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
No comments:
Post a Comment