TODD ROHRER

CHAIRMAN

“My friends, devoted discipline and grace will bring ye knowin’s and powers everywhere, in all your life, in all your works if they’re good works, in all your loves if they’re good loves. Ye’ll come away from the links with a new hold on life, that is certain if ye play the game with all your heart.”

"Ye're makin' a great mistake if ye think the gemme is meant for the shots. The gemme is meant for walkin'."

~ Shivas Irons ~ Golf in the Kingdom

Golf found me in my thirties. It was the 1990’s, and I’d quit the real world to take “any job” in golf… probably because my wife hoped it would make me happy, and she was right… After years of managing food-service establishments, fitness clubs, and dabbling in the world of coffee roasting, I suddenly found myself as the GM at a lovely new golf club in Oregon. For a while, I described myself as the poster boy for the Follow Your Dream Foundation…

I wondered why I bought the copy of Extraordinary Golf. I had ignored the blizzard of instruction books and magazines devoted to my new pursuit. After all, I could still play the stick and ball games where the ball moved… how could golf—a game where the ball sat still!— require such a massive body of literature devoted to method and instruction? But we were leaving for a long weekend in San Diego, and I needed something to read—and the first thing the jacket of Fred’s book referenced was a book I’d read… “Golf in the Kingdom.” In fact, I’d met Michael Murphy, accidentally, on his book tour for “The Kingdom of Shivas Irons.” It was meant to be.

That episode in an airport bookstore set in motion a journey of experiencing golf from a perspective that seemed different than what the current culture of golfers espoused.

I have been part of the Shivas Irons Society for more than 20 years now, and am happy that we continue moving… we’re not always sure in what direction, but we try, collectively, to make it toward a deeper relationship with “the gemme,” which deepens our relationships with one another. We hope you will join us and share your journey.

John Francis

Treasurer

Between the shared fun of playing and the beauty of Quail Lodge Club, I rediscovered Shivas in the embodiment of Dave Buckingham, who has become a dear friend and mentor on how to both be and not be. Add in a little Fred Shoemaker, Joe Parent, and my hickories, along with friendly companions, I am privileged to serve on the Board

BEN KLINE

President/Executive Director

Golf found me a little later in life. I played little when I was younger, and just a handful of times with my father who was passionate about the game. Playing golf with dad as a teenager, I would easily grow frustrated. These days, I am fascinated by the game and never get bored and rarely frustrated. For me, golf is a mirror, a source of inspiration and a wellspring of stimulating connections, both personal and phenomenological.

After working for 23 years in the Washington, D.C. area in a variety of roles in the computer and inter-networking industries, my life made a seismic shift. In 2003, I met my future wife, quit my job and moved to Marin County in Northern California. At that point I had been playing golf for a few years and was trying to figure out the next phase of my career. Influenced by my passion for golf, I got a Masters degree in sport psychology. During my studies, a friend told me about the Golf In the Kingdom workshop at The Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. I had already read the book and in April 2005, I attended the workshop where I met SIS founder Steve Cohen and Extraordinary Golf™ coach Bill Condaxis. That was my introduction to The Society and to so many wonderful friends and fun events.

I look forward to meeting many more members and serving as the Society’s leader as we all carry the torch for the Spirit of the Great Gemme together.

LUKE BROSTERHOUS

Director

In addition to being a Class A PGA Member, Luke holds a Masters Degree in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Utah, in the area of Exercise Sport Science/Sport Psychology. Luke’s unique ability to bring together Modern Golf Instruction and the most effective researched principles in the world of Performance Coaching is what distinguishes his Instruction and Coaching from others. Luke has been the PGA Director of Instruction at such Prestigious Properties and Academies as TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, in Seattle, WA, Pronghorn in Bend, OR, and Querencia Golf Club, in Los Cabos, Mexico. Luke is the Director of Instruction/Founder of the M3 Golf & Performance Lab in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and also serves

RICK THAU

Director

As a workaholic from Silicon Valley, I didn’t start to play golf until well into my 40's. Starting younger would have been easier, but this road to discovery might not have been so rich. Golf is now an important part of my life and social connection. Shivas Irons brings out the intellectual and enhanced consciousness inherent to the joy of the game we love.

JOSEPH PARENT

DIRECTOR

“Don’t complain about anything. Not even to yourself.”
~ Joseph Parent, Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game

Dr. Joe Parent has coached Performance Psychology with golfers and other athletes, as well as actors, artists, and business professionals, for over 30 years. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He has studied, practiced and taught mindful awareness and principles of psychology and communication in the Buddhist tradition since the 1970s in the lineage of Ven. Chögyam Trungpa, one of the great teachers to come to the West from Tibet.

"My first Shivas Irons Society event was the 10th Anniversary celebration at The Links at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, California. It was like old friends meeting, and not long afterward founder Steve Cohen invited me to be on the Board of Directors."

Dr. Parent offers a unique blend of modern western psychology and ancient eastern wisdom, helping people in all walks of life achieve success through peak performance principles through his mindfulness training, corporate seminars, executive coaching, and sports psychology lessons. He has given keynote speeches at conferences, management retreats, and training programs for a wide variety of businesses and associations.

A distinguished PGA TOUR and LPGA Sports Psychologist/Instructor, Dr. Parent has worked with major champions and many other top professionals. He has the singular distinction of coaching both a man (Vijay Singh) and a woman (Cristie Kerr) to the #1 World Ranking. His books, led by the #1 best-seller ZEN GOLF: Mastering the Mental Game, have over a million copies in print, digital, and audio formats worldwide in ten different languages. Golf Digest reviewers call ZEN GOLF “highly original and exciting, a book that has become a classic. It’s on my list of top golf books of all time. Dr. Parent is a groundbreaking writer in the field of golf instruction.” He is one of Golf Digest’s “Top Mental Game Experts in the World.” His other golf books include:

• ZEN PUTTING: Mastering the Mental Game on the Greens;
• GOLF: The Art of the Mental Game; and
• HOW TO MAKE EVERY PUTT: The Secret to Winning Golf’s Game within the Game.

In addition, he’s written:

• ZEN TENNIS: Playing in the Zone;
• THE BEST DIET BOOK EVER: The Zen of Losing Weight; and his latest book,
• A WALK IN THE WOOD: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh.

Dr. Parent has been featured on CNN, NBC, HBO Sports, ESPN, as well as many appearances on The Golf Channel. The ZEN GOLF book has had its own cameo TV appearance, being read by Ray Romano on “Everybody Loves Raymond.” He has coached Ray, Kevin James, Michael Bolton, George Lopez, Anthony Anderson, Patrick Warburton, Michael O’Keefe (Danny Noonan in Caddyshack), Malcolm McDowell, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Kenny G, Marcus Allen, Oscar de la Hoya, Byron Scott, and Alonzo Mourning, among many top celebrity and star athlete golfers. When not traveling for keynotes, coaching on the PGA TOUR or LPGA TOUR, or leading Shivas Irons Society programs, he and his lovely wife Megan make their home in Ojai, California, where he teaches at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa Resort. He also offers long-distance lessons and executive coaching by telephone, Skype, or FaceTime to clients all over the world. For more information, please visit his website at www.DrJoeParent.com.

JOHN WILLIAMS

Director/Social Media Director

I studied Religion at Colorado College and in 2021, completed a Master’s degree in Business Management at the University of St. Andrews. I resisted the game of golf for most of my life. It never clicked for me the way other sports did. I had to come to it in my own way, on my own time.  That said, there are three people who continue to influence my approach to golf and life. The first is my Dad. He taught me to play fast and enjoy the walk. He has always encouraged me to discover the game for myself, rather than apply someone else’s model. He also reminds me to be accountable - to the standard I set for myself, to the other people around me, and to the grounds I am privileged enough to play on.

The second influence is Fred Shoemaker. I attended Extraordinary Golf with Fred in 2017. He changed my game without ever giving me any swing tips or mechanical instruction. Fred created space for me to be present without judgment, to confront my blind spots, and to realize my potential. He helped me embrace the game of golf as a lifelong practice of mastery.

The third influence is Michael Murphy, and through him Shivas Irons. Shivas remains, in many ways, the guru I am searching for in my own life. His vision and mastery, as well as his humanity and eccentricity, remind me of why I play golf. Because I see it as a genuine yoga, as an opportunity to join my deepest self and expand my sense of what’s possible. All life is yoga. All golf is yoga. There are endless ways to turn an impulse into an exercise. Imagine, practice, start again. On it goes.