THE PERFECT TIME TO FIND YOUR JOY IN TEACHING
25 May 2016

THE PERFECT TIME TO FIND YOUR JOY IN TEACHING

Spring is the most exciting time of year for golfers. That is obvious to anyone that plays the game. For teachers of the game, summer brings the opportunity to find the true joy of teaching. As I moved through my career and began teaching better and more serious golfers, I found myself gradually developing a very dour attitude towards lessons. I didn’t notice the change as it was happening, but now looking back, I should have been more introspective. While on the subject, being introspective is a very important trait for a golf instructor. At one point, I began to realize the joy I had been addicted to early in my teaching career wasn’t there. So, the opportunity presented itself – almost out of fate, it seems, as I reflect back on it now: Our assistant professional had decided to move on to another facility. She had taught the junior clinic the last few summers. Before she arrived at the course, the young girls in the pro shop would pitch in and teach the kids. The director of golf was adamant that the summer junior clinics would be taught one way or another every summer. Our weather in the summer was spectacular. Cool in the early morning, sun around 10, then at 10:45 am every day a slight breeze from the Pacific Ocean would contrast the summer sun. Seventy-eight degrees and sunny every day. So how could we not do a lot of teaching? One day while having a conversation in the shop with the boss, I somehow volunteered to teach the junior clinic. Immediately after I announced my intention, I had a sense of panic come over me. How was I going to do this? I had not taught kids for several years. All of these life-and-death golfers I had been instructing; how was I going to handle children? After those first few moments of panic, I started planning the clinics in my mind. The more I planned, the more excited I got. I have often read about the “grandparent” effect that can come over older adults. The pleasure one gets from seeing the innocent, pure joy kids display at a young age. That is my reasonable explanation. The kids were from age 7 to 10 or 11. We did three hours a day for four days. I bought candy and juice boxes, and thought of as many games as I could. We had relay races, putting contests, and the kids genuinely had a great time. As much fun as it was for them, it couldn’t match the joy I received from teaching them. Watching the kids discover the true essence of the game was exhilarating. I felt like I should have paid the parents instead of the other way around. I loved watching them jump up and down when they holed a putt or their team won whatever game we were playing. The girls giggled, the boys gave high fives. As a byproduct, hopefully some of them kept playing after that week. To say it was an awesome experience for me would be an understatement. That week I rediscovered the joy of teaching golf. Because of my current position, I haven’t had the opportunity to duplicate that junior clinic. I would love to have the time and facilities to do it again. Today there is better equipment for children. If you look, you can find special tools for kids learning, and all sorts of various games and unique ideas for teaching our youth the game of golf. Personally, I love the velcro outfits and the giant clubs. It is easy to get caught up in the financial gain of your teaching business. The seriousness of your students trying to improve at a very difficult game can affect you over time. We all want to help golfers. Most of us have to also make a living at it somehow. Finding opportunities to teach the fringes of the golfing public can give you a new perspective. It could even be teaching disabled adults. Golf at its core is supposed to be fun.
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NO RESPECT FOR EVERYDAY GOLF TEACHERS
19 May 2016

NO RESPECT FOR EVERYDAY GOLF TEACHERS

Just saw an ad recently that finished with this: “Go directly to the place that will improve your game with all the equipment and apparel you need.” What a country – you can buy improvement. And people continue to buy into this nonsense. If it was just the equipment, then how come some top tour pros struggle when they change brands? I have a friend who buys every new driver that TaylorMade puts out. His scores are still the same, but he swears he is just killing the ball. I guess whatever makes you happy. Another fellow came to me for some lessons and said he could not hit his new irons. So I watched him hit a few shots. Top, top, fat, top and slice. I asked him how he hit his old irons. Not much different, was his reply. After I worked with his swing for a few weeks, I caught up with him on the range to see how he was doing. “Man, these irons are the best thing I ever invested in,” was his reply. I felt like Rodney Dangerfield. If you’re one of those big-name instructors on TV, everyone listens to what they have to say and often when you are working with a person, you’ll hear that so-and-so said to do this. Sometimes you just want to respond like Hogan would and say, “Well, then go take a lesson from him, then.” A lot of this stems from the manufacturers who have basically driven the game. We, the teacher, get very little credit from them. Just look at the ads. They all tout their brand as being the one that will make one longer and more accurate. Yet, I have never seen a person from scratch with a brand new $2,000 set of clubs step up to the tee box and stripe one. I have seen several people who work diligently with one of us run-of-the-mill everyday teachers become decent players. Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere.
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THE FUTURE OF GOLF AND VIRTUAL REALITY
17 May 2016

THE FUTURE OF GOLF AND VIRTUAL REALITY

By: Ben Bryant, WGCA contributing writer In 2014, Facebook bought a small virtual reality startup company called Oculus for $2 billion.  Such a large investment by one of the world’s leading tech companies caused the world’s ears to perk up. People began to ask whether or not virtual reality – or VR – would be the next big thing in entertainment.  And so I feel it’s a good time to ask: How will VR change the future of the golf teaching industry? As it turns out, many in the sports world already believe VR is the next big thing and have begun using it in one way or another.  For example, NFL teams like the Dallas Cowboys are using virtual reality to train quarterbacks and other players.  In golf, Dell has announced the creation of a virtual reality simulation that lets participants play golf on the moon.  Right now, with a VR headset, you can experience 360-degree photos of this year’s Masters ceremony.  Some see the future of VR in live sports consumption, placing the user on the green with Jordan Spieth as he lines up a putt, or with Tom Brady on the field right in the middle of the action. A few weeks ago, I bought a VR headset made by Oculus for Samsung to test things out for myself.  The device works by placing your (Samsung only) smartphone on the front of the headset and then strapping the whole contraption over your eyes.  The first time I used it, I literally said “wow” out loud to an empty room.  It’s incredibly immersive and realistic. After a two-minute tutorial, I found myself exploring an Egyptian tomb and walking through the halls of the Louvre.   With features like 360-degree photos, I could transport myself to anywhere in the world. This has the potential to go way beyond your local indoor golf simulators.  While in a VR environment, everywhere you look you see your simulated surroundings.  The most amazing part is that you don’t feel like you’re looking at a screen.  You really feel like you’re playing golf at Augusta or St. Andrews. As a golf coach, I immediately began to envision how I could use this new technology with my players.  As a teaching tool, the implications for being able to recreate total 360-degree environments will have a profound impact on the golf industry.  Students will be able to see their swing in a whole new way – not a 2D video that only shows one angle, but a total 3D environment to truly see themselves as their instructor does.  Another opportunity may be in recreating golf courses in VR.  Suppose a player has a tournament the next day on a new golf course they haven’t been able to play yet. In a VR simulation, you could walk the course like you were really there.   Lastly, imagine both you and your student put on VR headsets and are able to meet online, on a virtual golf course, for a golf lesson, without even being in the same country. Scenarios like this may be a few years away and there are still some issues to work out.  Oculus, for its part, will be releasing a much anticipated headset known as the Rift sometime later this summer (https://www.oculus.com/en-us/rift).  It won’t use your smartphone; it will have its own screen and will require a high-end personal computer to operate.  As a result, it will be expensive and non-portable.  But it will be the gold standard as far as graphics go.  However, I’m far more interested in the portable, smartphone-based headsets.  They are easy to use, inexpensive, and could be far more ubiquitous than the Rift, because who doesn’t have a smartphone?   Oculus just announced that over a million people used its portable headset during the month of April 2016. For the last 20 years or so, VR has been stuck in neutral, positioned somewhere in the realm of novelty video game, but outside the purview of practical use.  With serious investors now on board and with the sports world leading the way, and with a clear vision of how this technology can be used, we are now on the brink of major changes in the way we experience entertainment and communicate with each other. Now we live in a world where nearly every man, woman and child on earth has a supercomputer in their pockets.  With technology no longer a barrier, the promise of virtual reality has returned the worlds of business and sports are on the cusp of undergoing a dramatic transformation, thanks to VR. Like many people of my generation, my first experience with “virtual reality” was the Nintendo game system known as the Virtual Boy.  The system consisted of a large stationary headset you placed over your face and a controller you used to play games.  It was a big risk for Nintendo, but it ended up being a commercial flop.  The headset was uncomfortable and hurt your eyes.  The graphics were thoroughly unimpressive, consisting of grids of red lines used to create an illusion of depth.  There was certainly a novelty factor, but usually after ten minutes or so of use people lost interest.  That was nearly 20 years ago.  It was clear that technology was still a long way away from catching up to the idea of VR.
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The Technology Contrarian
17 May 2016

The Technology Contrarian

Today’s equipment, or the advances in technology over the last 10 years or so, have (apparently) helped today’s average golfer, but hindered the career of perhaps the greatest talent who has ever played the game in Tiger Woods. As you can probably tell, you know where I’m going with this. I’ll admit at times I’m a contrarian, but not without doing research. Let’s take, for example, Trackman and the data it provides us from the touring professionals. Contrary to popular belief, the “average” PGA Tour player does not hit up on the ball (positive angle of attack or “AoA”). The average AoA amongst the men is -1.3 degrees, whereas amongst the women professionals it’s +3 degrees. As well, there is an astronomical difference in average clubhead speed, where the women swing on average at 94 mph versus the men at 113 mph. In talking to many coaches who use TrackMan daily and are specialized in understanding the data and ideal numbers, there is a consensus that with the driver the AoA number should remain within the -2 to +2 range. We’ve heard Justin Thomas has a +5 AoA with his driver; however, this is simply not the truth. His average is +1.4 degrees. He perhaps can attain this number and perhaps bombs it when he does, but it is not ideal. This leads to the point of this article. The majority of golfers today who struggle with the game can in essence blame technology (again contrarian), but the question is, why? The club manufacturing industry has led the golfing public to believe longer and forgiving is better. Get your launch angle to 17 degrees, adjust the driver to lower the spin and increase launch, get the ball airborne easily with our secret outer-space alloy strategically placed in a progressive heel-to-toe pattern helping to adjust the COG even while you swing. Let’s call a spade a spade. Modern equipment has helped people tremendously in getting the ball in the air, but has it made them better ball strikers? Of course not. For those who grew up only knowing what a blade iron and wood head were, you get it. The goal of the golf swing is to hit with accuracy and to strike the ball purely in the middle of the face with an iron, making a relatively shallow divot commencing after the ball. Game improvement irons with wide, bouncy soles, low COGs and perimeter weighting have taken this sensation, and I would go as far as saying taking the opportunity away. “The opportunity to do what?” one may ask. It is the opportunity to know what it takes to strike a blade properly – the fine-tuning of one’s swing so it becomes possible. All the competitive players (some quite young) I coach work with a blade. They play with game-improvement irons except for a few; however, they all practice with a blade as a means to develop a better club-ball contact and effective AoA, which will hold them in good stead with every club in the bag. The average female player on the tour, in my opinion, would be well served to perform a similar exercise. With an average +3 AoA with the driver, the path must shift more toward an inside approach to the ball. Although this may help some with lower clubhead speed attain distance, it compromises their ability to hit pure shots again and again from the turf with short and mid-length clubs. The clubhead speed these women attain is quite similar to many male average golfers. I hope this offers some food for thought.
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The Turning Point
11 May 2016

The Turning Point

Chris Richards of Trinidad and Tobago was only 12 years old when he was first introduced to the world of golf, and he believes that event changed his life forever.  His older cousin Marlon Nunes, who was a caddie at the Chaguaramas Golf Club, encouraged Chris to come and work at the course to make some extra money, and Marlon promised to show him the “ropes.” Chris didn’t know a thing about golf – he had never swung a club before – but the second that he did, he fell head over heels in love with the game. “I picked up the club, swung, and missed completely!” mused Chris, “But that just made me want to try again. So I kept trying and I haven’t stopped since.” At that time, Chris was a student at Diego Martin Junior Secondary School, living with his mother.  Other boys his age were getting involved in all kinds of wayward activities like drugs, alcohol, stealing, and getting in trouble with the law.  He took a long hard look around and knew what he wanted for himself.  What he wanted most was to make his mother proud, so instead of getting into trouble, he got into golf.    And… in a big way. By the age of 14, Chris became a member at Chaguaramas Golf Club, and later that year played in his first tournament.  He stunned everyone by winning it, all within the six years of picking up a club.  Chris had earned himself a +3 handicap.  Ten years ago, Chris went to study at the U.S. Golf Teachers Federation and earned his Level 3 Certified Golf Teaching Professional license.  Chris is more interested in the personal development aspect of the game, and coaching is something he finds rewarding.  “I love that coaching aspect of golf, even after a lifetime of playing it.  I see there is still so much for me to learn.” Golf starts with fundamentals, I’ve learnt that you don’t teach someone to play like how you play; you have to bring out the golfer in them.  Presently, Chris is a Certified Master Golf Teaching Professional and is based in Trinidad and Tobago.  Chris believes the turning point in his life was golf.      
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Handicapping
11 May 2016

Handicapping

Handicapping, as in horse racing, allows players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis with each other.  Each player is assigned a handicap index that results from the scores recorded for that player, is revised over time, and moves up or down as the player submits scores and his game changes. The handicap index is calculated to one decimal place so your index may look like this: 13.4.  You will also have a course handicap for your home course, which will usually be a different number of 1 or 2 digits, e.g., 15 if you propose to play competitively on another course.  The important number that you must carry is your handicap index. There is no minimum handicap index, but the USGA recommends a maximum index of 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women.  Clubs may stipulate a maximum course handicap for competitions.  The mass of players have a positive number handicap, as above, but better players may have a negative number handicap, such as minus 2, which is stated as +2, so that in a handicap competition, such players must add their handicap to their gross score to arrive at their net score. If each course has a course rating and a slope rating, a player can play competitively on any of those courses, through the use of a conversion table which translates the player’s handicap index at his home course to a course handicap for the other course.  If you propose to play on a different course, you must therefore know what your handicap index is, and you will usually be requested to have it certified by your club before you are allowed to play in a handicap competition at another course.  Each course will also have the different tees rated, and there will be a different course rating and slope rating for each tee.  This is important for converting handicaps of players against each other from different tees.
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