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.