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Originally Posted by
divot dave 
What was it that turned your skepticism around so quickly and caused you to embrace it? What is your present commitment to teaching S&T?
S&T marked the first time the golf swing made sense to me scientifically, physically (physics, not "my body"), and geometrically. It served as a jumping off point from which I could further explore the scientific aspects of the golf swing.
Prior to that, all I'd observed was people sharing the "art" of the golf swing - well, that's what it looked like to me. Why did the teacher have a player try this particular move? What did he know that I didn't?
Turns out that a lot of those instructors didn't know something I didn't - they just didn't know much at all. They were repeating the same crap they'd said for the past xx years, often based on bad foundational knowledge.
S&T gave me the faith to quickly begin applying science, geometry, and physics to the golf swing, and I quickly discovered that the "art" that exists in golf instruction is in how you communicate that knowledge to the student so that they can improve (oftentimes this means not telling them ANY science, physics, and minimal to no geometry, just APPLYING it and telling them what they have to do to correct those things).
My present commitment? It's one of a nearly infinite ways of teaching a player to obtain the 5 Simple Keys®, for which I am Director of Instructor Development, beneath Dave Wedzik and Chuck Evans, and in a role that oversees and supports our 20+ and growing 5SK Directors of Instruction for various regions around the country and internationally.
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Originally Posted by
divot dave Also, seeing as how you were self taught for the most part, would you recommend that someone like myself (less than 1 year experience) attempt to go the self taught route with S&T or take lessons?
I recommend you find a 5SK instructor near you. http://www.golfshopcentral.com/purestrike/instructors.aspx
If there isn't one, I recommend you try evolvr: http://evolvr.com/ .
S&T, while serving as a good introduction to the basic geometry of a golf swing, is - in the end - a single swing. Not everyone is going to swing that way, and even if most people can improve their swings by incorporating one or two of S&T's basic principles, that doesn't mean they're going to be "an S&T golfer." Those around me know how very quickly I gathered all the S&T information I could before branching off into other relevant swing patterns. I hadn't even taught a lesson yet before we'd moved on to other things, "evolving" our understanding of the many ways to hit a golf ball effectively.
For the past several years, we've been operating under the umbrella of 5 Simple Keys®.
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Originally Posted by
divot dave I'm a little weary of the idea of forking over hundreds of dollars to an S&T instructor who may (or may not) only understand the method well enough to hurt someone (so-to-speak).
I would be as well. Though I remain consistent in saying that the vast majority of golfers could improve their swings by incorporating one or two of S&T's basic principles, and though most S&T instructors are well into the top half of golf instructors, it does not take much to become "official" in their current system and that's not even beginning to speak of those who SAY they teach S&T but really don't know exactly what it is.
(In other words, if you told me who was nearby, I could tell you if that person is a good instructor or not.)f
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Originally Posted by
divot dave Presently I've taken a few lessons from both a "certified" teaching pro as well as from a guy who seems more like a "home grown" pro, neither of them teach S&T. while they both have offered helpful instruction, I don't get the sense that they really understand "why" they are instructing me to do what they say. Presently, I'm a little less than ambitious about going back as I'm not confident I want to commit to their style of teaching.
I would appreciate any insight (or links to where this has already been discussed) you may have to offer.
Certifications are a dime a dozen. And yes, I say that as Director of Instructor Development for 5SK, but you can't pay to become a 5SK Director. We have to choose you or you have to be nominated. So we're trying to eliminate this sort of "pay me $2500 and you can be certified!" mentality.
It doesn't surprise me that you aren't sure that they understand the "why." It's no secret that I think about 90% of golf instructors flat out suck. Most just seem to repeat the same old crap they've always said, because they've always said it and the guy they learned from said it, and he said it because he'd always said it and the guy he learned from said it. There's no study. There's no actual reasoning. It's just done because that's the way it's always been done.
I'd encourage you to read over the 5 Simple Keys® threads (here's one and another with videos). Check out the Facebook group. Give Evolvr a try. I think you'll find that we can not only explain the "why" but the "how" and a lot more. We don't always choose to - quite honestly, it can confuse some students to know why sometimes - but we do know why and I guarantee you won't ever get the feeling you seem to have with your current instructors.
