Technology vs Range Balls

As an assistant one of my positions was working for one of the first Master Professionals that had been an assistant at Augusta National.  He told me an interesting story about Ben Hogan.

Starting in 1942 rubber was rationed so it became difficult to find quality golf balls.  Hogan handed him his practice bag and asked him to watch over it.  He said that in some cases his practice balls were better than what he played with.  He added that practicing with anything other than quality golf balls was a waste of time.  At his level that statement is true, for a beginner not so much.

Technology

That started me thinking about range balls which are very inconsistent and therefore the accuracy of any data obtained while hitting them is questionable.  I understand that with a launch monitor the club data such as AOA, path, club face, etc. would still be accurate but not the ball data.

When launch monitors are used for club fitting are quality balls also being used?

I understand that in a closed environment, like a hitting bay, the quality of the ball can be easily controlled but a green grass driving range is a different story.

All major brands of golf balls have different models and each model has different spin rates, trajectory, and ball speed.  The variance in range balls is much greater than that, even with new range balls.  It gets even worse as they get some age on them.

For the full report from Golf Digest CLICK HERE.

I know that some launch monitors have an algorithm that is supposed to compensate for range balls but that would only work if range balls were consistent which they aren’t.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that you can get a rough idea of solid contact, curvature and trajectory with range balls but that is about it.  If you are using a launch monitor to obtain accurate ball information or club fitting it would seem that it needs to be in conjunction with quality golf balls.

For the average golfer trying to obtain accurate yardage information on how far each club goes range balls are not going to get the job done.

The easiest way to accurately check your yardages is with a GPS device or a range finder on a relatively flat area of the golf course using the balls you normally play with.

One Professionals View On Teaching And Learning

One of my pet peeves is that older instructors that do not spend many thousands of dollars on technology because in their situation they don’t feel they have a need for it are considered by younger instructors that have invested small fortunes in the latest technology, seminars, and certifications to be dinosaurs and in some way less competent.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I am not anti-technology and have invested in it throughout my career WHEN I considered it useful to me.  I think that in certain circumstances technology can be a very useful tool.  For some reason it seems that if you are not a big advocate of the latest technology you are automatically labeled anti-technology which is not true for many teachers.

Medical Analogy

The one analogy that pops up over and over is the use of the medical profession which is generally ridiculous.  Just because I don’t own a Trackman or attend seminars on bio-kinetics it is often implied or stated that I can’t see the usefulness of an MRI scanner which is absurd and borders on stupid.

An MRI is an extremely useful piece of technology WHEN it is needed.  I think a launch monitor is an extremely useful piece of technology WHEN it is needed.  I do know that I do not want my local physician that I go to raising his rates so he can own an MRI machine.  I simply do not need an MRI scan when I go in for a checkup or a sore throat.  Nor do I need to own a very expensive piece of technology to help the vast majority of the students I work with.

If my doctor recommends an MRI for some reason I will be going to a facility that has one and I will be paying a premium for the visit.  I think something similar could work for golf instruction.

The Objective

The objective is to be able to help golfers improve as simply and quickly as possible.  If this can be done with little or no technology the teacher is very good at what he does.  If another chooses to depend heavily on technology and is able to help his students quickly then he is also very good at what he does.

The idea that traditional knowledge and teaching is out dated is sadly misguided.  It is like the “old” and “new” ball flight laws.  Saying the old ball flight rules are wrong and the new ball flight rules are right is ridiculous.  The laws of physics haven’t changed.  Actually neither is really accurate because there are too many variables that neither takes into account.

The fact is the old ones are very effective at explaining ball flight to the average golfer.  They are simple and easy to understand.  The new laws are much less simple.

In my forty years of teaching golf I have seen a lot of revolutionary ideas and technology come and go only to be replaced by something newer and “better.”

With that being said, from my perspective, time and resources are much better spent on studying and understanding how people learn and develop complex motor skills and learning how to communicate the acquired knowledge to the student in the best and most efficient way possible.

Human Nature

I do understand human nature well enough to know that if someone has invested a great deal of time in money in technology or anything else they simply have to justify that to themselves and are unable to consider any other possibility.

Technology has nothing to do with whether someone can teach or not.  You can have the latest equipment and a wall full of certifications and without good communications skills it is all meaningless.  If you don’t understand the science of how people learn you are working under a handicap.  It doesn’t mean that you cannot teach, it simply means it will probably take your students longer to make progress and your failure rate is likely to be higher.  I do have to admit that over the years I have met great instructors that instinctively understood how students learn and were born communicators but it is rare.

Conclusion

In conclusion, for me, it simply boils down to what a person finds useful.  For me what I find useful is knowledge of the rapidly advancing science of learning and the art of communications.   It does not make me superior in any way any more than technology or bio-mechanics makes anyone else superior in any way.

Science and Golf Instruction

I am definitely old school but I have always been fascinated by advances in science and technology that have the possibility to help me as a person or as a golf professional.  That is why I got into computers before they had hard drives and video when they were battling between VHS and Betamax.  It is also why I started studying neuroscience as it applies to how people learn.

I know many will not agree with what I am about to say and I understand that.  It is only my opinion, but I am fairly intelligent and have very accurate logic and BS filters.  Because of that I have come to this conclusion.

My Conclusion

Science and technology seems to have hijacked golf instruction.  Because of things like Doppler radar, 3-D, Biomechanics, etc. we have turned golf instruction into numbers, minute positions and body parts.

As a friend of mine, Mike Rubino, who is an attorney and avid student of the game said, “The scientist and so called experts of today have invented a whole new golf lexicon and proclaim that without a complete understanding of their jargon you can't possibly teach or learn golf correctly.”

Sadly even the scientist and PhD’s don’t agree with each other.  The major benefit of all this seems to be in selling seminars and certifications so golf professionals can learn how to use the new jargon and terms that have been invented.

When I read about this and listen to the comments a term comes to mind that best describes it.  The definition follows:

“Mental Masturbation: Pleasurable but unproductive mental activity; at least in the short-term. Sometimes people use a tool, language, or technique because it has ideas that stimulate or entertain their mind. It might not be "better", but one likes it because of the stimulation or challenge it provides.”

Having been in the business for a long time now I have seen these “going to revolutionize golf instruction” come and go on a regular basis always to be replaced by the next “great breakthrough” that doesn’t materialize.

When I got into the business many years ago it was all about teaching people to PLAY golf.  Somewhere along the way technology transformed it into focusing only on the golf swing.  It is now all about numbers, positions, body parts and terminology.

The end result is that today only one golfer out of seventeen will even consider taking a lesson.

I know this will offend those that have spend a great deal of time and money on technology and getting certified but is this what we should consider progress?  You decide.

That is my view from the Golf Cave

The Golf Industry Has Shot Itself in the Foot

Recently I have been reading a research paper by a major university on the state of the golf industry and it seems that a lot of the challenges golf faces today are self-inflicted.

The Factors Contributing to Golf's Problems:

• The over building of golf courses during the boom years of the 1990’s.

• The building of longer, harder and more expensive golf courses.

• The slow play created by longer, harder, real estate development type golf courses.

• The building golf courses on speculation and not on socioeconomic demand.

• The building of golf courses that never had a viable business plan and are now environmentally, economically, and socially unsustainable.

In other words, even without a recession the golf industry would still be in trouble because of the paradigm change that occurred in the 1990’s.

What we have today is a situation where almost 90 percent of the golf courses are public access and roughly 30 percent are financially healthy, about 30 percent are slightly profitable or close to breaking even, and around 30 percent that are likely go out of business.

What we do know:

• We know there are about 4300 golf courses on the market for sale today. 

• We know there are currently about 1600 golf courses operating under bankruptcy protection.

• We know golf courses need to book about 64% of available tee-times to break even. 

• We know 60% of the golf courses are booking 44% of their available tee-times.

The Good News:

Help is on the way.  A book will be released in the near future that will offer a smorgasbord of proven techniques for operating profitably and turning money losers into money makers.  It will also cover golf instruction from a standpoint the will make it of interest to both teaching professionals and golfer alike.  I have only had glimpses at the data but it is extremely impressive.  I can only imagine the time, effort and money that have been poured into this project.

A Fresh Look At Why Golf Is Struggling

I recently came across an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on Golf.  A little different perspective than what I am used to seeing.  I especially like the comments by Joe Beditz of the National Golf Foundation.

By Brandi Shaffer

A report by the National Golf Foundation shows that while the sport is attracting more new players than at any time since the early 2000s, few new golfers are sticking with the game. The NGF found that comfort and competence primarily drive retention, and puts the onus on golf properties to offer the facilities and programs that keep golfers interested in the long haul.

American golf is attracting more new players in the U.S. now than at any time since the early 2000s, but the National Golf Foundation’s annual participation report shows another decline in the number of people who played the game at least once in the last year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

These two contradictory trends may be the most telling indication of the state of the industry: Plenty of people are taking up the game for the first time, but very few of them are sticking with it. And according to the NGF, a leading research and consulting group, that is less an indictment of the game itself than of the operators of the country’s more than 15,000 courses, WSJ reported.

“Golf needs to be more beginner-friendly,” said NGF chief executive Joe Beditz. “It’s like we’re running a gas station. ‘Come or don’t come. Here’s the price.’”

Roughly 2.2 million Americans aged 6 and older played golf for the first time in 2015, according to the NGF, the most since 2002. That is up from a post-recession low of 1.5 million beginners in 2011. Yet the overall number of participants still fell to 24.1 million, a marginal drop from 24.7 million in 2014 and down from a peak of 30 million in 2005, WSJ reported.

The leak isn’t coming from the core of the industry: a group of nearly 20 million people who play golf regularly say in surveys they are likely to continue doing so. It’s coming from the people who never make it into that group, WSJ reported.

Nearly 90% of the people who left the game in 2015 never became regular golfers, which the NGF defines as playing at least eight times per year. Taken together, the numbers portray a business that is being handed new customers, through the sheer allure of the game, and which lacks either the ability or the interest to turn them into devoted regulars, WSJ reported.

In an interview last week, Tiger Woods echoed the NGF’s call for courses to be more welcoming to beginners. “How do you keep them still interested in it?” Tiger Woods said. “How do you keep it fun? That’s one of the things we’re running into right now with the game of golf. It’s just stagnant. We have people come into the game but they exit the game. There’s no sustainability.”

In what seems like annual obituaries written about golf, two factors often cited are time and money. But in its surveys of people who quit the game, the NGF found that what really drives retention are two factors less often discussed, WSJ reported.

One is comfort—how comfortable a beginner is both on the course and around other golfers—which is mostly a function of atmosphere. The assumption at most courses is that a person walking in is familiar with everything from the pre-round routine to the countless unspoken rules of etiquette. In fact, beginners understand little of it. People who quit often never get past feeling like an outsider in a club for insiders, WSJ reported.

The other factor is competence. Most beginners who don’t get hooked say they never felt “shot euphoria”—the thrill of the one great shot, however rare, that keeps even the most casual players coming back. By contrast, they almost surely felt the humiliation of hitting their first tee shot 10 feet while the starter watches on, WSJ reported.

Part of the problem is the way people are introduced to the game, typically through a relative or friend. New golfers are far more likely to keep playing if they start with a structured program such as Get Golf Ready, which offers five group lessons for as little as $99. The program covers everything from swing basics to etiquette, guides people onto the course and helps them find other beginners to play with. But Beditz said such programs aren’t marketed well enough, WSJ reported.

Another problem is that the typical golf course is not set up for beginners to ease their way in. It’s akin to a ski resort without a bunny hill or a swimming pool without a shallow end. There is the course: 18 holes, often designed with the avid player in mind. And there is the driving range and practice green: easy enough to futz around on but also boring. There is nothing in between, WSJ reported.

The incentives to make golf more fun should be strong enough. Aside from the rise in beginners, the NGF will report Tuesday that 37.4 million non-golfers are at least somewhat interested in playing golf now, based on broader sports participation surveys conducted by the Physical Activity Council. The question is how many of them will ever play golf regularly, WSJ reported.

“There has to be an embrace of these people, and it has to happen at the golf course. That’s our front door,” Beditz said. “All of the preaching by guys like me will do absolutely no good if 15,000 golf courses are not managed better.”

Maybe growing the game wouldn’t be so difficult if we focused on how to retain the people that are coming into the game already.

The Key to Golf Instruction is Effective Communication

The Key to Golf Instruction is Effective Communication

By Sam Adams

I have been studying golf instructors and instruction for many years and along the way I have learned a few things.  I have found that all successful golf instructors have one critical skill in common. For the purposes of this discussion we will define successful as the ability to help students achieve their goals and improve.

The critical skill that all effective teachers have is the ability to communicate with their students. Having had the opportunity to spend time with great instructors, such as the legendary Harvey Penick, it is obvious that they were all gifted communicators.  They understand that communicating with their students involves more than just words.  People also communicate through body language and with their eyes.  When I am working with a student he or she may say they understand something, but I can tell with  their body language or from a look in their eyes that they don’t really understand what I am trying to teach them.

Teachers in other professions understand that learning is dependent on communications.  A math teacher can have a PhD, but be unable to effectively communicate their knowledge to a student.  Likewise, a golf an instructor can have a long list of certifications, but not be able to communicate that knowledge well enough to help  their students improve.  No matter how much technical expertise an individual has he or she will not be an effective teacher until they are able to communicate it in a manner that is simple and easy for the student to understand.

Communications is a two-way street and a good instructor wants and needs feedback from the student to be able to provide them with the maximum benefit from the lesson.  A student should never be embarrassed if they do not understand what the instructor is trying to teach.  The instructor is being paid to make sure that you understand what to do and why.  Students should not hesitate to ask why if you don’t understand the reason they are being asked to do something because they will never fully learn something until they understand the what and the why.

My fellow instructors and I have talked about our journey on the road to learning how to teach and how we probably should be glad we couldn’t be sued for malpractice early in our careers.  The turning point for an instructor comes when they learn to shut up and actively listen.  Our lessons today are mostly asking questions, listening to the answers, and helping the student with figuring things out for themselves.  The best way for someone to actually learn and retain something is letting the student figure things out with the assistance of a good instructor who can guide them.

Hitting a Golf Ball Is Like a Bullseye.

Golf Instruction: Golf Is Like a Bullseye

So much of golf instruction today is focused on the “good player” or low handicap golfer which is fine but these players are in or near the center circle of the bullseye.  The vast majority of what you are told that is essential or critical only applies to these players - not the vast majority in the outer circles.

If you just want to break 100 you don’t have to have the perfect address position, perfect alignment,or the perfect grip.  Your margin of error on those things is huge.  You are just trying to avoid double bogeys and higher.  You accomplish that by learning to play smarter and focusing on scoring instead of ball striking.  Learn to miss it the same way every time.

Par for the person just trying to shoot in the 90’s is bogey on every hole.  Stop trying to carry bunkers and water in order to reach the green in regulation.  Add one more stroke to par on every hole and start feeling more positive about your game.  Spend most of your time playing and working on putting, chipping and pitching.

If you want to move into the next ring things change a little.  If you want to be consistently in the 80’s you have to have the ability to reach some of the greens in regulation.  This means you can’t spray the ball as much and you may have to add a little distance.  Experiment with slowing the swing down until you can get solid contact on more shots.  Solid shots go much farther.  You can hit add distance while you improve accuracy.  It’s not about how far you can hit the ball, but how far you can hit it and have some idea where it’s going to end up.

You are going to have to develop a short game so you can start getting the ball up and down in two when you miss the green.

There is no need to spend hours on the range working on tips and buying DVD’s with non-existent secrets.  Just work on your consistency.  If you tend to slice the ball that is fine, just work on slicing it the same amount every time so you can figure out where to aim your shot.

You will also find that you can get more benefit from playing nine holes and working on you consistency is much better than spending an hour or so on the range.

Learn to enjoy golf more by not constantly trying to perfect your swing or technique and working instead one improving your score.  I use to love getting pro-am partners with 18+ handicaps.  I could coach them around the course and finish in the money.

A Different Take on Chipping and Pitching

A little different tip on chipping and pitching.  I keep seeing articles about your setup on short shots and chip shots, but for some reason, no one mentions that alignment for each shot is slightly different.  The length of the shot and how high or low you want the ball to fly is determined by your setup and alignment.

While ball position and lower body alignment may vary, the one constant is shoulder alignment.  Your shoulders should always be parallel to your target line on any shot whether you are hitting a driver or a putter.  NOT pointed at the target, but parallel to it.

Lower Body Open

The lower body – meaning the feet, legs, and hips - will be open or pointing left of the target in order to get yourself out of your own way.  The club needs to travel down the target line as long as possible and a square stance makes it much more difficult to accomplish that.

The single most important factor in developing a good short game is that you absolutely must learn to contact the ground in the same spot in your swing every time.  To accomplish this you simply need to stabilize your weight.  The low point in your swing arc is wherever your weight (body mass) is.  If you shift your weight the bottom of your arc moves constantly with your weight.  The odds of winning the lottery are better than the odds of getting your weight in the same spot every time if it is shifting.

One point that needs to be made at this time is watching and reading about how tour players do it is a waste of time unless you are already that good.  Tour players have extraordinary hand-eye coordination, touch, and feel so they can do things in their swing that would be problematic for the average golfer.

Keep the Weight on Your Left Foot

It is easier to just place the weight on the left side or left foot and keep it there throughout the swing.

Keep the club low to the ground as long as possible on the backswing and the follow through.  Never make any attempt to lift the club or forcibly cock the wrists unless hitting out of deep grass.  Keep the hands quiet.  Over active hands will result in fat and thin or skulled shots.

Another very important factor is to be able to have your hands in the same position at impact that you did at address.  The club head must never pass the hands until well after impact unless you are very talented with a high lob shot.  The chipping or pitching swing is made primarily with the hands, arms and shoulders.  Unless it a long pitch the lower body does not get involved.

How long the shot is determines how wide or narrow the stance and how open your body is.  For a chip shot your right foot is very close to your left foot and your lower body is very open.

For a pitch shot it is less pronounced.  The hands will generally be more forward on a chip, but the height of the ball flight will be determined by the loft of the club and the forward lean of the shaft.

 Choke Down

One final point that needs to be addressed is gripping down or “choking up” on the club.  The shorter the shot the more you choke up.  It is perfectly fine to grip all the way down to the bottom of the grip.  This enable you to be firmer and more aggressive because the shorter you make the club the shorter distance you will hit the ball.

Hubert Green who had 19 PGA Tour wins including 2 majors used to choke the sand wedge all the way down onto the steel and open the face so he could be firm and aggressive.  Never let the golf club slow down prior to impact.  Taking it back too far and slowing down prior to impact will cause the club head to pass the hands with the absolute certainty of a bad shot.

Practice with slightly different alignments until you find what is most comfortable for you.  I suggest practicing extensively with a sand wedge which is about 56 degrees.  By adjusting the shaft lean forward and backward you can learn to hit a variety of shots.  I am not a fan of using the lob wedge to chip or pitch with.  I agree with Barney Adams, the founder of Adams Golf, when his club designer told him they were going to design a 60 degree lob wedge he told them to stamp a skull and cross bone on it.

As you go from a full swing to a less than full swing to a chip the right foot gets closer and closer to the left and the hips open more and more.  Shoulders stay parallel to the line.
Once you have learned to develop a solid short game simply start taking a bigger and faster swing and gradually square your body alignment and you will have an excellent full swing.

The video below will show you how practicing the chip swing helps your full swing.

Note to My Younger Self On Teaching

The golf business in general and the golf instruction business in particular are much different today than when I got my start over 40 years ago.  That alone makes me Old School, but I can truthfully say that I have never stopped learning from and listening to the best and brightest in the business.  With what knowledge I have gained over my career I have reached some conclusions.

If I were a young person just starting out in golf instruction today here is what I would tell my younger self.

Take the time to study the great teachers of the past and learn everything you can about “how” they taught.  The “what” they taught is not as important as “how” they taught.  Also learn as much as you can about how people actually learn.   Learning is learning and it is the same for golf as anything else.  Also develop and polish your communication skills because no matter how much knowledge you gain it will be pointless if you can’t convey it to the student so that they can assimilate it and make use of it.

I would also advise him to be very selective with technology.  Much of what is out there today will suffer the same fate as the Polaroid Graph Check Sequence Camera and Sony Betamax even though it is being hyped as “The Answer” to revolutionizing how the game is taught. It is also very,very expensive so choose wisely.  There is new technology in the pipeline that will be more useful than some of what we have today so you need to keep your eyes and your mind open and be ready to embrace it.  The younger golfers coming into the game today have a much different attitude than the people of my generation and they want and expect technology.  They are not going to just take your word for things.  They want it verified by numbers that they can understand and relate to.

Their lifestyles are also very different and the vast majority doesn’t have time for or even want a series of one hour lessons followed by hours of practice.  That’s what the new customer wants so learn to adapt to it.

Final note to self:  If you are going to become successful today you will need to combine Old School simplicity, New School technology, great communications skills, and a healthy dose of brain compatible teaching knowledge.  If you combine of all that you will stand out from the competition and be well on your way.

The Masters Tournament Makes the Competitive Juices Flow Like No Other

The reason it is so difficult to predict a winner for the Masters Tournament is that no other event affects the players quite the same way.  You can hear it in their voice when they talk about the drive down the fabled Magnolia Lane.  The comments over and over about the emotions it stirs no matter how many times they have played there.

We are all aware of the fact that this would complete a career grand slam for Rory and elevating himself to the level of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods is a tremendous motivation.  We also know how good Sergio is playing and Lord knows Sergio wants it.
 
Bubba Watson also seems to rise to the occasion at the Masters and the course seems to suit his game. Can he win a third Green Jacket to go with his first two?
 
There are three players out there with some age and experience that you can’t rule out because they have tools necessary and could easily catch the Masters Magic.  They are Fred Couples, Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson, especially since Phil has won it three times already. Experience is a big advantage in these weather conditions.

I personally believe that this has to be killing Tiger Woods.  He would be the prime candidate to get caught up in the “Masters Effect.”  Nobody has more motivation to embrace it than Tiger and he certainly has the history and memories to ignite it.  The most dominate player of his era is still in there somewhere and the Masters may be trying to pull it out again.

Jack Nicklaus was the perfect example of what I’m talking about.  I do realize that Nicklaus is one of the best to ever play the game, but he is exactly what I’m talking about.  In 1986 the Tournament Players Championship was played two weeks prior to the Masters and Nicklaus failed to make the cut.
The week prior to the TPC he withdrew after the first round.  Three weeks later he arrives in Augusta and came home to the magic of the event, Magnolia Lane, and the memories of his previous five wins.  The last win had been eleven years earlier in 1975.  On that Sunday the memories and the emotions grabbed him and propelled him to a 30 on the back nine for his 6th Masters and final major.

Every year we see the competitive juices start to flow in players that have a history with Augusta and this year will certainly be no different.  Strap yourself in and hang on for the ride.

That is it from the Golf Cave for this week.  Enjoy the Masters!

Golf Instruction: A Shrink’s View of Golf Teaching

I think this is worth sharing from a student's standpoint of finding a good instructor and an instructor's standpoint of being educational.

Posted on December 17, 2014
Psychotherapy
(Reprinted from PGA MAGAZINE, 3/1/08)

A lot has been written by golf professionals about what amateurs need to do to improve, but we read little from amateurs about what PGA professionals need to do to become better instructors. As a psychotherapist, I’ve always been interested in how people change. So, when I’ve gone to see a golf instructor – and I’ve seen many – I pay close attention to what works and what doesn’t. And, it’s no surprise that, just as therapy varies widely in its effectiveness, so too does golf instruction. Much of it is bad; occasionally it’s good.

The problem with ineffective golf instruction, as with ineffective therapy, is that the recipient often blames himself or herself for a failure to improve. In each situation, the client needs help – sometimes desperately – and is willing to put him or herself into the care of a professional. Because of this dependency, a great deal of authority is conferred on the professional. The person seeking help is eager for approval and is usually not in a position to accurately judge his or her helper. Poor outcomes usually lead to demoralization and self – blame.

Since I’ve spent a fair amount of time as both a helper and a person seeking help, I’ve reached some conclusions about what makes the learning process work, conclusions that I think might be of value to both teaching professionals and the average golfer. But before I spell out what makes a good golf teacher, I want to add a caveat: most of my difficulties as a golfer have nothing to do with my instruction. I’ve had enough good instructors to know how to improve. But, like most amateurs, I don’t practice or play nearly enough. As a result, I’m a 16 handicap player with an eight handicap swing!

In my view, good golf teachers share with good therapists the following traits:

1) They listen to what the client/student wants from the session.

Too often, instructors want to teach what they know without first finding out what the student is really there for. The best teachers try to figure out if the student primarily wants a quick fix, an adjustment that will help him or her have a more enjoyable round that day, or a plan to reconstruct his or her swing over the long haul. There’s nothing wrong with going to a PGA professional to get a “tip” that temporarily corrects a swing flaw, even if that tip is really only a compensatory adjustment for a deeper problem. A good teacher will tailor the instruction to the agenda of the student.

For example, I was once was about to leave for a special golf outing, and was fighting a frustrating slice. I went to a teacher and explained the situation. He told me to significantly close my stance, almost as if I was setting up to hit a big hook. This tip enabled me to play several rounds on my trip from the fairway rather than the woods. In that instance, the teacher understood that I wasn’t going to work with him over time to correct my more fundamental problems.

Too often, a student seeks help for one particular thing, not intending to sign up for a major overhaul, and is told that the problem ultimately derives from several fundamental problems at the core of his or her swing, problems that can only be addressed by a series of lessons over time. Like therapists, golf teachers can be correct but not helpful.

2) They learn to speak the client’s language

Some students are left-brain thinkers who respond best when the teacher explains his or her suggestions intellectually, offering the student the theory guiding instruction. Other students learn best through visual demonstrations, either computer – aided, or modeled by the instructor. And still other students need to primarily feel the changes in their own bodies. While everyone hopes to eventually combine these three modalities, it is essential that the instructor quickly adapt his or her teaching style and drills to the idiosyncratic learning styles of the student.

A friend and I once took lessons from the same golf instructor. He was great with my friend because he gave a lot of technical instruction – which satisfied my friend’s thirst for mechanical details – but the identical instruction was frustrating to me because I work best when I have a clear visual image of the “correct” way to do something. For example, I would have gotten more benefit from watching my instructor illustrate the correct move, or by watching a professional on a tape or computer, then from being told about it. It seems obvious that people learn in different ways but too often golf instructors present their instruction in a “one size fits all” manner.

3) They accurately assess what the client is able to take in.

Like changing someone’s self – defeating thinking in therapy, changing muscle memory in someone’s golf swing is difficult and has to be done with great patience and reasonable expectations. When making his first major swing change in 1998, Tiger Woods reportedly hit 1100 balls per day, most of them under the corrective guidance of a skilled coach. When amateurs like me take a lesson, we might hit a bucket or two of balls and then take a swing change to the course, only to become frustrated when the results are inconsistent. Golf instructors often give their amateur students too much information, too many ideas, too many corrections, instead of making one clear change at the time.

Recently, I was taking a lesson from a terrific teacher who was working with my tendency to pull the ball. He suggested that I experiment with feeling that my body was moving from “low to high” in the downswing and follow through in order to keep myself more behind the ball. It felt strange, but I worked on this the entire hour. He said very little about anything else. He told me not to worry about hitting the ball thin or even if I found myself hitting fades. I gradually began to get this feeling more ingrained and stopped pulling the ball.

In the stall next to us, however, was another instructor working with a high-handicap student. The instructor was talking incessantly. He was telling the person all about the golf swing, about swing planes, weight shifts, and balance. The student was clearly overwhelmed. Golf instructors need to learn that sometimes “less is more.”

4) They provide a clear and explicit “treatment” plan.

Whether they’re driving a car, doing therapy, or trying to change their golf swing people like to know where they’re going. Golf instruction often fails when it is presented in a scattergun fashion, with no systematic game plan. Further, too often the golf coach doesn’t remember what the student was working on in the previous session and reinvents the wheel each time. Let’s face it – there is always something wrong with my golf swing. At any given time a teacher could look at my swing and point out several problems. However, a good teacher has a plan, an intuitive and logical strategy for helping me improve over time.

I used to see a teacher who knew a lot about the golf swing but each time I saw him, it was clear that he had no memory of what we’d worked on two weeks before. He would look at my swing and whatever occurred to him first was what we would work on. It was always something important, but I rarely had a sense that we were building a swing, that there was a method to this madness. Students feel comforted and inspired when they know where they’re going and when they feel that their instructor has a plan for getting there.

As in psychotherapy, the primary mistake the golf teachers make is putting their own theories ahead of figuring out what the student or client needs. I know from both ends of the relationship that there is a natural inclination in helpers to feel insecure about their expertise and authority. In response to this, the process becomes subtly focused on demonstrating what the teacher knows rather than what the student needs. From the point of view of the student, it’s easy when they are suffering – whether in life or on the links – and put themselves into the care of a professional. Invariably, they blame themselves if they don’t make progress. Unfortunately, often the problem lies with the professional. Sometimes the professional needs their help in getting on track.

Here are some ways to become a better teacher:

1) Ask your students to try to tell you how he or she learns. Coax them to be as explicit as possible. For example, have them tell you if they prefer technical details or simply a few images. Such minimal information will inform you how best to work with that particular student.

2)   If you sense the student is not finding a lesson helpful, acknowledge that fact in a way that includes your own possible culpability and ask if he or she would like you to try to combat the problem from a different angle because this one isn’t working.

3)   Tell them they may or may not get better right away after one or two lessons, but that they should know whether or not there is a good fit between the two of you. If not, don’t hesitate to recommend another instructor who might be a better fit.

4) Ask them to tell you what they like about your style and what is most effective in getting through to them. This also provides reinforcement about how they learn best.

5) Remind them that they can’t blame the instruction if they don’t practice or play much and are not getting better!

There are a lot of good golf instructors out there, and I’ve seen my share of them. They are worth their weight in gold. Ultimately it’s the student’s responsibility to take control of his or her learning. And it’s the teacher’s job to figure out how best to make that happen.

What Bobby Jones Had to Say Still Applies Today

Either Bobby Jones was ahead of his time or this philosophy got lost as the years went by.

I read a lot of the writings and thoughts of the greats of the past because I believe their message is still effective today and that the future of golf instruction is in learning to teach better.  Not in learning more "what to teach."  It appears that Bobby Jones knew over 70 years ago something that is now being learned, or relearned about how people of all ages learn to swing the golf club.  The science behind human learning is slowly seeping into golf instruction.

They learn primarily with their eyes and not their ears! 

There are sub-groups under that -  visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic, but we primarily learn with our eyes.

Without getting too deep into the rabbit hole of neuroscience, the Holonomic brain theory supports that people learn motor skills not by linking a progression of positions together like line-by-line computer code, but instead by storing the entire movement as a neural 3-D hologram.  In other words they learn from watching.  

It appears that Stewart Maiden and Bobby Jones understood this.

Bobby wasn't a big proponent of teaching the golf swing.  Bobby learned the game by playing and observing the pro at his club, Stewart Maiden.  Maiden did not spend time on the practice tee giving Bobby swing instruction.  In fact, Bobby claimed that, to the best of his knowledge, Maiden never allowed himself to be drawn into a discussion about the golf swing.  To Stewart Maiden, golf was all about striking the wee ball.  Bobby might have been convinced to write about the swing, but I suspect he did so with mixed emotions.  He was not a man who believed in playing the game in a mechanical way.  He was not a fan of what he called, "rigid adherence to prescribed routine," in the teaching and learning of the golf swing. 

Bobby wrote: "Even if a person may not have begun to play golf at an early age, I believe that he may gain much by emphasizing naturalness in his learning processes. I think he has the right to convince himself that an effective golf swing can be made without rigid adherence to a prescribed routine and that there is room for differences in physical structure and capabilities. No matter how nearly equal in performance the top-rank players may be, yet they are as recognizable by their swings as by their faces.

"What the average golfer needs more than fine spun theories," Bobby wrote, "is something that will give him a clearer conception of what he should try to do with the clubhead... When we speak of sound method or good form, we mean nothing more than that the possessor of either has simplified his swing to the point where errors are less likely to creep in and he is able consistently to bring his club against the ball in the correct hitting position."

If You are Considering Taking Golf Lessons.....

Finding a Good Instructor/Coach

The major reason it is difficult to find good golf instruction today is that instructors/coaches are not ranked by results.  The PGA, Golf Digest, no one does this.  What we need is an “Angie’s List” for golf professionals.  This may be why only 2 out of 17 golfers take lessons.  I’m sure it is at least a factor.

At this point word-of-mouth is all we have.  If you are thinking of taking lessons, you need to do some research before you pay your hard earned money to someone.  The good ones will have no problem with this.  If they are offended by your questions then move on.  You would be wasting your money with them anyway.

Here are a few points to consider before signing up with someone:

• If they try to sell you a package up front there is a problem.  If they haven’t spent any time with someone how can they possibly have any idea how many lessons you will need.  Packages are not bad unless you are being asked to sign up for one initially.

• If they do split screen video comparing your swing to some tour player and proceed to point out how many things are wrong in your swing you need to ask for your money back.  This is what is generally referred to as “Let me show you how many ways your swing sucks” school of instruction.

• The real red flag is do they teach a method?  Every instructor should have a method of teaching but should never teach a method.  It’s like saying “One size fits all”.  No method fits everyone.  People and golf swings are individual.

• They spend a lot of time talking about how much they know and how good a player they are.

• They don’t spend any time asking about your goals, medical problems, and swing thoughts.

Here is some things you can expect from a good instructor/coach:

• Introduction. Students are often intimidated by teaching professionals, so he or she will try setting the student at ease and developing a rapport prior to the session. This leads to more effective communication between the teacher and the student.

• They will want background information. This information includes: Previous golf and sports history; previous injury history; ask about physical limitations; occupation; previous instruction history; goals for golf.

• They will want specific golf information. This includes: examination of the golfer's equipment; ball flight characteristics; determining how far the golfer hits each club; strengths and weaknesses in the various aspects of golf; practice habits; motivation for playing golf (i.e., competition vs. hobby vs. spouse activity, etc.); motivation for taking golf lessons.

• A good instructor will form a personal relationship with you and be personally interested in your success.

• There is even a trend now among the good one ones to offer monthly and yearly rates for unlimited help since people learn more effectively in frequent, short sessions.

The real art of instruction is figuring out what is integral to each players swing and knowing that you should not try to change that.  You have to work around it and help them become the best they can be with the fundamental swing they have.  If you know someone who does this, please let me know.  I want to promote them to everyone.  I already have my list of teachers.

There is good news though.  There is a growing number of instructors out there that will help you simplify what you need to do and will help you maximize your swing and ability – not remake your swing in their image of what they think it should like.  It’s just difficult to find them because they don’t get much publicity.

Word of Caution

One word of caution – if you try to go it alone, keep this in mind that it is going to be incredibly difficult .  If you google golf instruction, golf tips, how to fix a slice, etc. you will get a huge selection.  One reason for this is that these people are in it for the money and not to primarily concerned with helping golfers.  You are bombarded by emails and infomercials telling you that if you buy this DVD or training aid, this book, etc. your game will dramatically improve and each one is telling you a different secret.  They have tour players and ex-tour players swearing its some type of breakthrough.  I hate to tell you, but virtually all of them are all scams.  Nobody has the secret because there is no secret.  They are simply trying to make money off you regardless of what they tell you in their video.  Anyone that appears on the first page of google results has an ulterior motive or they wouldn’t go to that much trouble to get that highly ranked.

If you have questions or would like to get in touch with me just leave a comment.

Golf Instruction Has Become Too Complex

In the battle of simplicity vs. complexity, simplicity wins, every time. We gravitate toward products and services that eliminate complexity from our lives, and we rail against the things that complicate matters and make us feel stupid.

Back in the days of the three-martini lunch, golf instruction was simple and appealing. Back then 90% of the clubs were private and as a country club member you had a pro at your disposal. He’d work with you on the driving range, play with you, coach you to get better, and monitor your progress.

It was a personalized, one-on-one experience.

No two lessons were the same. He worked with the swing you had, and helped you build the skills you needed to score well on the golf course. Accountability was built in… You’d practice because you knew the pro was keeping an eye on your progress.

But those days are gone.

Today, less than 5% of all golfers have a relationship with a golf pro. Surveys have shown that the number of golfers that think lessons could help them is around 15 out of 20.  The interesting thing is that only about 2 out every 17 are taking lessons.  Maybe we should think about why that is…

Is it because most lessons are totally intimidating, especially for women. Is it because most instructors make them way too complex!  The most common response from golfers is that either they didn’t get better or their buddies that took lessons didn’t get better.

It is a rare instructor who sends the student off with fewer than five or six “things to work on.”  According to Phil Mickelson, even the tour gurus are often guilty of over-instruction. “Can’t you just give me one thing to work on?”

Often it’s a checklist of a dozen mechanical issues that the average guy can’t possibly grasp, much less incorporate into his game. The more technical the lesson is, the worse it gets.

Group lessons are often ineffective because a statement made in the group will be interpreted differently by each member of the group.  Most golf schools are especially ineffective because the student is taught by several different instructors, each giving them different things to work on.  Common complaints include: “I came back worse than when I started.” “It was just way too technical.” “He didn’t give me anything positive, it was all about what I was doing wrong.”

Much of today’s technology only seems to help the most analytical, I want to know it all type learners; Maybe one half of one percent of the golfing population. And yet, instructors routinely use it to analyze every position and point out every flaw.

More often than not, it’s just confusing and demoralizing for the student.

In an issue of Golf Digest, Jim Flick, one of the top five teachers of all time, wrote an article that sums up the problem with modern golf instruction:

“A lot of today’s teachers are enamored with what works for the tour pros, and they give the same information to their higher-handicap students… In general, trying to swing like most of today’s tour pros will make the average golfer – say a 5 handicap or higher, – only worse.”

Rather than working with the student’s natural swing, today’s teachers tell everyone to emulate or copy whatever tour player swing is in favor at the time..

They bottom line is that if the golf industry is going to turn things around, the methods of instruction HAVE to change.  We’ve got to make it less complex, enjoyable and fun.  The focus needs to be on the most effective ways people actually learn.  For instance people tend to respond much more favorably to train instead of practice.  We practice law and medicine, but we should train to improve our golf.  Training involves trying and learning from your successes or failures.  Training also involves coaching instead of teaching.

That is my take on things from The Golf Cave for today.  You can see more of my thoughts on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/samadams46 or Twitter at https://twitter.com/SamAdam5346

The Best Way To Learn Golf Is Science Based and Easier

This article falls into that category of "I am not anti technology.  I am just pro science."  This was written some time back but thought it might be worth re-posting.

Some parts of this article come from another article titled Mirror Neurons and Athletes: Learning by Watching.

Mirror neurons are a white-hot topic in neuroscience right now, and have been put forward as potentially being integral to our ability to learn skills via imitation.

Athletes do this sort of thing all the time–they become experts at watching the actions of others and then assimilating those movements, strategies and skills into their own competitive arsenals.

Related article on Kinetics:

Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that respond equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action. They were first discovered in the early 1990s
One of the things that sets human beings apart is our ability to learn from each other.  I can watch you do something, remember it, and then use that technique or skill later for my own benefit.  We take this as trivial, but the ease with which we watch, process and recreate others’ actions has profound consequences, and not just for athletes.  Athletes do this sort of thing all the time–they become experts at watching the actions of others and then assimilating those movements, strategies and skills into their own competitive arsenals.

What we’re observing here are “mirror neurons”, neurons that are activated both when you do something, as well as when you watch something, so they effectively act as a mirror for the observed action.  Mirror neurons are a white-hot topic in neuroscience right now, and have been put forward as potentially being integral to our ability to learn skills via imitation, use language as a communicative tool, and sense what others are thinking and feeling (“theory of mind”).  But exactly how mirror neurons work, and what skills or abilities they are involved with, are still a matter of active debate.  But the evidence is building, and mirror neurons have recently been directly observed in the lab. This study at UCLA not only observed mirror neurons, but also found a subset of brain cells that appeared to actually inhibit activity, possibly to stop the subjects from actually carrying out the task that they were watching, and that their mirror neurons were imitating:

For those who want more information on this wonderfully simple concept, then read on……………..

I will say up front that those that are heavily invested in the latest technology will scream about this, but it is science and it’s time is coming.

Modern technology can help you improve, but it will be difficult and take a long time.  This science indicates there is a way to get better quickly with a lot less effort.

The science of Human Kinetics has known for years that humans learn by doing, correcting, and doing again.  They have also known and stated that too much instruction inhibits the ability to learn.

To put it simply, you don’t need the latest in technology to provide extensive data, video analysis and an understanding of bio-mechanics to learn to dance of ride a bike.  This information only makes it more difficult than it should be.  It actually gets in the way of how people actually learn.

Mirror Neurons

The latest scientific evidence involves a term “mirror neurons” which was first discovered about 10 years ago.  It deals with our ability to mimic what we see.  It has been used in other sports for years, but is just now finding its way into golf.

For years learning to play golf was simple.  All of the great players of the past such as Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, etc. learned by watching good players.

In the more modern era, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, and Arnold Palmer all developed their very individualistic swings without the help of technology.  Tiger Woods watched his father and other good players as a child, and didn’t get into technology until after he left Butch Harmon.  Now we have Jordan Spieth’s coach talking about it.

With the advent of high speed photography, everything started to change and instructors started focusing on analyzing and teaching positions rather than swinging the club effectively as a whole.
The more technology has developed with the advent of launch monitors and 3-D imaging the more focused we have become on angles, planes, positions and numbers.  Consequently golf has become more and more difficult for the average person to learn.

We finally have a tool to make it easy, but it require changing the way most instructors teach which will not be easy, but it offers an opportunity to help us grow the game rapidly.  The reason most cited for quitting golf or not taking it up is that it is so difficult to learn.

Maybe not much longer.

That's all from the Golf Cave for today.

Should Golf Instructors Specialize?

I was having an interesting conversation with a friend about golf instruction and teachers and he brought up a really interesting point that got me to thinking, which is usually a dangerous thing.

He said, “Golf instruction is the only profession that doesn’t have specialist.”  Hmmm…….

Other Professions Do

Years ago if you had a medical problem you went the doctor and he was a general practitioner.  You went to him for almost everything initially.  Now days if we have a rash we go to a dermatologist, etc.  Back then if you needed an operation you went to a surgeon.  Now days if you need an operation you go to a surgeon that specializes in that part of the body like neurosurgeon or cardio vascular surgeon, etc.

If you need legal advice you go to an attorney that specializes in that field such as divorce, personal injury, labor law, etc.

There was a time when school teachers taught all the subjects.  Today they all have specialties such as math science, English, etc.

Golf instruction has apparently never evolved to that point.

Why Not Golf Instruction?

I know that most everyone claims to be able to teach all types of students, but that is like the teacher that teaches all subjects.  You are going to be much better at some than others.  I know a lot of teaching professionals and there is only a handful that I would trust enough to send students of all levels to.

I also know that most think by saying I teach everybody that they have a chance to reach more potential students, but it often ends in over promising and under delivering.

Something I have learned after 40 years of teaching at all levels is that children learn differently at different ages and they learn totally different than adults.  People that did not learn to play golf as a child need to be taught differently than people that did.  Teaching women is totally different than teaching men.  They learn completely differently.  Working with elite players is a vastly different experience than working with an average golfer.

I can break it down even farther by saying some are better at certain aspects of the game like hitting driver, or short game, or putting than they are at others.

I also learned over the years what my strong suits are and where I am weakest.  I am naturally better teaching the average golfer the full swing because that is what I enjoy the most with the short game a close second.  Can I help golfers in all aspects?  The answer is YES, but putting is my weakest area.

The Point

My point here is why not specializing?  Specialist in every profession get to charge more.  You also are setting yourself apart from the masses for marketing purposes.  Very few are doing it so you are going to get people’s attention if you do.

For the golfers out there, would you be interested in going to a specialist?

This week’s food for thought from the Golf Cave.  Tell your friends about The View From The Golf Cave.

A Key to Why Some Golf Instructors Are Successful

Why Some Golf Instructors Are Successful

I have been researching the topic of why some golf instructors are successful and why others struggle for some time now.  I have also been trying to figure why the great instructors of the past and present were so much better than others that knew as much about the golf swing as they did and had great results before the age of technology.

Many of you may already be aware of this and I have suspected it for a long time.  I just never took the time to research it and I can’t find where anyone has talked or written about it.

Before I go any farther, I need to give my definition of “successful.”  By successful I mean truly helping people to improve their games over time.  I do not mean having a full appointment book only because you have great marketing skills and can constantly bring in new students.  I also don’t mean people that have a great success rate on the lesson tee and two days later their student is no better or maybe even worse than before.  Almost any teacher should be able to do that.

I have also spent a lot of time on learning more about how people actually learn complex motor skills and reading a lot of Michael Hebron’s posts about the role of the brain in the learning process.  I have also paid particular attention to the posts and comments of golf professionals whose opinions I really respect.

I have read countless comments by teachers that say they are successful therefore their methods or theories are the way it should be done.  My strong sense and appreciation for logic tells me immediately that this is not necessarily true.

The one common denominator I have found is a trait that all good/great teachers past and present share is highly developed communication skills.  They are natural communicators.  What they are teaching is not nearly as important as how they are teaching it.

That really registered on me when I read a line in Michael Hebron's opening statement to a conference he where was speaking; “Throughout this conference keep in mind that information does not produce good learning any more than paint produces good art.” Buying more brushes and paint are not going to make you a better artist.

No matter how much knowledge you have or how many certifications you have attained, if you cannot communicate well you are going to have limited success.

Here are a few keys I have picked up:

• Build the relationship first – always!

• Have empathy for your students – here is a link on the importance of empathy in learning

• Know what you are talking about – this is about depth of knowledge not breadth.  As Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know the subject well enough.”

• Listen more than you speak – great communicators listen more than they speak.

• Focus on understanding what the other person is saying - focus your mind on listening and understanding.

• Open your mind to new ideas – never stop learning.

• Never tell them more than the absolutely need to know - talking a lot just to cover all the points is counterproductive.

• They never talk down to their student for any reason – it is one the most damaging things a teacher can do.  This is entirely different than speaking with security and confidence.

If I could give a young teacher any advice today it would be to focus on learning to be a good communicator and learn how people actually learn early in your career.

I know that a lot of people out there will say I’m wrong or don’t know what I’m talking about or I am just "old school", but I hope some of you are open minded enough to take some of it to heart. 

My Favorite Golf Quotes

Here is a collection of my favorite golf quotes that I hope you enjoy.  There are so many of these that I have divided them into three categories: Humor, Life, and Instruction.  Hopefully you will pick up something that is useful to you in one of the three categories.  The instruction is particularly informative.

Humorous Golf Quotes

"The golf swing is like sex. You can't be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performing it." Dave Hill

"Golf is a fascinating game. It has taken me nearly 40 years to discover that I can't play it." Ted Ray

"My swing is so bad; I look like a caveman killing his lunch." Lee Trevino

"They call it golf because all the other four letter words were taken." Ray Floyd

"Don't play too much golf. Two rounds a day are plenty." Harry Vardon

"Golf's three ugliest words: Still your shot." Dave Marr

"If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they'd starve to death." Sam Snead

"If I had cleared the trees and drove the green, it would have been a great shot." Sam Snead

Golf quotes that also apply to life

"One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something." Peter Jacobsen

"The older you get, the stronger the wind gets; and it's always in your face." Jack Nicklaus

"Success in golf depends less on strength of body more on strength of mind and character." Arnold Palmer

"Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball where it lies." Bobby Jones

"A kid grows up a lot faster on the golf course. Golf teaches you how to behave." Jack Nicklaus

"I never learned anything from a match that I won." Bobby Jones

"As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round." Ben Hogan

"Concentration comes out of a combination of confidence and hunger." Arnold Palmer

"A bad attitude is worse than a bad swing." Payne Stewart

"Of all of the hazards, fear is the worst." Sam Snead

Golf Instruction Quotes

"Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course... the space between your ears." Bobby Jones

"I get as much fun as the next man from whaling the ball as hard as I can and catching it squarely on the button. But from sad experience I learned not to try this in a round that meant anything." Bobby Jones

"This is a game of misses. The guy who misses the best is going to win." Ben Hogan

"Nobody asked how you looked, just what you shot." Sam Snead

"If there is one thing I have learned during my years as a professional, it is that the only thing constant about golf is its inconstancy." Jack Nicklaus

"The mind messes up more shots than the body." Tommy Bolt

"Be decisive. A wrong decision is generally less disastrous than indecision." Bernhard Langer

"Forget the last shot. It takes so long to accept that you can't always replicate your swing. The only thing you can control is your attitude toward the next shot." Mark McCumber

"Golf is a difficult game, but it's a little easier if you trust your instincts. It's too hard a game to try and play like someone else." Nancy Lopez

"You can talk about strategy all you want, but what really matters is resiliency." Hale Irwin

"You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about." Bobby Jones

"Golf is not a game of great shots.  It's a game of accurate misses." Gene Littler

"Most fine putters are putters subconsciously.  Putting is a phychology, not a system." Mickey Wright

"The Ultimate Judge of your swing is the flight of the ball." Ben Hogan

"Play every shot so that your next one will be the easiest one you can give yourself." Billy Casper

"If you can't hit driver, don't." Greg Norman

"Golf is a game of finding what works, losing it, and finding it again." Ken Venturi

"Many shots are spoiled at the last instant by efforts to add a few more yards." Bobby Jones

"No good player ever swings as hard as he can.  Power is a matter of timing , not overpowering the ball." Arnold Palmer

"When you're playing poorly, you start thinking too much. That's when you confuse yourself." Greg Norman

"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented."  Arnold Palmer

I just have to add a few final quotes from great teachers

“Golf tips are like aspirin. One may do you good, but if you swallow the whole bottle you will be lucky to survive. “ Harvey Penick

“A pretty girl will always have the toughest time learning to play golf, because every man wants to give her lessons.”  Harvey Penick

“Looking up is the biggest alibi ever invented to explain a terrible shot. By the time you look up, you've already made the mistake.” Harvey Penick

“I compare the pressure of a golf shot with making an extra point in basketball. The player starts from a full stop, and that rim doesn't move.” Harvey Penick

Last but not least is one of my all-time favorites:

“Golf is like a love affair. If you don't take it seriously, it's no fun; if you do take it seriously, it breaks your heart.”  Arthur Daley

It Is No Longer The Golden Age of Golf

I used the term “Golden Age of Golf” in a LinkedIn group and was asked to define it.  Here was my reply.

The “Golden Age” was made up of a multitude of factors that would need a book or two hour podcast to cover completely.  But since you only asked about how things were at the local golf course, here goes.

It was back when club membership was a management perk in almost any business and 90% of the clubs were private.  The company picked up the tab and everybody wanted to be a decent golfer because it was important to business success.  Parents encouraged their children to take up golf because it was important to their future.

Businessmen went there to spend four hours on the course getting to know each other to see if they wanted to do business with each other.

Political leaders were frequently there to strengthen their support with voters.

The clubs were like Cheers – everybody knew your name and what you liked and didn’t like.  The employees and management cared about you and your family.  Personalized service was the driving factor instead of rounds and the bottom line.

The golf staff cared about your golf game and went out of their way to help you play better.  A successful teaching professional was one that the members enjoyed taking lessons from – not the guy that booked the most lessons.

Members took lessons and worked on their games and they club professional knew whether they were improving or not and had a personal interest in their progress.  He was also expected to play with the members frequently.

People went to the club to eat and to socialize with their friends and have great food and service – it wasn’t all about the profitability of the food service operation.

The local golf course was the social, political, and economic hub of many communities.

In other words, it was in the days before the IRS got involved and got the ball rolling down hill and before management companies.

When the IRS targeted golf and private clubs in particular it all began to change.  Once businesses could no longer write off club memberships as a business expense the world of golf began to change.  Of course the legal system striking down golf companies having green grass only policies and forcing them to sell to discounters didn’t help any.

During the “Golden Age” PGA members were held in high esteem and compensated accordingly.  It was not uncommon for the Head Professional to own the golf shop and the golf cart plus receive a retainer.

Today golf professionals are being paid less than I made as an assistant.

I am just glad that I was able to experience it.  I thought this worth sharing for all the young professionals that never got to experience it.

A Different Take On Short Game Alignment

I keep seeing articles about your setup on short shots and chip shots, but for some reason, no one mentions that alignment and setup for each shot is slightly different.  The length of the shot and how high or low you want the ball to fly is determined by your setup and alignment.

Align the Shoulders

While ball position and lower body alignment may vary, the one constant is shoulder alignment.  Your shoulders should always be parallel to your target line on any shot whether you are hitting a driver or a putter.  NOT pointed at the target, but parallel to it.

The Lower Body

The lower body – meaning the feet, legs, and hips - will be open or pointing left of the target in order to get yourself out of your own way.  The club needs to travel down the target line as long as possible and a square stance makes it much more difficult to accomplish that. 

Do NOT Shift Your Weight

The single most important factor in developing a good short game is that you absolutely must learn to contact the ground in the same spot in your swing every time.  To accomplish this you simply need to stabilize your weight.  The low point in your swing arc is where ever your weight (or center of gravity) is.  If you shift your weight the bottom of your arc moves constantly with your weight.  The odds of winning the lottery are better than the odds of getting your weight in the same spot every time if it is shifting.

One point that needs to be made at this time is watching and reading about how tour players do it is a waste of time unless you are already that good.  Tour players have extraordinary hand-eye coordination, touch, and feel so they can do things in their swing that would be problematic for the average golfer.

It is easier to just place the weight on the left side or left foot and keep it there throughout the swing. 

 Keep the Club Head Low

Keep the club low to the ground as long as possible on the back swing and the follow through.  Never make any attempt to lift the club or cock the wrists unless hitting out of deep grass.  Keep the hands quiet.  Over active hands will result in fat and thin or skulled shots.

Another very important factor is to be able to have your hands in the same position at impact that you did at address.  The club head must never pass the hands until well after impact.  The chipping or pitching swing is made primarily with the arms and shoulders – not the hands.

How long the shot is determines how wide or narrow the stance and how open your body is.  For a chip shot your right foot is very close to your left foot and your lower body is very open.

For a pitch shot it is less pronounced.  The hands will generally be more forward on a chip, but the height of the ball flight will be determined by the loft of the club and the forward lean of the shaft.

Grip Down On The Club

One final point that needs to be addressed is gripping down or “choking up” on the club.  The shorter the shot the more you choke up.  It is perfectly fine to grip all the way down to the bottom of the grip.  This enable you to be firmer and more aggressive because the shorter you make the club the shorter distance you will hit the ball.

Hubert Green who had 19 PGA Tour wins including 2 majors used to choke the sand wedge all the way down onto the steel and open the face so he could be firm and aggressive. 

Never let the golf club slow down prior to impact.  Taking it back too far and slowing down prior to impact will cause the club head to pass the hands with the absolute certainty of a bad shot.

Practice with slightly different alignments until you find what is most comfortable for you.  I suggest practicing extensively with a sand wedge which is about 56 degrees.  By adjusting the shaft lean forward and backward and opening and closing the face you can learn to hit a variety of shots.  I am not a fan of using the lob wedge to chip or pitch with.  I agree with Barney Adams, the founder of Adams Golf, when his club designer told him they were going to design a 60 degree lob wedge he told them to stamp a skull and cross bone on it. 

As you go from a full swing to a less than full swing to a chip the right foot gets closer and closer to the left and the hips open more and more.  Shoulders stay parallel to the line.

Once you have learned to develop a solid short game simply start taking a bigger and faster swing and gradually square your body alignment and you will have an excellent full swing as demonstrated by the video below.