Bubba Watson - never had a golf lesson, can someone elaborate on this?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipazoid

I think there's a difference between receiving instruction & trying to fundamentally change someone's swing. ...

Somewhere along the way, probably in college, his coach realized Bubba had an unusual way of hitting the ball so he didn't mess with it. I mean, here comes a kid that hits it halfway to the moon & if I'm the coach, I would just work with him on things like timing & consistency, and stay away from achieving technical perfection. ....

So back to Bubba. I believe you don't get to the point of winning the Masters without receiving instruction. Fortunately for him, he likely had people that knew to leave the fundamentals of his swing alone & instead schooled him on making it repeatable.

The college where I teach had one such golf team member, but I doubt he's headed toward the pro tour. He played baseball in high school, but picked up golf the summer before he entered college. He got a few tips from friends, read up on the golf swing, and became a self-taught golfer.

Our college sports teams compete in NCAA Div. III (no scholarships). In college, he was on the team's "second line" and often shot in the upper 70s. He had an excellent short game - chipping and wedges. He said he normally had one or two holes a round where he blew a shot badly and ended up with a double bogie.

So, it can be done. But, such people are rare.

I was self-taught for about 10 years, and have spent the rest of the time recovering. My first clubs came from a "mixed bag" with a couple of irons literally from the 1930s. The driver in the bag, I found out after two years of playing, was an early homemade "Medicus" type. The head had been drilled out and filled with lead, to be used as a muscle strengthener when swung slowly. And here I was, a 90-pound kid trying - unsuccessfully - to hit tee shots with it.

I've had clumps of seasons where I have swung fairly well, but old weird swing moves seem to creep back in at the wrong time.

So, some people can self-teach, but most can't. And self-teach normally involves some advice from others, just no formal lessons.

As for kids in golf, many child-development people agree that it's best to let grade-schoolers play at golf... fun stuff... putt around the green, have little chipping contests, maybe learn the basics of grip and stance. But, sending 6-year-olds to a weeklong golf camp is more likely to kill golf urge than cultivate it - they don't have the attention span.

Get the kids involved in other sports - helps overall conditioning and prevents overuse injuries from one sport. Then, get them more formal lessons in junior high.

Gee, if I click SUBMIT, I can hit the driving range...

Golf Canada (not that their success rate is anything to rave about - a few exceptions here and there) promotes kids not focusing on golf until later. There are so many physical skill sets a kids misses out on, or has to work harder to incorporate, if they don't play a variety of sports. Plus, the odds are stacked against them "making it" either way, so why not try and churn out well rounded people in the process!?!

If it doesn't count as instruction when a parent is the one giving the lessons, could Davis Love III be considered self taught?

[Chas]

Originally Posted by nevets88

lol

[BallMarker]

I'd be curious to know the specifics as well.  Especially considering he played college golf.  I doubt it's as if he was on scholarship and told the coach(es) they couldn't coach him.

Brandon

Are golf coaches in major universities actual coaches or are they more like the team manager/coordinator?

I mean, do they actually coach their players how to correct their swing flaw and such?

.

I ask because I think a lot of the college player have their own personal golf instructor... maybe I'm wrong.