Mark Polich has enjoyed success as a player, coach, and instructor for over 40 years, and has brought the same level of passion and enthusiasm to each role. As a player, Polich excelled at an early age, posting his first "low" round of 31 at age 15. He followed a successful high school career by playing college golf at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter Minnesota.  After taking a break from competitive golf to start up a technology business in the Twin Cities, Polich began playing competitively again.  

 

As a member of Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota, Mark won 6 Club Championships and was runner-up another 6 times over a 12 year period from 1986 to 1998.  In 1992, he was runner-up in the Minnesota Mid-Amateur, losing by 2 strokes to a player who went on to play and win on the Champions Tour.  In 1998, Polich and his family relocated to Tucson Arizona and he continued his competitive play.  He was 1st alternate in the US Amateur local qualifying in Phoenix in 1999,  and in 2000 he posted his career low competitive round -- a 65 -- in the Arizona Mid-Am on his way to a 4th place finish.

 

That same year, Mark became "Coach" Polich as he started the varsity women's golf program at Catalina Foothills High School.  It did not take long for Coach Polich's drive for excellence to make its mark on the high school golf scene.  Within 4 years, Catalina Foothills went from a start-up team to the most dominant high school golf team in Southern Arizona history.

 

Coach Polich's teams won the Arizona State High School Championship in 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010 and finished as State Runner-Up in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008.  Over this same period his team was the #1 team in Southern Arizona and finished with an overall regular season record of 199-26, with a streak of 100 straight wins over Southern Arizona teams.   Coach Polich was named the Coach of the Year by the Arizona Daily Star a record EIGHT TIMES in his 11 year coaching career.

 

COACHING CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

 

2000 - 2010

 

·         Coached 30 All State Players

·         Coached 26 S AZ Media All Star First Team Players

·         Coached 22 S AZ Media All Star Second Team Players

·         Coached 10 Individual Region Champions

·         Coached 11 Individual Region Runner-Ups

·         Coached 2 Individual State Champion

·         Coached 2 Individual State Runner-Ups

·         Coached 3 S AZ Players of the Year

·         Since 2004, coached 50% of the Top 10 Girls in S AZ

·         Coached 2 Division I players

·         Coached 2 Division III Players

·         Coached 4 Junior College Players

·         Coached 9 Region Championship Teams

·         Coached 4 High School State Championship Teams

·         Coached 4 High School State Runner-Up Teams

·         In 2009, Coached 3 Tucson City Junior Champions

·         Named “Coach of the Year” 8 times by the S AZ Media

 

Mark's coaching turned into teaching full time as he began working individually with both juniors and adults.  Many of his first adult students were parents (particularly fathers) who were now being outscored by their kids who were Mark's students.  And those adults had similar success in improving their golf game.  His adult students vary widely in age and skill level.  Wendall at 83, wants a more consistent swing. Larry at 70 wants to shoot his age. Stan at 60 wants to eliminate the tee shot right into the desert. Rich at 56 wants to win the US Senior Am. Rose at 52 wants to lower her scores from the high 90's to the high 80's.   His students have won Club Championships, qualified for the US Mid Amateur, qualified for the US Senior Amateur and won the Ventana Canyon Shootout.  Not surpirisngly, this has led to a high referral rate from existing clients.

 

Mark has a passion for teaching that is infectious to his students and inspires them to continue their learning about how to improve their golf game.  He also has a passion for learning and is always looking for new ways to help his students.  He has studied under Golf Magazine Top 100 Instructor Rod Lidenberg for 25 years.  He is Tucson’s only member of The Proponent Group, an exclusive group of 350 golf teaching professionals from around the United States.  Four of the past five National PGA Teachers of the Year are members of this group.  Mark has participated in the annual Teaching Summit hosted by Proponent Group the last three years and in Golf Magazine Top 100 Teachers Conference in 2012 and 2013.   This has led to working as a Co-Lead Instructor at Golf Schools at World Woods Golf Club in Florida and at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic for the Fly Away Golf Instruction programs.