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A friend of his, Tour caddie Doug Schwimer, suggested a different route: consider posting short-game tips on Instagram to teach other players how to improve their games.
At first, he dismissed the idea.
“I was like, ‘Dude, I don’t even have Instagram,’” McLachlin says. “But he convinced me to film some videos, telling me how good my short game was.”
And what about the name?
“There are ingredients that need to go into executing every type of shot around the green,” he says. “Whether it’s the clubface being open or the hands being in a certain spot or your feet being positioned just right or the swing being the correct length or the release happening at the perfect moment. There’s always some type of adjustment — the ingredients that go into the recipe. So I was just like, Man, I’m going to be the Short Game Chef.”
Yet here we are.
While McLachlin, now on the cusp of his 43rd birthday, didn’t see the success he wanted on the PGA Tour, the opposite happened once he launched his Short Game Chef teaching videos.
Almost immediately, PGA Tour players began reaching out to ask for his help to sharpen their short game. His first client was Kevin Streelman, a two-time winner on Tour who was ranked No. 93 in the world at the time he contacted McLachlin.
“So the first paid lesson that I gave was to the guy ranked No. 93 in the world,” McLachlin says. “I was like, Oh, wow, I better figure this out. [Kevin] liked it, had me back a couple more times, and then told me he’d like to hire me for the year. It was surreal. I was like, Whoa, I just went from never really giving a lesson to now working with the guy ranked No. 93 in the world. So that was sort of where it just shifted and I thought, Maybe I am good at this.”
Ultimately, McLachlin helped Streelman move up in the World Ranking. In the six months that the two worked together, Streelman went from 93rd to 45th, which included a couple of second-place finishes.
Adds McLachlin, “My short-game teaching sort of got pushed into the fast lane and my playing [in tournaments for a living] sort of stayed in neutral.”
While working with the world’s top golfers is great, McLachlin is quick to point out that his goal isn’t to chase Tour players but rather to help recreational or new golfers shoot lower scores.
“The Tour players give me validation,” he says. “Like what I’m doing and seeing is good, and they trust in that. But my goal is to really help the general population understand that there’s a more efficient way — a better way — to play shots around the green. I want to take that torch and be the guy who modernizes the short game.”
Parker McLachlin’s vast experience has prepared him for his success as the Short Game Chef. From his time playing collegiately to competing on the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours, he’s soaked up techniques and tendencies from some of the best players in the world.
He’s simply trying to bring those lessons to the amateur golfer, simplifying the sport to help shave strokes off their scorecard.
“I take a lot of what I’ve learned from playing the game and watching guys at the highest level; observing, listening, learning from some of the best players of all time,” McLachlin says when talking about his approach to teaching recreational golfers.
“I’m trying to take those commonalities and bring them to the weekend golfer. With a Tour player, they’re looking to shave a quarter of a stroke, maybe one stroke per tournament. It could be as simple as explaining a new or different philosophy.
“But with a rec player, it’s usually more about making wholesale changes, because they’ve been doing things the incorrect way for so long.”
It’s this part of his Short Game Chef instruction that’s most satisfying for him. By providing Tour-level instruction on his website, McLachlin is modernizing the way golfers at all handicaps think about playing short-game shots.
“I walk them through how to hit a proper pitch shot or how to hit a proper chip shot. All of a sudden, it completely frees them up, and they no longer fear turf interaction on shorter shots.” And they enjoy the game more.
McLachlin recognizes an opportunity to help improve each of the regular players he works with. He says that when he starts in on a lesson, he eventually sees a light go off that his students had never seen before.
“All of a sudden, you can see the freedom sort of present itself, and they become an athlete. That’s the fun part while watching them, especially for those players experiencing chipping yips. Once I get them out of the setup spot that’s been hindering them, they begin to feel more comfortable.”
McLachlin reports that he’s helped more than 30 amateurs overcome chipping yips. He’s improved the play of PGA Tour players and hundreds of weekend warriors. He’s been able to communicate his teaching philosophy so his players understand how to stack a variety of short-game shots in their favor.
“I don’t want people to think they have to be perfect around the greens,” McLachlin says. “You’re going to hit some great shots, but, since you’re human, you’re also going to hit some bad ones.
“With some of these philosophies, though, even if you mishit a shot, you’ll still be able to put yourself in a spot where you can shave a stroke or two off your game.”
