UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- One of Penn State Athletics' initiatives is to "prepare students for a lifetime of impact." Lynn Marriott, a 1981 alumna and former Penn State golfer, has broken the "grass ceiling" with her plethora of accomplishments from the assistance of that exact impact.
Marriott said the effect of that impact is rooted back to Penn State's education, athletic experience—and most of all, Penn State's unique culture and atmosphere.
"You kind of have to be a Penn Stater to understand that," Marriott said.
Marriott, along with instructor Pia Nilsson, are the co-founders of VISION54, which is a golf school they established over two decades ago in Scottsdale, Ariz. Their revolutionary program and four best-selling golf books have earned them the title of being the two highest ranked female instructors in America.
VISION54 is a unique program that not only focuses on improving technical skills, but also perfecting what Marriott and Nilsson call "Human Skills"—which are the "physical, technical, mental, emotional, social and spirit of the game." This blended style of coaching sets Marriott and Nilsson apart from both sports psychologists and technical coaches.
"What we try to explain to people is that you're a human being who plays golf," Marriott said. "So, as a human being, everything that is going on with you as a human being, physically, technically, mentally, emotionally, socially, is going to have effects on your performance."
Marriot said these skills are like "second nature" to her now, but they are skills that are mostly overlooked.
"We just have designed a pedagogue around making those skills, what we call the Human Skills, more applicable and doable for people," Marriott said. "But that if they would now just have these exercises to do, in what we call the Human Skills, and learning what we would call more self-awareness and self-regulating skills, their enjoyment and their performance would really be enhanced."
Marriot said VISION54 started small, very organically and with not a lot of marketing.
Nilsson, at the time, was coaching Swedish professional golfer Annika Sorenstam—who is regarded as one of the best golfers in history. According to Marriott, Sorenstam believed in a lot of Vision54 principles, so "she was a good testimonial early on."
Marriott graduated from Penn State with a degree in marketing and entered straight into the golf business to become a teaching professional. At first, Marriott labeled herself as a "technical teacher," with the purpose of bettering a golfer's swing and overall technique. Over time, Marriott would notice golfers who had better technique, but would not perform as well on the course—something that Marriott herself experienced at Penn State.
"I loved my time at Penn State, and it was a wonderful four years," Marriott said. "I wouldn't want it to be any different than what I had, but I definitely was an underperformer, and I didn't know why."
Marriott said her anger and need for perfection is what might have led her to underperforming, but she did not know how to manage those flaws. Similarly, Nilsson played the LPGA Tour, and also wondered why she did not perform better or win tournaments.
Marriott's own personal experiences of playing and teaching, along with a couple of Penn State's psychology courses, are what sparked an interest in the human side of performance for Marriott.
After finishing all of her marketing and business requirements, Marriott said she realized she was interested in psychology—but it was just too late to switch her major.
"I do feel that my marketing background at Penn State has helped me a lot with how we market Vision54 and how we promoted Vision54, so definitely it has been a good thing that I had that education—but my real love was in the human skills."
A particular course that stood out to Marriott was one that focused on sports psychology, which was taught by Women's Volleyball Coach Russ Rose and Dr. Steven Danish. The course was only offered to student athletes.
During her last semester, Marriott even took graduate level psychology courses, which was recommended to her by her professor, Dr. Steven Danish.
"I am always learning" Marriott said. "It is just a passion of mine to stay curious and look at the research and look at what other sports are doing with this kind of thing. I would definitely say that my background with Dr. Steve Danish and that first sport psych class had a big impact."
Looking back at her time at Penn State and playing college golf, Marriott said her coach, Annette Thompson, did a wonderful job in allowing a healthy balance between being a student and an athlete.
Marriott said Thompson allowed her team to "love college and college golf."
"I didn't perform to the level that I wanted to, but it was an awesome experience at Penn State, and I often say my spirit of the game was really nurtured there," Marriott said.
During her senior year, Marriott also had the opportunity to assist in the shattering of another "grass ceiling."
When she found out Coach Thompson was retiring at the end of the school year, she recommended the position to long-time friend and mentor Coach Mary Kennedy-Zierke. Coach Kennedy-Zierke ended up being the coach for the Nittany Lions from 1981-1991.
"Mary was really cool, because Mary was the coach of both the men's and women's programs," Marriott said. "It was really unique."
Kennedy-Zierke was one of the first female coaches ever to coach a male sport at the university. Like Marriott, she made history.
"We've broken the grass ceiling a few times," Marriott said. "Golf Digest will do a Top 50 Best Teachers in the United States, and women weren't usually ranked—if they were it was like 49 or 50. Now I am happy to say Pia and I, just because of our work with tour players and success that we've had, Pia is the highest-ranking female ever on that list. We are both inside the top 25, so that has been a big accomplishment."
Marriott was also mentioned in GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Teachers, and she is named both a Class A PGA and LPGA teaching professional.
The two co-founders have also coached players to more than 100 tour victories on the LPGA Tour, PGA Tour, European Tour, Ladies European Tour and Japan Tour, according to VISION54's website. Four number one ranked players in the world and nine different major winners are also accredited to their coaching.
Marriott and Nilsson's first book, "Every Shot Must Have a Purpose," was published in 2005, and it offers different techniques from their revolutionary VISION54 method. The book also contains a foreword from Annika Sorenstam.
According to Marriott, "Every Shot Must Have a Purpose" has sold well over 100,000 copies.
Their latest book Be A Player is on track to match that success.
"It kind of really put us on the map—our first book—and it was so well-received," Marriott said.
In addition, Marriott and Nilsson have moved with the times to keep Vision54 continuously innovative. They have produced a VISION54 iPhone application, and they have created five remote learning courses on their website due to COVID-19.
Along with Annika Sorenstam, Marriott and Nilsson have also worked with other number one ranked players such as Ai Miyazato from Japan and Ariya Jutanugarn from Thailand—as well as other golfers from around the world. Marriott said having the opportunity to coach golfers from many different cultures has been "beautiful."
"That's been really fun for me, to learn how to pace and understand different cultures and honor those cultures, and not impose my American view on them," Marriott said. "And then just get to know them and their cultures, and then of course get them to realize their goals in golf."
Although VISION54 does represent 18 birdies in a round of golf, the program's name represents something more to Marriott and Nilsson.
"It represents possibilities," Marriott said. "So, whether you're a new golfer or a recreational golfer, it's about finding the possibilities in your game."
With the right mind-set and Marriott and Nilsson's theory of mastering "Human Skills," the possibilities are endless.
