Tips for new high school head golf coach?

[4Aces]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I stumbled upon this thread and forum while searching for some ideas to help my own coaching. (it is at the top of a google search)  I'd like to mention a couple things that run counter to some of the advice given. It also highlights the problems with high school golf.

What other sport would allow someone to not coach, just fill out some paperwork and drive the bus?

If a football coach said he wasn't an NFL level player and can't really coach anything, would he get hired? Yet we allow golf coaches to get away with that. It is amazing to me that we can find enough qualified people to coach football, basketball, volleyball, cross country, track, wrestling, and all the other sports but no one is capable of coaching a golf team at the high school level.

The average programs have a few players playing in the 70s and 80s.. They also have a players who are struggling to break 100 or even 120. If the coach can't teach the basics of grip, stance, and alignment why are they coaching? I am willing to bet that nine of the next ten people who read this wouldn't think twice about helping their own child, friend, spouse, etc with the basics.  High school coaches need to as well. The fact is most coaches can't swing coach the low handicap players, but that might mean two or three players tops in most programs. But we can, and should, help the rest. The elite teams are filled with kids who are taking private lessons. All a coach can do there is find out what the pro has them working on and monitor and give feedback if they are making those changes. It also helps the player to understand what the pro is having them do. I coached one young lady who misunderstood the pro and thought the longer the chip, the higher the loft. I asked her to clarify with the pro before she devoted too much time to that technique.

You can show them how to set up alignment rods to check their takeaway, you can stand behind them with their cell phone video camera and show them the club's path and where it should be pointing at the top. You can show them how ball position affects ball flight, contact, distance, etc. You can show them how they place their hands on the club determines contact and ball flight. So many of these things aren't that complicated and do not take a PGA professional to teach someone trying to break 100. Yet we expect the golf coach to just stand there and remind them what time the bus is leaving and to call a pro because only a pro can teach a 36 handicap how to place their hands on a club, of how to place their feet on the ground.

I'm leaving out the easy stuff that I think we all agree needs to be taught, items like behavior, etiquette, and rules. I take 28 players to the course each weekday and I will stack up their behavior alongside the public we share the facilities with.  I also enjoy in the down times teaching the history and traditions of the game. Not coaching may have worked 30 years ago, but today coaches must earn their money by doing something more than driving the bus and collecting paperwork (which there is a file drawer full).

If we aren't going to expect golf coaches to actually coach and help their players, why have a high school sport?

[John Conatser]

I am also a new golf coach. What are some unforeseen challenges that you guys have found? What would an efficient practice routine look like? Thanks!

[SavvySwede]

If we aren't going to expect golf coaches to actually coach and help their players, why have a high school sport?

Golf is an individual sport at heart and coaches simply aren't needed the way they are in other sports. My high school coach was a very seasoned scratch golfer and the only real advice he gave me was to not hit the driver on certain holes. The point of high school golf programs is to give the players the experience of competition

[jsgolfer]

Golf is an individual sport at heart and coaches simply aren't needed the way they are in other sports. My high school coach was a very seasoned scratch golfer and the only real advice he gave me was to not hit the driver on certain holes. The point of high school golf programs is to give the players the experience of competition

My golf coach too was a really good player, not a scratch but low single digit.  The biggest thing he taught me was how to chip, I still chip like I did when i was younger.  Other than that he was pretty hands off, he would set our lineup and let us go.  I think we had 10-12 guys on the team.  We had some decent players, pretty much everyone on the team could break 100.  But back then, no one but golfers played on the team.  It definitely wasn't an in sport.

[Kenny Lee]

Do not go to the clubhouse bar and get hammered during the matches.

This is what my high school coach did in the 1980's. After the matches, he would drive us home in the school van.

He was SMASHED every time.

A few times, we would have to drive the van- coach was passed out in the back.

[pops4wood]

I have coached boys golf at my school for 10 years. I wouldn't worry about lack of instructional experience. You're a probably a teacher, which means you're probably underpaid... Meaning if you were good enough with the mechanics of golf swing to actually teach it? Well, you'd that full time and make more $$$$. The better players probably take lessons from teaching pros so you wouldn't want to mess with them anyway. The average to slightly below average guys you can usually help with little things like where the ball is in their stance or how open or closed their stance is. The awful kids? Just make it fun for them and tell them to keep practicing and try not to get frustrated. What you can teach them though is course management, proper etiquette (and rules), and not being a slow player. Teach them how to be a player that others would want to play with. One other area is putting. impress upon them the value of the two putt... Too many kids want to try to hole every putt. Which leads to many, many 3 putts... And sometimes worse. I guess that falls under course management... Have fun with it. Hopefully you get to play alongside the kids...

[jsgolfer]

Do not go to the clubhouse bar and get hammered during the matches.

This is what my high school coach did in the 1980's. After the matches, he would drive us home in the school van.

He was SMASHED every time.

A few times, we would have to drive the van- coach was passed out in the back.

My high school didn't do that but the college golf coach might have a little too much to drink and we would drive the van back from wherever we were playing.

[nick1998bunker]

My coach is a heavier man who can't play golf at all but that doesn't matter at all. He does a little bit of swing advice which is really the only thing he does wrong, but he is very good at helping kids with course management at tournaments and the more mental side. Most importantly though he is there to facilitate a practice session that is best for the kids. He makes sure people aren't just hitting drivers all day but evens out their practice and gives them more focus on things they need to improve. One thing I reccomend is have the kids play as much as possible. Not only does it teach them scoring which is all that really matters, but there is nothing better than sitting through a boring day of school knowing you are going to be playing afterwords. It keeps them happy