Listening to advice from a higher handicap

[MuniGrit]

On 5/2/2017 at 3:22 PM, iacas said:

Which is as stupid as it sounds. Or, actually, probably more stupid.

Yeah well it seemed liked in Lee T's case, he was right. There aren't many like him though and that era was a different era for sure.

[Moppy]

On 5/2/2017 at 8:41 AM, Eric C said:

When I was hitting balls I would try really hard to be nowhere near them while they gave lessons because overhearing them would inevitably negatively impact my practice session and goals. 

Yup.

[Fourputt]

I process any such comments or suggestions through my "Sense-O-Meter".  Most tips fail without any real consideration.  Since my swing is mostly self taught, I know it better than anyone.  I also know how to tweak it to get back on track most of the time.  I've found over the years that even "tips" from pros don't seem to have much to offer for me.  

A few very fundamental things that I may have gotten lazy with might be noticeable to a companion and would be taken to heart if suggested.  In such cases I would acknowledge the tip with a "Thank you."  In most other cases I will still thank the person, but ignore the tip.  

When things are wrong, I look at the fundamentals.  I've learned that this is usually the root of most issues.  Tips and band aids rarely help, and it doesn't matter where they are coming from, novice or pro.  I feel that the worst thing one can do for his swing is to take magazine tips to much to heart.  It's even worse to get them second hand - to have a playing companion offer a suggestion about some tip that he "read in the June issue of Golf Digest".  

I usually stay out of the "Instruction and Playing Tips" forum here for this reason.  I don't really have much to offer, and most offerings from others really have little to do with how I play golf.

[WUTiger]

I'm an old caddie, so I sometimes will tell a partner if they repeatedly do something blatantly wrong.

Last summer, a partner hit his first three tee shots into the right rough. He hit them fairly solid, they just went right. He started complaining about his problem.

So I told him that he was hitting the ball pretty straight to where he was pointed - too far right.  He double-checked his alignment, and put most of his remaining tee shots in the fairway.

Last week, my cart partner badly hooked several of his early shots. He said his timing "must be off." I suggested that his hooks always came when he twitched his right wrist shut right at takeaway.

He shook his head, said it was a recurring problem, and that he thought he "had it cured." He thanked me, quieted his wrist, and proceeded to shoot four strokes below his HDCP for the day.

I normally point out static stuff. I never try to change a person's swing motion at mid-round.