“One of my students was thinking way too much about everything and just getting in her own way,” recalls Friedman. “Her game was going down fast, and she was ready to give up.” Friedman wouldn’t allow it, and she took the student out on the course early one morning to see what was happening. Friedman noticed a distinct difference between her practice swing and her actual swing. When she stood over the ball to attempt the shot, she would wait so long it was like she got stuck. “She couldn’t pull the trigger,” says Friedman. “When she finally did, it was so fast that it was all arms and very much out of tempo.”

To get her back on track, Friedman helped her construct a pre-shot and shot routine that included a “go” move. “It made her aware of her target in the swing and took her focus off just ‘hitting the ball’,” explains Friedman. She convinced the student to work on it and give it time; Friedman was confident it would help. Not long after, this student won an event at her club. She and her partner racked up 57 points in the Stableford format (1 for bogey, 2 for par, 3 for birdie and 4 for eagle). “What a great victory for her,” beams Friedman, “and that is why I teach golf!”

No stranger to teaching sports, Friedman actually began a career as a racquetball instructor at age 16. She was also a professional player on the WRIT and finished 4^th in the world rankings before retiring to pursue golf. The first time she picked up a club at age 25, she was hooked. “I was just looking for a break from the court one summer,” remembers Friedman. That “break” sent her down a new career path. As a golf professional, she’s competed in the Connecticut Open, the Metropolitan Open and the Massachusetts Open. Teaching was a given for Friedman. “It’s just a different model,” she says.

Friedman recommends beginners take lessons on the fundamentals before they start playing. She believes intermediate players will benefit by learning to drive well and consistently off the tee. For advanced golfers, it’s all about the short game. “It’s very rewarding,” says Friedman, “when you see the expression of elation after a student hits a shot just right.” With five years of teaching golf under her belt, Friedman knows her students appreciate her ability to keep it simple and speak their language while explaining the mechanics of the swing.

“When we’re on the range for a lesson, I show students how they can practice to improve,” says Friedman. “When we go out on the course, we discuss how to think and score while playing.” For Friedman, the game is a constant source of joy and fresh rewards. A long hitter off the tee, Friedman loves crushing big drives down the fairway, but she doesn’t mind spinning a clean wedge back to the pin or sinking a 30-footer, either. Favorite courses of Friedman’s include the White Witch at the Ritz Carlton and the Wyndham Rose Hall and Country Club in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In fact, Friedman has traveled many times to Jamaica for her Women's Golf Tours, which are golf trips she's led just for women. 

Born in New York City, Friedman now resides in Danbury, Connecticut, while teaching at the Scarsdale Golf Club in Hartsdale, New York. She shares her home with three cats – K.C., George and Cali – and a dog she adopted from the animal shelter who was rescued from a dumpster. Despite his lack of hair and case of the mange, the dog was given the name Guapo, meaning handsome in Spanish, in an effort to build his self-esteem. Friedman kept the name and now has a beautiful black lab mix with white paws, and all of Guapo's hair has grown back.