Should a great instructor also be a great golfer?

[AmazingWhacker]

I voted "No" because I don't really care what my golf teacher can shoot.  The lessons I take are about how to swing a golf club, not how to play the game of golf.

The teacher definitely needs to know how to swing a golf club, though.  At my current level of ability,  they need to have a better swing than me.  Eventually I might get to the point where my instructor does not have as good a swing as I do . .but not anytime soon, lol.

You have to be able to do what you're trying to teach . .you don't have to be the worlds greatest but you have to be proficient.  On top of that and more importantly you need the skill to teach.  But I don't care how skilled a teacher he is . .I'm not taking lessons from a guy who hits it fat or slices all the time.

[mdl]

That seems to be a common opinion in golf but strangely not so much in other sports.

I would learn from somebody in a wheelchair if they had knowledge that I could use.

I think that's because in other sports you have no idea really if the 50 year old guy with a big gut who never shoots with his team at practice and isn't in good enough shape to play well anymore no matter how good he used to be was ever any good at basketball.  So your only option is to judge him as a coach by how much he improves his players.  And there's also the factor in team sports that a big part of being a good coach is managing a team and the game, which is totally separate from coaching skills.  Sure you can coach course management and mental approach, but there's not really any equivalent in golf to grading a basketball coach on team leadership and game strategy.

But with golf, you can watch a 50 year old with a gut play and know exactly how good he is, and pretty well how good he ever was.  A guy who doesn't practice enough anymore and shoots 82 but used to be near scratch still looks totally different playing than someone like me who's never consistently maintained a HC below 9, much less a lifelong 15 HCer.  And in a lesson if he demonstrates you can tell exactly how much control he's got over the ball, even if he's lost some yards or doesn't play as much as he used to and can't score super low anymore.  So it's more tempting to include how good the coach is himself in judging him as a coach.

[Yukari]

And those with nothing to contribute repeat cliches as if they are making a profound statement. And they insult every teacher into the bargain. Not funny. A great teacher doesn't have to be a "great" player, but he/she could not possibly be a great teacher without a lot of knowledge and the ability to transmit that knowledge effectively.

You cannot gleam from the context as to what my answer to OP's q's is? I thought it was clear that all I'm saying is that you don't have to be a great player to teach. In fact, some of the great players are terrible teachers. Ones who are not great tend to be more in tune with the struggles of average players, and therefore generally make better teachers.

[Slice of Life]

Yes.

I wouldn't hire a personal trainer who was in bad shape, a guitar teacher who played like crap, or a math tutor who didn't know algebra. Why should golf be any different?

Doesn't mean they can't teach you...but I wouldn't pay them to do so. If you can't apply what you're trying to teach, how can you inspire confidence in what you're teaching?

[Gunther]

Yes.  I wouldn't hire a personal trainer who was in bad shape, a guitar teacher who played like crap, or a math tutor who didn't know algebra. Why should golf be any different? Doesn't mean they can't teach you...but I wouldn't pay them to do so. If you can't apply what you're trying to teach, how can you inspire confidence in what you're teaching?

Funny analogy; there's a trainer at my gym who has difficulty climbing the stairs to the 2nd floor. Always amazed she has clients but she seems to do quite well. I'm guessing she knows her stuff but I wouldn't hire her. I voted yes, but my definition of great may be lower than others. I don't need a +7 instructor but somewhere under 4 or 5 would be OK. Pet peeve, having my 18 capper buds trying to tell me what went wrong with a swing.

[HawkNballs]

Would you trust a...

Bald barber?  Dentist with meth teeth?  A stylist that wears Crocs?  ;)

[Ernest Jones]

Would you trust a...

Bald barber?  Dentist with meth teeth?  A stylist that wears Crocs?  ;)

A gynaecologist wearing a speedo?

[mvmac]

I voted yes, but my definition of great may be lower than others. I don't need a +7 instructor but somewhere under 4 or 5 would be OK. Pet peeve, having my 18 capper buds trying to tell me what went wrong with a swing.

Yeah I think everyone has their own definition of "great". If someone told me a teaching pro is/was a great player, I would assume they played on a tour (PGA, Web.com, Canadian), and/or won college events, and/or is one of the top players in their section.

[Slice of Life]

Yeah I think everyone has their own definition of "great". If someone told me a teaching pro is/was a great player, I would assume they played on a tour (PGA, Web.com, Canadian), and/or won college events, and/or is one of the top players in their section.

That's where it becomes a gray area...I'd consider anyone around a scratch handicap level to be great by golfing standards. That's gotta be what, top 1% or less of all golfers?