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Christian Smith

Manager, Athlete & Program Development 

Christian Smith is the Manager, Athlete & Program Development at the United States Golf Association. In this role, he focuses on high-performance athlete development and curriculum, athlete grants, coach training and parent education to further the mission of fostering future generations of American golf talent. He also collaborates with various USGA departments and golf industry partners to ensure that the USNDP has best-in-class athlete development programs, training and resources for athletes, coaches, parents and mentors.

Prior roles:

  • Assistant Head of Mental Performance, Athletic & Personal Development – IMG Academy
  • Assistant Head of Mental Conditioning, Athletic & Personal Development – IMG Academy
  • Senior Mental Conditioning Coach, Athletic & Personal Development – IMG Academy
  • Senior Coach, Athletic & Personal Development - IMG Academy 
  • Mental Conditioning Coach - IMG Academies 
  • Mental Conditioning Coach (Summer Intern) - IMG Academies
  • Volunteer Assistant Men’s Golf Coach - San Diego State University Men’s Golf Program
  • Student-Athlete - Coastal Carolina University Men’s Golf Program 

Education:

  • Coastal Carolina University - B.A., Psychology
  • San Diego State University - M.A., Kinesiology
  • Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) & Registered Mentor with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)

Family:

  • Originally from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England; married with one son and two cats.

Favorite Travel Destination:

  • Australia

Favorite Golf Memory:

  • Time spent at practice and on the golf course with my parents supporting and encouraging, as well as conversations with my grandparents regarding golf.

Funniest Golf Memory:

  • When I was a kid, my friend and I were having a friendly bunker competition. Farthest from the hole had to rake the bunker. After his ball came to rest just inside mine, he proceeded to celebrate by running around in the bunker. Needless to say, that moment served as motivation to improve my bunker play!