Know How vs Execution

[David in FL]

7 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Dave Stockton was a Tour winning Pro long before he became a teacher.

Yep.

There are exceptions.  Very few.

7 hours ago, chspeed said:

I would flip this around.

Most tour-level players can't and shouldn't teach after they are no longer competitive. They have no knowledge or skill in teaching, nor any talent to teach, let alone teach golf.

But it's an incorrect and damaging one that should vanish from usage. I think we'd all agree that golf, and the world at large, can use more smart, dedicated, trained, and fairly compensated teachers.

But that has absolutely nothing to do with the OP

[Tiga Tiga Woods Yall]

On 4/15/2019 at 9:18 AM, David in FL said:

Those who can’t do, teach.

On the other side of that, I've known people who were top of their craft and couldn't teach someone how to do what they do.  Teaching can be as much of an art as what they are teaching. 

Edited April 21, 2019 by Tiga Tiga Woods Yall

[David in FL]

6 hours ago, Tiga Tiga Woods Yall said:

On the other side of that, I've known people who were top of their craft and couldn't teach someone how to do what they do.  Teaching can be as much of an art as what they are teaching. 

Absolutely true!

[Big Lex]

On 4/15/2019 at 9:09 AM, FLOG4 said:

If knowledge of how to best play the game of golf was true to perfected play.....Then why has Foley, Harmon, Leadbetter combined for zero PGA tour wins? 

I think there are two main reasons. The most important one, mentioned a couple of times, is that it's largely a matter of choice. Although "golf" unites everyone from a driving range pro to Tiger Woods, the fact is that being a teaching pro and a touring competitor differ as much as jobs as do a plumber and an accountant. I think being a professional competing athlete is one of the last things I'd want to do. Even if you do make it to the top, the competitive and financial reward may be there, but often at the expense of any semblance of a normal life, the constant risk of life-altering injury, etc. Being a golf teacher? Totally different gig, and probably preferable for 99+% of the population. So probably most teachers never even wanted to be a tour pro to begin with.

The other reason - also alluded to I think -  that you don't see tons of tour wins among famous teachers is that the degree of talent and dedication needed to become teaching pro is much lower than to be a touring pro. On the bell curve of golf ability, most teaching pros might actually be closer in raw talent to a single digit club player than they are to an elite tour player.  Successful tour players are freaks. But that doesn't mean a "basic" PGA pro can't be a great teacher, even to a better player. Good teaching is about much more than golf ability. It's about sensitivity, reasoning ability, judgement, psychology, etc. etc. 

And basing an argument or comparison around the issue of PGA Tour wins is setting a ridiculously high bar. The suggestion that the average club pro can't "do" is absurd. Golf is ridiculously hard, and anyone who can play the game at scratch level or better not only can "do," but is an expert. A multiple-win tour pro is a space alien.