The Spin Axis Podcast

[iacas]

I've started a podcast with Jayson Nickol and Tyson Deskins.

The website is here:

The Spin Axis Podcast - Golf Coaches Discuss Instruction Modern Techniques and Technology | Hosted by Erik J. Barzeski, Jayson Nickol, and Tyson Deskins

Episode 1 is here:

001: How Long Should a Golf Lesson Be? | The Spin Axis Podcast - Golf Coaches Discuss Instruction Modern Techniques and Technology

We're going to keep all the episodes to less than 20 minutes, ideally around 18, so you can listen to them on the way to the course (or to work, if you must…).

Please do a few things:

1. Subscribe. There are links at the top of every page and on each episode page to various podcast apps/platforms.
2. Listen! The podcasting world actually tracks listens now, so listen to the podcast.
3. Provide feedback. I'd love to know what you like and, the way I'm wired, I'd love even more to know what you don't like. Share it here, as a whole or per episode… all feedback will help us shape future episodes to make them better.

[TN94z]

I enjoyed it. Very interesting takes on the length of lessons. I have been on both sides in thinking the lesson could have been shorter but many times, I would have enjoyed about 430 more minutes. Mine are all one hour lessons by default. I actually liked the 3 hour lesson allotment and however long lesson 1 takes, only takes away from your 3 hour total. It may be 25 minutes or it may be an hour an a half. Cool concept.

The recall factor is something I have been having a lot of trouble with lately actually.

A lot of great information within the time frame that I enjoy for a podcast

[iacas]

  On 3/17/2025 at 1:08 PM, TN94z said:

I actually liked the 3 hour lesson allotment and however long lesson 1 takes, only takes away from your 3 hour total. It may be 25 minutes or it may be an hour an a half. Cool concept.

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Yeah, there are two things I don't quite get about that one though:

• How do you schedule your day? If you think it's a 30-minute lesson and it turns into 90 minutes… what happens to the person coming in after that?
• It takes time to prep for a lesson. Taken to an extreme, imagine a person buys "60 minutes" and then wants to show up and take 30 2-minute lessons. Those two-minute lessons probably really take 12 minutes… with five or six minutes on the front end reviewing your previous lesson notes and videos and five or six on the tail end documenting that lesson.

Maybe Jayson does something to account for that… but I still don't know how he manages the first.

[TN94z]

  On 3/17/2025 at 7:14 PM, iacas said:

Yeah, there are two things I don't quite get about that one though:

• How do you schedule your day? If you think it's a 30-minute lesson and it turns into 90 minutes… what happens to the person coming in after that?
• It takes time to prep for a lesson. Taken to an extreme, imagine a person buys "60 minutes" and then wants to show up and take 30 2-minute lessons. Those two-minute lessons probably really take 12 minutes… with five or six minutes on the front end reviewing your previous lesson notes and videos and five or six on the tail end documenting that lesson.

Maybe Jayson does something to account for that… but I still don't know how he manages the first.

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Agreed. I had that thought as well. I like the idea but it would be a scheduling nightmare on his end, I would think.

[iacas]

Episode 2 will be out in about 45 minutes.

Also, SPINAXIS works as the coupon code for thestacksystem.com and fitforgolf.app to save 10% and 20% respectively.

[iacas]

  On 3/18/2025 at 1:15 PM, iacas said:

Episode 2 will be out in about 45 minutes.

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002: Do’s and Don’ts for Parents at a Junior Lesson | The Spin Axis Podcast - Golf Coaches Discuss Instruction Modern Techniques and Technology

Episode 2 is out.

[BadGateway]

  On 3/18/2025 at 1:15 PM, iacas said:

Episode 2 will be out in about 45 minutes.

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Some Lorem Ipsum going on there for a day or so 😄

[Ty_Webb]

I listened to the first one. It's interesting to hear you guys talk about this stuff. This one seemed to be aimed more at instructors than pupils. I'd love to hear one that's about something like how to be a good student or what sort of questions should students be asking in lessons. Aside from anything else there are a lot more people taking lessons than giving them so you'll reach a broader audience that way.

As to the how to handle shorter lessons, it seems that you'd have to block off the longest possible lesson time and then cut them short as you can. That means more time twiddling your thumbs and less time teaching though unless you have people on standby, but I can't imagine that ever happens.

[iacas]

  On 3/18/2025 at 8:02 PM, Ty_Webb said:

I listened to the first one. It's interesting to hear you guys talk about this stuff. This one seemed to be aimed more at instructors than pupils. I'd love to hear one that's about something like how to be a good student or what sort of questions should students be asking in lessons. Aside from anything else there are a lot more people taking lessons than giving them so you'll reach a broader audience that way.

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Yep. Our audience is coaches/instructors and dedicated or advanced golfers, many of whom have taken or will take a lot of lessons. So even the coach-centric podcasts will be of interest to many of them.

[TN94z]

The second episode was very interesting as a parent of a 9 year old as well. The instructors' takes on parents stepping in and when to ask questions was good stuff.  I also liked the point on allowing the children and coach to just have their time and the parent steps out. That is what I normally do.  But I make it a point to really pump her up on the good shots. I will say, it takes some guts to ask a parent to go sit in the car 🤣 (Sir, you need a timeout, go sit in your car and think about what you've done). And the fact that so many juniors have Trackmans at home blows my mind.  Great stuff!  I love these types of podcasts.

[Pretzel]

  On 3/18/2025 at 8:02 PM, Ty_Webb said:

I'd love to hear one that's about something like how to be a good student or what sort of questions should students be asking in lessons. Aside from anything else there are a lot more people taking lessons than giving them so you'll reach a broader audience that way.

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It's not a podcast, but there's a great discussion on that specific topic here:

Personally as a student who does not teach I still find the "behind the scenes" information from an instructor's perspective pretty helpful if only in terms of helping identify different teaching philosophies to see what might work best for me.

While I have taken fewer and fewer lessons over the years since I have learned a good deal about different bad habits I commonly fall into, I have also found it difficult to find new instructors (particularly when moving to new locations) that I feel provide enough benefit to be worth the cost. Hearing about how instructors that I know are effective approach these kinds of things makes it easier to identify if another instructor I might be interested in seeing is on the same page, so to speak. It's a bit of a moot point for me currently since I can count the number of instructors within a 2 hour's drive of me on a single hand, but luckily there are solutions to that problem as well.

[iacas]

  4 hours ago, Pretzel said:

It's not a podcast, but there's a great discussion on that specific topic here:

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It's also here:

and here:

On the Mark Golf Podcast: Erik Barzeski on How to Be a Good Student and Improving Your Golf

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Erik Barzeski brings both an extensive scientific understanding as well as a history of teaching to his golf instruction. Recognized as a Golf Digest “Best Young Teacher in America” in 2017 and a Golf Digest “Best in...

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