The Right Teacher is Key to Golf Instruction
Thought we’d take on the golf instructors of the world. If you remember a couple of blogs back, I quoted a statistic (sorry I can’t remember where I read it) that the average 18 hole golf score has only improved by half a stroke over the last 30 years. And that’s with all the advantages that new technology has brought us.
Granted, most of us don’t take professional instruction on a regular basis, but there are thousands of instructors out there making a living so enough of us are going to keep them employed. Why, then, hasn’t that score dropped more than half a stroke?
If some guy in your league improved his handicap by 8 strokes in one year and credited it to a teacher, tell me half the guys or gals in the league wouldn’t beat a path to the instructor’s door. So are there good teachers out there and, if so, where?
As in any profession there are those that know and those that don’t. How comfortable would you feel just picking a dentist’s name out of the phone book and having her go to work on your teeth. I didn’t think so! There are plenty of dentists out there, but only a few I want to trust my choppers to. So we can assume that this is the same for golf instructors – a few bad, a few good and most various shades of so so.
If there are some good instructors out there, and I’m sure there are, how come students aren’t lined up in the parking lot and down the road. Who wouldn’t part with some serious scratch to get really better at this game? Before you say no, go look at that high priced titanium monster driver in your bag.
Related posts:
- Will The Haney Project Kill Golf Instruction?
- Tempo – Golf’s Most Important Teacher
- Golf Instruction For The Rest Of Us
- Michael Breed Is Good For Golf Instruction
- Steve Stricker – Golf’s Best Teacher
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Comments
Sean is correct. I believe that the student should understand the reason behind what they are doing. I want them to “feel” what is is that I want them to do. I think the worst thing an instructor can do is to tell a student do this, that, and then expect the student to respond.
I recently posted on my blog and website about the ball flight laws and why they occur, and the members at the club where I teach found that very interesting. Again that was to inform them why the golf ball travels in certain directions / ball flights.
Sean, I couldn’t agree with you more. Not everyone learns the same way, but knowing the ‘why’ is absolutely critical for me. When you understand ‘why’ you have a better chance of self-correcting.
Toby, you’re right! The ball flight rules are fundamental if you want to understand your swing on any given day. Otherwise you are playing completely in the dark.
I think the issue is not a lack of instruction or qualified resources to obtain the information on improving. I beleive the issue is that most instructors teach people the “how” about golf techniques and not the “why”. If a student does not understand why they are being asked to change a position, grip, stance, posture, etc. Then they will be unable to repeat the movement. I think once they understand the why to golf technique they can comprehend it, translate that to feel. Then it becomes a repeatable motion.
For example, thousands of people around the world are taught “how to grip the golf club”. However, most instructors do not take the time to explain to the student why a proper grip is so important. It effects wrist break, power, club face angle, etc. In other words, it is a chain reaction event and has an effect on so many more tings in the swing.
I believe if most students understood the impact of the change it would be much easier to translate that change into a feeling. That in turn allows for a repeatable motion and muscle memory. If they do not then they revert back to bad habits in one area that impacts the overall golf swing.