Some people, as Shakespeare once astutely said, are born great. Others achieve greatness. Still others… no need to go to the last part of that famous phrase, in order to present a great golf coach who has worked tirelessly to achieve greatness and earn his place in the golf world.
While many know Rick Sessinghaus as Collin Morikawa’s coach, his story goes beyond that. Growing up in a sports-minded family in Burbank, California, he played baseball, football, basketball, and tennis before discovering golf at age 13, when he quickly fell in love with both the game and competing.
“I got more into golf when I was about 16 and just dropped all the other sports and began the quest to see how good I could get (at golf). I ended up walking on at Cal State Northridge – a Division I school here near Los Angeles. I was an average Division I college golfer, but I just absolutely loved it and that kind of got me into the golf business and so, when I graduated there, I started to become a coach.”
And just like that, the golf world gained an instructor who would one day become far more than a swing coach. Why did he decide to become a golf coach? “I think just because I inherently want to help people, and golf happens to be that vehicle. I see myself as just a coach and golf is just something I love to do – to see people’s faces when they hit a great shot and the joy that it brings. It brings a lot of joy to me, the coach, as well, so that’s kind of my overall ‘why I’m a coach’.” In fact, he adds, “I resonate a lot with junior golfers; I love working with competitive junior golfers and developing them.”
Now a golf coach of over 30 years, he is a proud PGA of America member, often featured in the organization’s promotional materials. Beyond his PGA credentials, Rick has earned numerous certifications, including TPI (fitness), HeartMath, Optimize, Human Potential, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), and neuroscience-based flow training with author/speaker Steven Kotler.
“But really, my love is the mental side of performance and so I went back to school and got a doctorate in applied sports psychology (Psy.D.). I was mentored by a couple of mental game coaches; Dr. Patrick J. Cohn, (Ph.D. peak performance sports) was one of them and I just really went in deep on personal development and performance psychology and then the last few years I’ve gone into deeper research on the flow state.”
Looking for a stronger foundation for developing a philosophy on the mental game, he studied the research. Over the past 20 years, performance psychology has produced much more evidence on what works and what doesn’t, which he finds exciting. When he played competitive golf 30 years ago, he’d worked with a sports psychologist who was rather vague. Back then it was mostly, ‘Be positive, take deep breaths.’ He didn’t really understand cause and effect or what to do with that advice.
Fast-forward 20 years, and there now exists extensive research on flow states – the neurochemicals and physiological responses – compared to fear-based states. That excites him because there is now quantifiable evidence for the mental game. “Going back to school helped me strengthen my own foundation, build credibility, and, honestly, feed my love of learning.”
So, what is this ‘flow state’ that Rick discovered that has helped so many of his students, including Collin Morikawa to perform at superior levels? Flow, according to his website, is a state in which the person performing an activity is fully immersed, experiencing the feeling of energized focus, complete involvement and deep enjoyment.
The state of flow – or being “in the zone” – is the ultimate goal, the most desirable state for both performance and mindset. It serves as the foundation for deep inner peace and a sense of empowerment.
By applying flow triggers, brainwaves shift toward the alpha–theta bridge, creating the conditions for flow. The process begins with deactivation – emptying the “full glass” to become present – before activating into the optimal state.
Adding to his accomplishments, Rick co-founded a company called FLOWCODE, which aims to provide strategies, frameworks, and tools to guide people from a fear state to a flow state.
Currently serving as both a swing coach and a mental coach, his philosophy differs for each role. Regarding swing instruction, he notes that 20–25 years ago, the focus leaned heavily towards positions at various phases of the swing. Today, he in particular, uses positions more as a framework for understanding cause and effect, rather than forcing all players into the same positions.
These days, he starts by observing a player as if they had no arms, focusing first on the torso and lower body and how they move in space. He then examines the arms and, finally, the hands. Physics, of course, plays a role – the ball goes where the clubface directs it and curves away from the path. “Over the last 10 years, launch monitors have improved our understanding of cause and effect,” he says. “My philosophy is about minimizing moving parts. I focus on helping golfers understand clubface control and basic cause and effect so they can shape shots. Over time, my swing philosophy has actually become simpler.”
On the other hand, Rick’s mental game philosophy is: “Everybody is an individual, just like in their swing. Each individual brings their own experiences, their belief systems, and their memories – both positive and negative. I view the mental game as state management. I believe what state you are in mentally, emotionally, and physically will affect your performance.”
He helps people understand ‘state management’ and how to move to a flow state, where players are focused, calm, confident, mentally engaged with the challenge at hand, and physically energized. “Those states affect your motor patterns and decision-making,” he says. Golfers are able to recognize when fear or anxiety on the course triggers a physical stress (fight-or-flight) response, because, for instance, grip pressure and tempo may change, affecting ball flight.
Which does Rick consider more important – the swing or the state of mind – or are they equally important? “That’s a loaded question,” he laughs. “Here’s how I answer it, inspired by Tim Gallwey, author of The Inner Game of Golf: Potential minus Interference equals Performance. Everyone’s potential varies based on physical makeup, talent, hand-eye coordination, and swing ability. What often prevents players from reaching that potential is interference – mostly mental, though physical factors matter too. If someone wakes up with a bad back, that’s major interference. I don’t see it as a matter of percentages; both the swing and the mind are 100% necessary.”
How does Rick’s mental game philosophy compare with that of other leading sports psychology coaches in golf? He has great respect for – and has learned from – many of the top mental-golf coaches, but he believes his specialization lies in using technology, such as electroencephalograms (EEGs) to assess brain waves, as well as heart-rate variability monitors.
Primarily, he trains golfers to develop mental skills daily. The FLOWCODE app, for instance, includes guided meditations, various breathwork exercises, and strategies for mental preparation before a round of golf, among other tools. He contrasts this with other coaching approaches: “A lot of what I’ve heard from other coaches is reactionary – ‘What do you do now?’ – instead of focusing on what you could do beforehand, or in the morning,” he explains. Many FLOWCODE players start with a gratitude journal, followed by breathwork, guided visualization, and post-session worksheets for assessment. He aims to make the approach highly interactive.
Ultimately, while Rick has been an exceptional swing coach to many great golfers – including, naturally, Collin Morikawa, whom he has worked with since age eight – he has been an outstanding mental coach as well. Now, things seem to be coming full circle for him, with the opening of his new FLOWCODE Studio, just a stone’s throw away from where he grew up in Burbank, California.