MATCH PLAY
16 Jun 2016

MATCH PLAY

Last week I was watching the NCAA Men’s Championship on TV.  The tournament format is match play:  first team to three wins is the champion.  This style of play is always entertaining because of the ups and downs of the match.  One player is leading by a few holes, and then the other player makes a comeback.  It’s real-life golf drama. I noticed that I was becoming more and more engaged in the matches, cheering on the great shots and the players’ recovery shots.  There were a number of times a player seemed to be out of the hole; one player had an advantage by hitting a good shot to set up a birdie effort, and the other player, who seemed to be out of position, would either make a long putt or even chip-in from off the green.  This now forces the player in good position to make his putt to just tie the hole. Most golfers don’t play a lot of match play.  We often grind trying to shoot the lowest score possible.  When teaching our students, especially the younger ones, it is important we talk about these “must-make” opportunities.  Lead them in drills or games that get them in the right frame of mind to be aggressive on making the shot.  You can see that some players thrive in these environments while others don’t. Playing match play will teach your students the importance of never giving up, as well as providing the opportunity to experience a “flair” for the dramatic.  Your students will be more successful, and you will be, too.
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VISIONS OF A GREAT TEACHER
14 Jun 2016

VISIONS OF A GREAT TEACHER

Golf is not a game alone, but a means of developing people, pleasant people with good attitude and strong character.  Coaches and partners are committed to shifting the culture of golf from tips, formulas and answers, to one of exploration, discovery and freedom. As a teacher and coach, it is important in recognizing what is his/her ability, and re-defining what is possible for him/her in learning this game.  We must also teach how to learn and how to integrate on the course.  Learn how to access concentration and how to practice productivity, and also discover how to self-coach in areas of specific interest. As teachers of the game, our commitment is to empower our student to step into the heart and soul of the game, and to use it to access new possibilities such as the real joy and adventure of learning, inspiring high-performance golfers.  Golfers should have a coaching influence and a support team that is focused on facilitating skills development and personal growth.
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THE POWER OF OBSERVATION
9 Jun 2016

THE POWER OF OBSERVATION

Technology abounds. Every golfer wants it and many teachers love using it. Be it video, 3-D motion capture, launch monitors, foot-pressure pads, rangefinders, or the latest and greatest golf club technology, the world of golf has become obsessed with technology and its perceived ability to improve one’s game. There is no doubt there are some great tools out there to assist us in our teaching, along with giving us the reputation amongst our clients as being at the cutting edge of the instruction industry. We should all remember they are present to assist and not replace the human factor of observation. As instructors, we must first and foremost begin with observation and prioritize what we see. How often are we doing this in every lesson? I can personally go on about stories of students who have received lessons where the teaching professional never looked up from his computer, but I regress. So, where do we start? Students of different levels have different needs. A novice must learn basic components of setup, pivot, arm and club motion before a golf ball enters the picture, which may take some time…many lessons, in some cases. Our ability to observe without fail rather than going through the motions at this stage of a golfer’s evolution cannot be overstated. The lower hand on the club, as one example, can and more likely will lead to an incorrect clubface position and wrist hinge, causing further compensations throughout the motion. The reason the novice is in our hands is so such a problem doesn’t occur; otherwise, he or she may just as well take lessons from their over-qualified 27-handicap best friend. For the experienced player, ball flight comes first. Always! Ball flight is everything, because it offers the player feedback. Again, our job is to relate ball flight to motion tendencies. In other words, what is the club doing to create a particular ball flight? What is our body doing to make the club move in one fashion or another? This is our responsibility, and the observation facet relies on ball flight and our knowledge of what is occurring with the club and body as pertaining to every ball flight possibility. There aren’t many:
  • Initial Direction – Clubface direction at impact (85% responsible)
  • Curvature – Path as it relates to clubface
  • Trajectory – Angle of attack (steepness of pitch) and  vertical centeredness of strike
  • Distance – Speed of clubhead, centeredness of strike
As golf instructors, the aforementioned ball flight laws are our commandments, our constitutional amendments, or any term of our desire, but without fail they take priority over everything, including technology.
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JORDAN SPIETH AND THE FUTURE OF THE PGA TOUR!
8 Jun 2016

JORDAN SPIETH AND THE FUTURE OF THE PGA TOUR!

By: Steve Williams, WGCA contributing writer How refreshing was it to watch Jordan Spieth at Colonial, on Sunday, on the back nine? There is a new excitement in the air right now regarding the PGA Tour and its future.  We have a great crop of young men, as well as some middle-aged men, who each possess the quality game to provide years of fantastic entertainment for golf fans. Twenty years ago there was Tiger, just getting started on tour…and raising the bar to a level so high that it brought out a standard of training and competitiveness which, I believe, helped create what we have now.  Tour golf has never been this competitive! Additionally, all of us who make our living in the golf industry owe a sizable portion of our income to what Tiger did for the game.  He created an excitement, which brought tournament golf into the homes of millions of people who otherwise would not have watched PGA Tour golf before he emerged. But now, tour golf is in the hands of guys like Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson, Ricky Fowler and Bubba Watson.  On a lesser note, guys like Danny Willett, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama and James Hahn have the talent to jump to the top of the rankings. Then there are the stalwarts, such as Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen, all of whom are a threat to win a major tournament at any time. But back to Spieth!  How long has it been that you could recall a man on tour who did magical things with his clubs, and…who had the depth of character, discipline and likability that Spieth has?  Not only that, but he is as fine a gentleman on the course as I can ever recall seeing. He also knows how to deal with disappointment while congratulating those who were better than him on any particular day, with an amount of poise that is rarely seen. If I am being brutally honest here, I could say that although Tiger lifted the quality of competition to a level that was rarely reached prior to his emergence, I was never comfortable with him being a role model for the young kids who were starting to dream about being on tour some day. Sorry if that is offensive to anybody, but although competitively he was like a man among boys at times, when it came to maturity and respect for the game and his competitors, he was sometimes an adolescent among men on the tour.  I cringed sometimes when I heard his language and saw him throw and kick clubs, like some 13-year-old junior-high student. I cringed because I knew that the young kids growing up watching that behavior would emulate it to some degree, at the very least.  I also cringed when Tiger made huge mistakes in his personal life, mistakes which ended up taking a massive toll on his mind, but more importantly, which young golfers might feel should be acceptable behavior. Keeping things in balance, though, I think few people actually comprehend how much Tiger did for the game because of his phenomenal talent, wise decisions on the course, and because he loved the thrill of the competitive moment. Tiger provided unparalleled amounts of quality shots which will go into the annals of golf lore.  He is certainly one of the all-time greats of the game, and he lifted the quality of golf to a higher level than previously attained, in my opinion, anyway. Spieth, though, has such respect for the game, its history, his competitors, the fans – and especially the young fans – that he seems willing to handle the responsibility of being a role model.  Additionally, he obviously knows that it is the fans who have made playing tournament golf so lucrative for those who are fortunate enough to make it in professional golf. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that the vast majority of parents would be proud of their child’s development as human beings if they turned out like Jordan Spieth, the person. So, I will suggest that when you think of the short list of the names of the men on the PGA Tour who created a stir that catapulted golf to a level formerly not achieved before they became household names, it would be names such as these: Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman, and Tiger Woods.  There were many other great names, but those I mentioned seemed to transcend golf and reach people who had no interest in watching it before. From what I can see right now, I believe Jordan Spieth will fit solidly in that list as the years go by.  I can find faults in his swing to the point that personally, I wouldn’t rate his golf swing much better than average on the tour.  But he has virtually every other strength that a man needs to become a superstar. And…he is currently in the process of stoking the imagination of millions of serious young golfers across the globe. That fact in itself will encourage a large percentage of parents to get their children involved in golf.  Does it get any better than that? Good golfing!
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GOLF – THE GAME OF LOST FAVORITES
8 Jun 2016

GOLF – THE GAME OF LOST FAVORITES

I used to know the golf tour stops. There was Riviera, the Crosby and Hope, Doral, Harbour Town and Greater Greensboro. Now there is the Frys.com, Valspar, Quicken Loans and the Dean & Deluca, not to mention all the other corporate-sponsored events that seem to change every couple of years. I have been involved with the tournament in Tampa for some time. It started as the JC Penny Classic. Since then it has been named the Buick, Chrysler, Pods, Transitions, EverBank and Valspar. A game steeped in tradition has abandoned the moniker for cash. I guess it was inevitable; it takes a lot of green to conduct a tournament, what with million-dollar payouts and infrastructure to attract fans and sponsors. Still, to name Hogan’s alley at Colonial the Dean & Deluca Championship sickens me. At least we still have the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial at Jack’s place in Ohio. But don’t you think that when these two pass on to that beautiful fairway in the sky that several companies won’t be beating down the door to get their name on the events. It’s a shame. Growing up, I knew all the great players of yesteryear. Their names were on golf clubs or attached to tournaments in remembrance of their heroics. I started off in golf with a Sam Snead 7-iron. My dad gave me three Gene Littler woods. I even had a Gene Sarazen 3-iron with a wooden shaft. Sometimes when I am teaching, I’ll mention a famous golfer from the past, and my young students will look at me with a blank stare. Sign of the times, I guess. I understand it, but I don’t have to like it.
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TOO MANY THOUGHTS?
3 Jun 2016

TOO MANY THOUGHTS?

While I was recently watching The Players, one of the analysts on Golf Channel was speaking about Jordan Spieth and showed him videoing his putting stroke before the round started.  The debate was that if you think about mechanical thoughts, then you are unable to putt freely.  Jordan was for; the analyst against.  I can see both sides. Some players don’t like advice about or to think mechanical thoughts while playing a tournament round – the ol’ “take to the course the shots you have on the range” type of motto.  These players are more focused on feel than trying to fix whatever might be wrong with their game at the moment. Other players are very technical and want all the tips and advice they can get.  Maybe Jordan is this type of player.  Maybe he feels like there is something wrong mechanically in his putting stroke and wants to change it.  It could be something very small, yet produce great results. The key is to know your students.  Know what kind of information they can mentally handle prior to a competitive round and what they can’t.  As golf teaching professionals, we need to adapt to our students’ way of processing information.
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