Bob Rotella’s vast influence in golf has unfolded in two ways. For hundreds of people – both in sport (golf particularly) and business – it was through one-on-one coaching with Rotella, now 75.
For untold thousands more, it was less personal though certainly no less impactful. To date, Rotella has authored or co-authored more than a dozen books on the topic of golf and performance, creating a series of resources for players worldwide looking to improve their experience with the game.
It’s for this profound effect on golf that Rotella has been awarded the Yancey Ford Award, annually presented by Golfweek to an individual who has made significant contributions to senior-amateur golf. Ford, the award’s namesake, is a fellow Virginia resident whom Rotella has come to know on the golf course.
Ford praised the way Rotella has changed the game by providing a mental approach that allows players at every level to maximize their potential.
“Sports psychology has been around for a century, and it really has, but Bob Rotella has made it part of the overall preparation, practice and playing for the best results of golf,” Ford said. “It is now part of the game, and he has influenced all of these people how to be better at playing golf.
The list of professional players who have worked with Rotella through the years is impressive, from Rory McIlroy to Juli Inkster to Davis Love III. His players have racked up a significant number of major titles through the years – seven Masters, 13 U.S. Opens, 16 Open Championships and 16 PGA Championships as well as 7 U.S. Women’s Opens, and the list goes on.
To the broader golf community, Rotella is perhaps best known for his bestselling book Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, originally published in 1995.
After receiving the Ford Award, Rotella reflected to Golfweek that he felt fortunate that he’d gotten to spend his life coaching – something he had always wanted to do.
“I feel quite humbled and very, very fortunate and I have a great deal of appreciation for what I’ve gotten to do and that some of the greatest players in history have trusted me enough to let me spend time with them,” he said.
Winning the award in Ford’s name is special to Rotella because of Ford’s love for and contributions to the game.
“I’ve known him for quite awhile,” Rotella said. “I’ve probably played golf with him five or six times and he’s just a sweetheart of a man and loves golf so I like him.”
Ford vividly remembers his first time meeting Rotella back in the late 1990s, and that’s thanks in large part to the four pages of notes he took from their session. He had his then-secretary type them up and he still has the original copy of individualized thoughts for his game that span course management to relaxation during a round.
“He’s a tremendous guy,” Ford said of Rotella. “First of all, he’s very down to Earth, very approachable. He’s a fantastic listener and he’s got great ears – he listens to what people tell him.”
Ford has observed how the latter quality has allowed Rotella to have a greater impact on students, as well as his ability to translate what a player is doing – and what he or she should be doing – into how to improve.
“He understands the physical aspect of the swing too, which is great,” Ford said. “He wouldn’t have the record he has if he didn’t know all that.”
Outside of his coaching and his work as a bestselling author, Rotella also has poured his expertise into the Rotella-Fedder Excellence Academy for junior golfers, based at the Club at Glenmore in Keswick, Virginia.
A significant part of Rotella’s career also unfolded at the University of Virginia, where he was a professor for more than 21 years and also served as the director of the university’s Sports Psychology Department. While no longer on staff at UVA, Rotella said he still works with several university athletes.
“I loved it when I did it,” Rotella said of his time at UVA. “I had a ball doing it, was totally into it, and when I left, I left so I could spend all of my time with people on a one-on-one basis most of the time who really want to learn about this stuff.”
These days, most of Rotella’s students visit him at his home for an intense two-day session of one-on-one coaching and then remain in touch with him by phone or Zoom. Asked how many athletes he is currently working with, Rotella replied “an awful lot.”
Many are professionals and some are college athletes, but some of his students are players who are in their 50s or 60s and still interested in improving their game. One such student is Lewis Brown, the 61-year-old who won the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2024 after an 11-month break from competition.
Rotella plays a good amount of golf himself, noting that “when I’m not working, I play,” but doesn’t usually compete in tournaments. He has, however, won the Virginia Super Senior Four-Ball three times with different partners.
Rotella, who had hand surgery six months ago, will compete in the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic in January when he accepts the Ford Award.
Past Yancey Ford Award recipients:
2010: Yancey Ford
2011: David King
2012: Debbie and James Rivers
2013: John Harrigan
2014: Charles Busbee
2015: Ronnie Tumlin
2016: Ted Smith (Posthumously)
2017: Urquit Morris
2018: James Bianco
2019: Rondal Gaines
2020: No Award (Covid)
2021: Gene Elliott
2022: Joseph Pavoni
2023: James Popa
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: World-renowned sports psychologist Bob Rotella named Yancey Ford Award winner
