coaching golf

[Adam Young]

I just wrote a post for a forum specifically for golf coaches - no amateurs allowed. However, I though I would also post it here, as reading through it, an amateur golfer can maybe understand a little more about the coaching process which could help their own game. I know many of you wish to completely re-haul your swings and are in the constant search for becoming better, just read the below if you like and see what you think.

I call this, "the coaching Cycle". Basically, the cycle goes like this;

1. Coach knows nothing - feels a little insecure about lack of knowledge

2. in an attempt to get better, they start researching

3. they come across a book/seminar/theory that strikes a chord with them. This now becomes EVERYTHING. any fault in golf can be attributed to this, and it is now 'the only way' you can improve your golf. everything else pales in comparison. This information you now know was the 'missing link', the reason that handicaps have not progressed in the last 50 years.

4. you start to implement the knowledge. at first it is hit and miss, you put this down to needing practice.

5. you start to realise that maybe this is not all it was cracked up to be. Maybe a new 'fad' comes along to replace it, the old info takes a back seat

6. the cycle goes on

Eventually, at the end of repeating this cycle numerous times, you become a good golf coach with a lot of tools. you can see the problems in certain methods and realise that there is no 'secret' in golf coaching, just as there is no secret to being a good player. Usually, coaches will go back to simple things, but with a more complete understanding of how they work, and a much better way of teaching them.

An example of this is when I learned how to change people's swing's mechanics effectively. I would often see amazing results on video camera, the club coming down more on plane, with a squarer face and better body motion. 'I'm a great coach' I thought! But I wasn't looking at the correct evidence, players weren't necessarily hitting the ball better, they just looked better on camera. This hit home with me when I changed a player with a +2 handicap from a 20 yard drawer of the ball to a nice 3 yard fade with a very neutral swing. everything looked amazing on camera, probably one of the best swings I had ever seen. Body motion was great, plane was great, clubface was now neutral. It looked better than the model swing we were comparing it with.

The player couldn't break 80 for the next 3 months. Eventually he got it back, after about a year. But looking at his swing now, it has just gone back to the old ways - the way he originally played. Whilst I don't feel I have made him worse, I certainly didn't make him better, and potentially set him back a year of progress he could have had getting better with his old movement.

But I learned a lot from this. Making someone look great on camera doesn't make them a better player. What I didn't realise at the time was that I was battling a lot of other forces. The player's subconscious mind preferred to see a draw shape. His entire strategy was based around a draw. With a draw shot, he knew his miss was left; with his new swing, he could lose the ball both sides and so was not confident at aiming at one side of the course. He also had his old swing ingrained for 15 years, so even though it looked great for the most time on the course, he was susceptible to going back to old habits under pressure or fatigue. Also, he was having to think and be overly conscious about his new movement... not a great thing for best performance.

The lesson I took from this was that you have to look at a player as a whole. You cant just see an individual component in a machine - it's not all about having a great swing motion on video for example ;) . Being deterministic about coaching is doomed for failure, as you are not teaching a player as an interconnected web of psychological and physical relationships, which it is. I learned that theoretical consistency (better technique) is just that... theoretical. We also have to take into account the biological and psychological.

So my advice to new professionals is, don't get too far ahead of yourself and think that what you know now is the be all and end all. It will change. You may not believe it now, but in 20 years time you will probably have a very different philosophy, and the things you think are 'gold' now, will probably be laughed at by yourself. Understand that learning these things are important for you, but they must be a tool in a much larger toolbox. Golf is a holistic sport, with a lot of variables including equipment, concept of impact, concept of swing, previous sporting movements, injuries and physical limitations, age, ability to learn new things, past environmental experiences and much much more. To pin down just one aspect and say that this is the 'new way' will cause you more problems that benefits.

I know a lot of people reading this will be saying, of course it's not just all about the swing. But ask yourself this - are you making a better player, or are you just making them look pretty? Is turning a slice into a drawer of the ball really making them the best player they can be?

[nobackswing]

great post adam.

[iacas]

I don't think most instructors make it to step 2.

[ApocG10]

Great read. I went through a ton of instructors before I found mine. Some of the guys i've talked to were just lost to the realities of the club face in relation to the swing. They believed the old ballflight 'rules', and either didnt research, or completely disagree with science and physics. Maybe they're christians, I dunno. Maybe they dont care. Maybe that is why they dont produce the caliber of player that my coach and one or two others here produce. A refusal to enter the new age. It isnt like its really hard to understand.

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by ApocG10

Great read. I went through a ton of instructors before I found mine. Some of the guys i've talked to were just lost to the realities of the club face in relation to the swing. They believed the old ballflight 'rules', and either didnt research, or completely disagree with science and physics. Maybe they're christians, I dunno. Maybe they dont care. Maybe that is why they dont produce the caliber of player that my coach and one or two others here produce. A refusal to enter the new age. It isnt like its really hard to understand.

Totally uncalled for. If you want to slam people of faith, write all you want in the grill room.

[VoidOfEnigmas]

Not everyone's religious there Harmonious let it go was a joke obviously. Not being religious but knowing a lot about it, its not your job to judge other people, its gods.

Now onto the thread, I wish golf teachers took their job seriously, but most of the ones i've seen have been very lazy and it took me till about my 8th teacher before I was happy with who I found. Granted its been a while since i've had a lesson but I should go back to him to get rid of my chicken wing :)

[ApocG10]

Originally Posted by Harmonious

Totally uncalled for. If you want to slam people of faith, write all you want in the grill room.

Dude, calm down, it was a joke.

[saevel25]

Usually when people who say, "that was just a joke", that usually means it was a joke only to the person who wrote it, meaning it in there mind there laughing, but to everyone else it was a poor comment to make, i have to agree. Don't generalize all Christians like that please.

[GaryH]

Great post.  Gives us an interesting insight.

In terms of how a golf pro's knowledge evolves, it's a bit scary for the amateur how we get taught things - and practice them diligently - that the same pro will later regard as erroneous ideas which actually hurts our games!  I'm pretty sure i have been a 'victim' of this.  That's not knocking golf pros - it's a human error in their search for understanding and in their desire to master their craft.  Well, that's assuming they have the correct conscientious attitude to their profession like the author of the post and are trying to become the best coach they can.  Hopefully this is typical of the profession, though i'm sure there are also some who coast and bluff their way through their teaching career without trying hard enough to meet the challenge of average handicaps failing to come down over the decades.

[Adam Young]

Originally Posted by GaryH

Great post.  Gives us an interesting insight.

In terms of how a golf pro's knowledge evolves, it's a bit scary for the amateur how we get taught things - and practice them diligently - that the same pro will later regard as erroneous ideas which actually hurts our games!  I'm pretty sure i have been a 'victim' of this.  That's not knocking golf pros - it's a human error in their search for understanding and in their desire to master their craft.  Well, that's assuming they have the correct conscientious attitude to their profession like the author of the post and are trying to become the best coach they can.  Hopefully this is typical of the profession, though i'm sure there are also some who coast and bluff their way through their teaching career without trying hard enough to meet the challenge of average handicaps failing to come down over the decades.

Hey, thanks. I wouldn't worry too much.Usually the ideas are not stupid, they just get blown out of proportion. Like the TPI stuff (dont know if you are aware of it). It is a great tool to have, but the coach must understand that it should fit into the bigger picture, not be the 'only way' as they often try and sell it. I've seen TPI certified coaches tell people that they cant hit a draw because they have weak glutes and inflexible hips, then prescribe a list of stretches and exercises that the player probably never goes off and does. They never even saw the weak grip!!! You can sometimes get so caught up in things that you cant see the woods for the trees.

[xmanhockey7]

Great post. I'm in the PGM program at Ferris State and am just this summer really getting into instruction. I've found just about everything you said to be so true and I can see some of the things that lay ahead for me as I learn more about teaching and the golf swing.

[Adam Young]

Originally Posted by xmanhockey7

Great post. I'm in the PGM program at Ferris State and am just this summer really getting into instruction. I've found just about everything you said to be so true and I can see some of the things that lay ahead for me as I learn more about teaching and the golf swing.

Good luck... the best advice i can give you is to question everything. If someone tells you some advice, ask them why. "you must have the club in this position at the top" - ask why. "You must have this grip" - ask why. Even question yourself. Ask yourself in almost every situation, what could be the advantage and disadvantage of this. For everything you do has potentially both. do this on a daily basis and your instincts and knowledge will get much sharper.... dont do it too much that you lose confidence in your ability and what you do.

[xmanhockey7]

Good luck... the best advice i can give you is to question everything. If someone tells you some advice, ask them why. "you must have the club in this position at the top" - ask why. "You must have this grip" - ask why. Even question yourself. Ask yourself in almost every situation, what could be the advantage and disadvantage of this. For everything you do has potentially both. do this on a daily basis and your instincts and knowledge will get much sharper.... dont do it too much that you lose confidence in your ability and what you do.

Why? Lol jk thanks for the advice. I will make sure to keeping learning as much as possible.