At a recent AMF seminar that included many of the top golf instructors in the world, I listened to Rick Jensen speak about the way golf is taught compared to other sports. It was very eye-opening as well as was his book, “Easier Said Than Done” which goes into great detail about the subject.
Golf has typically been taught in one hour increments on a driving range with an instructor sometimes using video equipment that allows the student to see their swing on screen. Most often positions in the golf swing are explained and worked on with the player expected to work on some prescribed drills before coming back for another lesson.
Expectations from students are usually to have the instructor give them a tip or two to get rid of their slice or to help them hit the ball more consistently. If not from an instructor, players will seek advice from tips in golf magazines, books or other players. The emphasis is usually on fixing the problem quickly and easily.
Now, think of any other sport. Football, baseball, tennis, hockey, basketball or track. None of these sports are taught in a similar manner. Nor are the players looking for a quick tip that will make them immediately better. It is understood that it takes time to develop skills and it is often not easy. The focus in these other sports is developing skills and working on taking these skills to the playing field eventually. I don’t remember anyone teaching me positions of a throwing motion or a tennis backhand. Other sports are not taught with every position of the motion scrutinized such as golf.
So, why does golf need to be different? Jim Furyk, Lee Trevino, Moe Norman, Arnold Palmer and others have shown that there are many effective ways to swing a golf club. Obviously these players didn’t have an instructor that was hung up on creating a good looking swing. These players didn’t care what their swing looked like either. They just wanted results. In other sports we look at results more than technique. Think of Rod Carew, Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. Each has their own stance and way of swinging at a baseball. Each is (or was) effective. Some football running backs run standing fairly erect and others are bent over more.
This isn’t to say that golf instruction is not needed. To the contrary, golf is not an easy sport to learn. Skills need to be developed, just like any other sport. The main problem is that for some reason golfers think they can get better quick if they find one good tip, work on it for an hour or two and then take it to the course. Can you imagine a baseball player expecting a quick tip and then expecting to walk into the batters box and be able to hit Cliff Lee within a week? It’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen in golf either.
That’s why golf needs more coaches and less instructors. The key to golf is getting the ball into the hole as quickly as possible. It’s about results, not style. It’s recognizing short-comings and working hard (it’s almost never easy) to correct them. It’s putting in hard work ingraining skills, practicing in ways that will transfer to the course and finally taking it to the golf course. If you think that hitting balls a half hour before teeing off is practice, think again. You will never be able to make a change that quickly.
Sean Foley/Tiger Woods-Coach and Student
While the best players in the world have a golf coach (0r coaches), the rest of us has an instructor. Ever thought about that? The average golf handicap has not changed in over 50 years. Isn’t it time to try something new??
Lynn Anderson
Totally Driven
