sales and was able to learn about nearly every aspect of the golf business at the private equity club level. It was an exciting and unique work environment because we always strived to raise the bar. If I had an idea and could justify it, Jamie encouraged me to pursue it.  

Golf fitness was gaining traction while I was at VCC and I was very interested in learning more.  Jamie supported my quest to obtain two TPI certifications and three yoga teaching certifications, and since then, I’ve created a golf-specific yoga class called Body, Mind, Golf (BMG). The lessons from the class are great for helping students get more present, confident and comfortable on the course and can even be applied to other areas in life. They’ve truly helped people beyond golf.

As a player, coach and a student, golf is a lifetime journey.  I’m thankful for the opportunity golf has given me to shape and create my own  style and programming so that I can serve my students in a variety of ways. My students aren’t just clients, they, too, are friends.  

I’ve also enjoyed all of the different experiences I’ve had in golf, but the most fulfilling part is the relationships with the many special people I’ve encountered along the way.  I’ve met nearly all of my closest friends and even my husband through golf.  

All of the wonderful lessons and opportunities golf has given me lead to an immense sense of gratitude, and I look forward to continuing to learn, teach and give back to this great game.