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16 Jun 2016 Corina Pelloni

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.

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.

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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