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Flexible Learning
Clinic and Resume Packet
Clinic and Resume Packet
We can help you find the best way to start and continue on your golf journey, whether it's on zoom or with resources at home, or at a clinic or on the golf course.
Clinic and Resume Packet
Clinic and Resume Packet
Clinic and Resume Packet
Interested in adding the Birdie Steps team to a clinic, hosting an event, or want more information on getting started?
About Team Sanders
Team Sanders
Drew and Sara Sanders along with their kids Ryan and Brooke (and dog Kona), make up what we like to refer to our family as TeamSanders. Drew was an All-Pac-10 golfer at Cal Berkeley and has had a career in business consulting and executive coaching as well as various golf related and sports coaching enterprises. After stepping away from competitive golf and the golf industry for many years, they keep finding the pull back to the golf world, whether it is volunteering, playing, or helping others on and off the links.
About Sara
My journey with golf has taken some interesting turns and golf has given me so many friends, experiences, and travel opportunities. My childhood was filled with a variety of sports and competitions, none of which were any part related to golf! After playing three sports in high school I settled on heading to Stanford to play field hockey and work on a dream of making it on the national team.
A NEW DREAM
My father Bob Hallock was an avid golfer and had taught me how to play from a young age, but I never had time to take it very seriously. That started to change when I took a golf class taught by the Stanford men's coach Wally Goodwin and he helped me contact Tim Baldwin, the women's coach and walk on the Stanford team. In the off-season of field hockey and the summers I started to practice and play in more amateur events, working at golf camp and learning many of the basic things about golf that we talk about on this site. I was lucky to have many great mentors and world class golfers that surrounded me and led by example. After graduating, Wally asked me to stay around and be the assistant coach for the men's team and help with this 'kid named Tiger' that he had coming in the next year.
Thus formed a new dream as I started to have success and learn from the championship players all around at the Stanford campus. Deciding to turn professional with hardly a history of competitive golf was both scary and exhilarating, but with a steep learning curve and a passion for competing I quickly made my way to the LPGA Tour. After 7 years of playing professional golf my husband Drew and I decided it was time for a lifestyle change and to put down some roots.
BUSINESSWOMAN
Transitioning from years of sports, travel, and golf into some type of business industry was another set of challenges. Many players find it hard to jumpstart a completely new career, and look to college coaching or teaching golf. I decided to venture into commercial real estate and went to work for The Staubach Company in San Francisco.
About Sara cont.
Commercial real estate is another industry heavily oriented towards men, although that's been changing, I found many parallels to the golf world. In many instances I could see where executive or higher level women would get left out of a meeting or trip that revolved around golf because they didn't know how to play.
After two kids and 15+ years in business I turned to helping Drew with his consulting company, Banyan Tree Strategies, that we started in 2013. A jack of all trades I worked on marketing, financials, web design, and editing. Basically whatever needed to be done! During that time period I played very little golf but really started to miss it.
REDISCOVERING GOLF
With a move and an idea to join Diablo Country Club in 2021, I never imagined jumping back into golf would bring so much joy. After starting to play regularly again on a casual basis combined with the looming age of 50 and the fact the USGA and LPGA started the Senior Open and Senior LPGA Championship, giving our generation of golfers another opportunity to compete in tournament golf, reinvigorated a competitive chord in me that was long dead.
Along with some Legends of the LPGA events, the ability to continue to compete and train for high level golf is a dream I never imagined would come true.
Armed now with many years in business combined with experience as a tour pro, we started to see huge gaps where ladies who want to learn how to play need help. Some large companies like Chevron and KPMG are heavily investing in the fast growing segment of women's golf, and are training their women executives on how to play and participate in business golf and pro-am events.
We want to help ALL ladies across the spectrum learn to play this amazing game! BIRDIE STEPS is your new home to learn and get better at your own pace.
