Golf Instructor Gives Extra Time

[Patch]

Not sure if this is the appropriate place for this post. I did a search and it seemed like the best one.

Anyways, I am the driving range yesterday, and by chance I set up by the instructors office. He was working with a guy on his wedge swing. The student had purchased a 1/2 hour lesson, and his time was almost up. Problem was the student was having a tough time absorbing what the teacher was trying to get across. Nothing new there I thought. I knew what the instructor was talking about, and it was sound instruction.

When the student's 1/2 hour was up, he thanked the instructor for his time, and told him he would work on what he had been shown. At that point the instructor asked why he was leaving. "My time is up". The instructor then went on to tell the student that just because the 1/2 was up, that they could still keep going until the student got a better grasp of what was going on. Free of charge. This even though the instructor had another student in the wings. The other student must have known he would get the same treatment, and was fine with waiting. What a concept I thought, That a teacher that would take extra  time to work with a student.

After seeing this, I thought maybe I might meet with that instructor at a later date, and quiz him on his teaching priorities. (notice I didn't say "teaching methods)

[turtleback]

Not sure if this is the appropriate place for this post. I did a search and it seemed like the best one.

Anyways, I am the driving range yesterday, and by chance I set up by the instructors office. He was working with a guy on his wedge swing. The student had purchased a 1/2 hour lesson, and his time was almost up. Problem was the student was having a tough time absorbing what the teacher was trying to get across. Nothing new there I thought. I knew what the instructor was talking about, and it was sound instruction.

When the student's 1/2 hour was up, he thanked the instructor for his time, and told him he would work on what he had been shown. At that point the instructor asked why he was leaving. "My time is up". The instructor then went on to tell the student that just because the 1/2 was up, that they could still keep going until the student got a better grasp of what was going on. Free of charge. This even though the instructor had another student in the wings. The other student must have known he would get the same treatment, and was fine with waiting. What a concept I thought, That a teacher that would take extra  time to work with a student.

After seeing this, I thought maybe I might meet with that instructor at a later date, and quiz him on his teaching priorities. (notice I didn't say "teaching methods)

I would be unhappy if I was the student being made to wait and I had something to do after the lesson.  It is nice being generous with his time, but not when it is at someone else's expense, IMO.

[Patch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch

Not sure if this is the appropriate place for this post. I did a search and it seemed like the best one.

Anyways, I am the driving range yesterday, and by chance I set up by the instructors office. He was working with a guy on his wedge swing. The student had purchased a 1/2 hour lesson, and his time was almost up. Problem was the student was having a tough time absorbing what the teacher was trying to get across. Nothing new there I thought. I knew what the instructor was talking about, and it was sound instruction.

When the student's 1/2 hour was up, he thanked the instructor for his time, and told him he would work on what he had been shown. At that point the instructor asked why he was leaving. "My time is up". The instructor then went on to tell the student that just because the 1/2 was up, that they could still keep going until the student got a better grasp of what was going on. Free of charge. This even though the instructor had another student in the wings. The other student must have known he would get the same treatment, and was fine with waiting. What a concept I thought, That a teacher that would take extra  time to work with a student.

After seeing this, I thought maybe I might meet with that instructor at a later date, and quiz him on his teaching priorities. (notice I didn't say "teaching methods)

I would be unhappy if I was the student being made to wait and I had something to do after the lesson.  It is nice being generous with his time, but not when it is at someone else's expense, IMO.

Of course you would, and so would others. but that was not the case this time.

[iacas]

After seeing this, I thought maybe I might meet with that instructor at a later date, and quiz him on his teaching priorities. (notice I didn't say "teaching methods")

I mean this all in the right way… but what's the difference? Maybe you aren't, but I don't really like it when people say "teaching method" as if it's a bad thing. Everyone has to have a method, an approach, a plan, etc. If you prioritize, you have a method. You may teach different swings to different people but you still have a method.

I'm also saddened that a golf instructor spending extra time with a student is thread-worthy. I spend a lot of extra time with people. I consider it "just what you do." I hate to think that other instructors are what I call "clock watchers."

[isukgolf]

I know my instructor gives extra time as well. He would agree with @iacas it is "just what you do" ... He even books his lessons for the extra time in case it is needed, he is priority is teaching someone to golf, rather than watching the clock.

[Patch]

I dislike the term "method" when used by an instructor (of anything) becuse it's that instructors's way of teaching something. To make matters worse that instructor's method might be his/her's "my way or the highway" method of teaching. Method teaching relates to what an instructor knows, but not always what the student can understand.

I read a book once by Harry Orbitz who was a decent golf instructor in the late 50s, and  60s. As I recall he was one of the first to start a golf instruction school. In the book, he stated that any any golfer of any size, shape, mental capacity, has to fit into the same mold ("method") that the instructor is using to teach, which is impossible.

In golf, instructors have to be able to take both the good and bad students. The good students can relate to what the instructor is trying to teach. The bad student, in the eyes of the instructor, will be the student who can't relate to the way (method) the instructor is teaching. The instructor will write off the bad student as a weak learner, while the student writes off the instructor as a bad teacher.

I like an instructor who has a list of principals (priorities), that serves every student they encounter in a positive way. An instructor who can adjust to the needs of the paying student is a profitable commodity for the student. The fact that this particular  instructor took extra time with the student shows that he cared that the student left his tuition with some positive progress. The student waiting in the wings should be happy that they will receive the same treatment for their money spent. A student showing up with other stuff to do right after their appointment, would do better to reevaluate the  schedule of events in their life.

Not to drag this out too far, here is an example using girl's fast pitch as an example. I volunteered to help coach a team of young ladies one season. My daughter was on the team, so it was no big deal. I had a college baseball background. One of the girls wanted to be catcher in the worst way. She could catch any ball, wild, or true pitched to her. She had a second base arm. A runner sliding into her at home plate was toast, if not injured. Problem was she could not come out of her squatting position, find, and catch a foul ball to save her life. The main, official coaches, as hard as they tried their method for teaching the catching position could not get her to overcome her problem with foul balls. I was asked to help her out by one of the "real" coaches as a last resort.  My priority was to get her to catch foul balls. The principal she was lacking was finding the ball while it was in the air.. The cure was simple. I gave her a plan that while laying in bed at night, in a darkened room, to throw a rolled up sock up in the air with one hand, and catch it with the other hand. Long story short, the young lady became great high school catcher, which also earned her a 4 year ride at UCLA.

Perhaps we are just having a play on words. I am sure you are (IACAS) a good instructor of the game, and could no doubt teach me a few things.

[krupa]

I like an instructor who has a list of principals (priorities), that serves every student they encounter in a positive way. An instructor who can adjust to the needs of the paying student is a profitable commodity for the student. The fact that this particular  instructor took extra time with the student shows that he cared that the student left his tuition with some positive progress. The student waiting in the wings should be happy that they will receive the same treatment for their money spent. A student showing up with other stuff to do right after their appointment, would do better to reevaluate the  schedule of events in their life.

At the same time, a student may reorganize/reschedule his day to get to a golf lesson on time only to find he has to wait?

I think it's great that the instructor took extra time with the student without charging but there has to be some consideration to the people waiting in the wings.   I have appreciated when my instructor has taken extra time with me but I would feel terrible if I knew we were pushing into someone else's time.

[vangator]

I'm sure it was only a few minutes extra. Golf has to be the top priority. I was late by an hour for my first date with my future wife. I simply told her it took longer to finish my round than I thought. Hey, it's golf. We did have a second date.

[Jeremie Boop]

At the same time, a student may reorganize/reschedule his day to get to a golf lesson on time only to find he has to wait?

I think it's great that the instructor took extra time with the student without charging but there has to be some consideration to the people waiting in the wings.   I have appreciated when my instructor has taken extra time with me but I would feel terrible if I knew we were pushing into someone else's time.

I think most instructors build in a bit of leeway time between appointments. The guy at the range I go to will typically have the student warm up before starting the lesson, using that time as an extra buffer as well.

[Patch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch

I like an instructor who has a list of principals (priorities), that serves every student they encounter in a positive way. An instructor who can adjust to the needs of the paying student is a profitable commodity for the student. The fact that this particular  instructor took extra time with the student shows that he cared that the student left his tuition with some positive progress. The student waiting in the wings should be happy that they will receive the same treatment for their money spent. A student showing up with other stuff to do right after their appointment, would do better to reevaluate the  schedule of events in their life.

At the same time, a student may reorganize/reschedule his day to get to a golf lesson on time only to find he has to wait?

I think it's great that the instructor took extra time with the student without charging but there has to be some consideration to the people waiting in the wings.   I have appreciated when my instructor has taken extra time with me but I would feel terrible if I knew we were pushing into someone else's time.

You make a good point. However, I look at golf instructors as businessmen because I owned my own business for several decades. They are in the business of teaching the golf swing. Actually I think they should be in the business of teaching the game of golf, and just not just the swing. They, as businessmen also have a say in how they run their business. As they have to deal with customers, their priority is to leave as many customers as possible, satisfied for the services they paid for. But, like any type of business, they are not going to please all their customers. I know I didn't.  That's one of the  simple fact of running a business.  Waiting can be  a problem. I don't like to wait at stop lights, traffic jams, doctors offices, buffet lines, gas stations, supermarket check out stands, etc....The list of waits could go on, and on.  Fact is, we all wait for something at one time or another. Golf instruction, and play is no different. We just deal with it the best way we can when we do have to wait.

[Aflighter]

Like what has already been said.If you cant wait few minutes for your lesson because the instructor is working a lil bit over with his other student then you need to slow your life down some and realize the world doesnt revolve around just you.

[rkim291968]

Like what has already been said.If you cant wait few minutes for your lesson because the instructor is working a lil bit over with his other student then you need to slow your life down some and realize the world doesnt revolve around just you.

I fully agree except in this real life scenario.

GolfTec's lessons are 30 minutes apart and they are fully booked.   I work at a company near their site and take lesson when I can squeeze out an hour from work (drive time, lesson, drive back time).   I can only do that assuming that my lesson starts and ends in timely fasion.   If it ends a few minutes late, I can probably come up with a reasonable excuse.   But more than that, I won't be able to take the lessons.   So far, all the lessons started on time and ended after 30 minutes.  I appreciate that.

[Ongle]

I have only had lessons from one guy and he has always given me more time than what I've paid for. Not necessarily by a lot but I'd consider it the decent thing to do. What is the point in after 30 mins saying "that's your lot!" If a guy is still struggling with grasping something? Ultimately that guy will probably leave thinking "well that wasn't very helpful" and might not return? My last lesson was more on developing my new swing and my hand position through it but at the end I was talking about lagging up long putts and how it was easily the worst part of my putting game. He had me wander over to the putting green and gave me 5-10 mins extra on some basics. They really helped and as a result I booked a few extra lessons to go over it in more detail. It's all part of being a good salesman, giving that little bit extra will normally reap the benefits in the long run as it builds a relationship better. Frankly I'd be surprised if any pro didn't do this?

[Aflighter]

I have only had lessons from one guy and he has always given me more time than what I've paid for. Not necessarily by a lot but I'd consider it the decent thing to do. What is the point in after 30 mins saying "that's your lot!" If a guy is still struggling with grasping something? Ultimately that guy will probably leave thinking "well that wasn't very helpful" and might not return? My last lesson was more on developing my new swing and my hand position through it but at the end I was talking about lagging up long putts and how it was easily the worst part of my putting game. He had me wander over to the putting green and gave me 5-10 mins extra on some basics. They really helped and as a result I booked a few extra lessons to go over it in more detail. It's all part of being a good salesman, giving that little bit extra will normally reap the benefits in the long run as it builds a relationship better. Frankly I'd be surprised if any pro didn't do this?

I had the shanks and couldnt get rid of em so I went to a local pro and worked with him.He was the assistant pro so he only charged 35$ 1/2 hour I think so I chose him over the head pro which was like 55$ 1/2 hour and he wasnt there anyways so the assistant spent atleast 45mins with me and only charged me 20 because I was hitting ball fine and then I hit a shank and he changed my grip lil bit and they went away.I guess because he fixed me fairly quickly he didnt charge me whole amount.Granted it was closing time so he was going home but I thought it was cool he wasnt on clock and didnt charge full amount.To me giving lessons would be my dream job just to help others learn golf .

[isukgolf]

Some good points on waiting, since my instructor is actually a good friend and we do a lot non-golf things together I get a look into his world as well. He does add extra time into his lesson, but I have seen it on lots of occasion, he started his lesson on time. Now here is his concerns, students showing up late with NO concern for his time or his business, or canceling at the last minute ... when a person cancels last minute or day of, they are basically taking some potential money out of his pocket. Teaching is after all, how he makes money. He has been teaching a long time, understands this is part of the business he is in.

[turtleback]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch

After seeing this, I thought maybe I might meet with that instructor at a later date, and quiz him on his teaching priorities. (notice I didn't say "teaching methods")

I mean this all in the right way… but what's the difference? Maybe you aren't, but I don't really like it when people say "teaching method" as if it's a bad thing. Everyone has to have a method, an approach, a plan, etc. If you prioritize, you have a method. You may teach different swings to different people but you still have a method.

I'm also saddened that a golf instructor spending extra time with a student is thread-worthy. I spend a lot of extra time with people. I consider it "just what you do." I hate to think that other instructors are what I call "clock watchers."

Just to be clear, I wasn't criticizing the notion of giving extra time.  My only issue is making the next student wait while he does it.

[Hellstorm]

You guys will make a thread about anything.

[Golfingdad]

I would be unhappy if I was the student being made to wait and I had something to do after the lesson.  It is nice being generous with his time, but not when it is at someone else's expense, IMO.

Not me ... and for the exact reason @Patch spelled out in the OP:

The other student must have known he would get the same treatment, and was fine with waiting.

Bingo.  My first thought would be "cool, this instructor seems to actually care about his student grasping what he's being taught."  What a novel concept.

And if I wasn't the student waiting, but was just overhearing, I'd also have the same positive feelings as Patch - and I think many others would as well:

What a concept I thought, That a teacher that would take extra  time to work with a student.

After seeing this, I thought maybe I might meet with that instructor at a later date, and quiz him on his teaching priorities.