Coaching can be a very tough business. Coaching professional sports teams is a high-stress, high-reward profession.

But longevity in the job is rarely a characteristic of coaching. "What have you done for me lately" is the phrase most often heard in the board rooms from team owners and managers.

Last season's championship can mean very little if a team doesn't follow up with a strong defense of their title. And the coach is usually the first man or woman to go.

Golf is different. A golf coach or swing coach doesn't need to worry about what the owners think or what the fans think, for that matter.

The job of a swing coach to a tour player is to make sure that player is swinging the club as well as he or she can.

There is a level of trust between coach and player and a depth to the relationship that can't be found in other sports.

But even in golf, a long-term relationship with one swing coach is rare.

However, there is an exception: Lorie Kane and Anne Chouinard.

Lorie is a veteran star of the LPGA Tour and Anne Chouinard has been by her side on the practice tee for the better part of 20 years.

Anne herself is a former tour player, turned coach and instructor. She's also the Director of Instruction at the Canadian Golf Academy.
They have been through "thick and thin" together, battling the ups and downs of tour golf.

But their bond remains strong and close.

I interviewed Anne for Eagleparbirdie.com and I'm posting the first part of the interview today.

Anne talks about the early days with Lorie and why their professional relationship on and off the golf course has remained strong.

You can hear part two tomorrow.

Today's conversation is just over 7 minutes long. Click the link below and have a listen. Please allow a couple of minutes for the interview to download from the server to your computer. Some will find the download process quicker than others.

And if you want to send a comment, by all means, go for it!!

Chouinard1a.mp3