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18 Feb 2013 Corina Pelloni

The rules and etiquette for the golf instructor

The golf teaching professional should teach and set an example of the proper etiquette on the golf course.   In the USGA and Royal & Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews rulebook, the section on etiquette is only a few pages.  But, conduct on the golf course is much more than just two pages in a rulebook.  As golf instructors, we should never assume that a student already knows proper etiquette on the golf course.  Often, simple etiquette issues like pace of play, where to stand, or how to repair a ball mark are often overlooked. The professional should know and play by the rules.  Frequently, we are asked to answer a rules question.  The key is to have knowledge of how to use the rulebook.  It is not necessary to memorize all of the rules of golf.  However, the golf instructor should be able to navigate and find answers in the rulebook.  We should encourage students to follow the rules and etiquette. In the last few years, there has been a lowering of standard in regard to etiquette and the rules.  For example, for many golfers “winter rules” or “preferred lies” are becoming more common. The pace of play has also become considerably slower.  There are many factors that contribute to this such as golf cars, long courses built with great distance between greens and tees, slow golfers, too many people on the course, etc.  As a golf instructor, you are a role model and can influence golfers’ pace of play habits.  Set the standard for your students and they will notice and emulate. Within the last 30 years, golf cars have become common in the United States.  Sadly, it has brought on the demise of walking and the caddie.   Many times, courses opt for the economic benefit of the golf car rather than uphold the tradition of the game.  While golf cars are acceptable for people who do not have the capacity to walk 18 holes, there is a certain aspect of the game that can only be experienced by walking.  Unfortunately, the trend is that many courses now do not provide the opportunity to walk. As golf teachers, we should teach the rules, etiquette, and tradition.  This shows that you are a true professional who conducts himself as such.  The rules, etiquette, and tradition are what makes golf such a great game.

7 Feb 2013 Corina Pelloni

Boost your student’s mental games with situational similarity

Aaron Baddeley came out blistering hot in the first round of the 2013 Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation to shoot a 64 (eventually finishing T27).  It was an amazing start for someone who has not played competitive golf for three months, and for most of that time was just playing Mr. Mom to his children because his wife was pregnant and under bed rest.

To get mentally ready for his first competitive round, Baddeley arrived to the tournament site a week early and played highly competitive games with his mate, Geoff Ogilvy. These high stake games were getting him mentally prepared for the intense pressure on the PGA tour.

In actuality, Baddeley was getting mentally tough by practicing what sports scientists have deemed “situational similarity.” Put simply, situational similarity is when practice mimics real life competition, and the closer it does, the better your game will transfer into pressure-packed situations.

Golf Digest did a survey a few years back and discovered that one of the biggest complaints amateurs have is their inability to bring their best swings (and game) from the range to the golf course.  I am sure you hear this complaint a lot from your students, as well.

To remedy this problem, I would recommend incorporating the principle of situational similarity into your students’ practice regimens. Here are a few tips to help your students transfer their best game to the course:

1)     Create pressure on the range.  Instead of just blasting one driver after another into the huge area of your range, create an imaginary fairway that is half the size of your tightest hole on your course. Then, bet your friend a friendly wager to see who can hit the most drives out of 10 into this fairway. (You can do the same type of practice solo as well). This increase in pressure on the range will help you to make better swings on the course.

2)     Create pressure on the putting green. Place 10 balls around one particular hole, all three feet away. You need to make all 10 in a row. If you miss one, you will need to start over. You will find the pressure mounting when you try to make the last few balls, and this will help you to better handle the pressure of making those 3-footers on the course.

Practice the principles of situational similarity to boost to your mental game.

Dr. Gregg Steinberg is regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour,” heard on Sirius/XM’s PGA TOUR Network.  He is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has worked with many PGA Tour players.  You can see more about him at www.drgreggsteinberg.com, and you can e-mail him at mentalrules24@msn.com

7 Feb 2013 Corina Pelloni

True potential

How many times have you heard, “I play 14 holes really well, but there’s always four holes that kill my score”?  Or, “If I could only play to my full potential.”  Even better, “My mulligan shots are so much better than my first shots.”  We’ve even felt that way ourselves.  There is always something to improve upon during a round: A misplayed chip shot, wrong club selection, or even where we left our ball to play the next shot.  One way to learn from these mistakes (among others) is to play a three-ball scramble by yourself. By playing a “solo” three-ball scramble, your students learn from their mistakes: Poor swings, bad course management, and wrong club selection.  If you are able to accompany your students while they are playing the scramble, you have an opportunity to consult after each shot, figure out what can be improved upon, and plan the next shot.  Normally, I go on the course when it is not busy and I will have the student play nine holes. We all make bad swings, but there are always things to learn from them.  It could be a poor swing path, bad posture, or too quick of a tempo.  Being able to hit three shots will help your students learn from their mistakes and help them grove their swings.  One of the most important lessons they will learn from a solo three-ball scramble is proper course management.  Being able to see a poor result due to lack of concentration is helpful, such as laying up in front of a bunker and being forced to hit a flop shot versus laying up away from the bunker, giving them more green to work with and helping them get up and down.  For many students, the lessons they learn from the course management areas will benefit their scores beyond what swing mechanics will. It is not uncommon for a 15-handicapper to shoot in the mid-70s or for a 5-handicap to shoot a few under par.  By having your students play a three-ball scramble, you can show them what their true potential can be when they have awareness of their performance.

7 Feb 2013 Corina Pelloni

USGTF – Stewards of the game

I have a bone to pick. It’s with us, the golf professionals. There was a time when we were the stewards of the game.  The first golf professional, Alan Robertson of St. Andrews, was the best player of his era, although his young apprentice Tom Morris was not far behind.  Mr. Robertson ran St. Andrews and a clubmaking company. “Old Tom,” as he was to become known, took on a position at the newly-formed Prestwick Club upon being fired for playing the new guttie ball. His boss was manufacturing the feathery and obviously did not take kindly to his young assistant embracing technology. It was at Prestwick where Tom plied his trade and became the true founding father of the modern game. He designed, laid out and maintained the course, ran events, offered instruction, ran a club and ball manufacturing company and merchandised his equipment. He was a true steward of the game who later brought his trade back to St. Andrews, where he was instrumental in growing the game, mentoring future professionals, modernizing greenskeeping, and mentoring an up-and-coming course designer named Donald Ross. Other than a few whose stars shone bright, back in the day the golf professional was looked down upon as a second-class citizen. If you have been to Great Britain and particularly Scotland, you will notice how the pro shop is separate from the main clubhouse, which the professional was prohibited to enter. His shop was his domain for golf operations, ranging from starter to clubmaker to even his domicile in some cases. The clubhouse was for amateurs who could afford the extravagance of golf.  The golf professional’s role, however, of being the steward of the course and the game was not diminished. He was the person solely drawn upon for advice with all things golf, and this has held true until sometime in the 1980s. We are diminished folks, and I think it’s time we take back our stewardship. There is a reason I am writing this article, in which I will get to momentarily, but I must digress. The game grew throughout the ’80s and was becoming big business.  Golf carts, guest fee percentages, golf club storage fees, and sometimes the merchandise operation were stripped away from the professional as club management renegotiated contracts.  Smaller retainers and commissioned sales rates were offered for managing day-to-day golf operations, while the professional maintained all revenues derived from teaching and club repair. Moving forward, the business of golf today, although big, is specialized with thinner and thinner margins in all areas of the game. Competition for the golfer’s dollar is cutthroat, what with today’s difficult economy. Reinventing oneself to capture today’s audience, which is always looking for the latest and greatest while not discounting value for dollar, is no easy task.  Golfers are putting out their dollars in four distinct areas today: green/membership fees, equipment, instruction,  and travel.  Where do we fit in? If you’re not part of golf course management and are working within the “traditional” role as a golf professional, and I use the word traditional very lightly, you are earning a living with merchandising, and maybe travel, but more so instruction. Now, how competitive is the instruction market? Everyone and their uncle call themselves a golf instructor, and with all the free online video tips capturing an audience, it is not so easy. You know what makes it worse? It’s what spawned this article. FACE PAINT. That’s right, face paint! I’m sure you’ve seen the Taylor Made commercial and ads with various pros with their faces painted like warriors. To set the record straight, I have nothing against Taylor Made or their clubs. However, is this what the game has come to? Is this what we, the former stewards of the game, have let it become? Understandably, the golf professional no longer manufactures equipment, nor does he repair clubs, excluding the odd shaft replacement, lie and loft alterations, and changing grips. Golf professionals today are much more specialized, whether we like it or not.  We run tournaments and merchandise for a pittance and we teach. The problem is we are no longer perceived as stewards of the game, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.  We are no longer leaders; we are followers.  We grew the game from its infancy until we got run over by economics.  It was bound to happen. Many professionals went the route of club manager for a better paying position, and who would blame them? Now, there are but a few leaders in the industry to which the golfing public adhere: golf course operators, the media, and equipment manufacturers. Let’s get back to face paint, shall we? Golf professionals have become sheep following the herd. The manufacturers now dictate what the golfer needs. The golfer now believes that to play better he needs the manufacturer’s latest and greatest. The manufacturer tells the golf professional he/she needs to carry their clubs because of demand. The golfer demands the manufacturers clubs. The golf professional must carry the manufacturer’s clubs or he/she will lose a sale or a possible future client for lessons (maybe).  The golf professional’s margin on high-end clubs is razor-thin, but they are a loss leader. Without them in his/her shop, there is no hope of a client. What is wrong with the aforementioned picture? Simple: The manufacturers, starting with Callaway in the early 1990s, have dictated what the golfer needs. This is not to say they haven’t played a large role in improving the game via technology, but face paint?! Seriously? Are golfers now that stupid? Have we let them become that stupid? Are we that stupid for letting it get this far? Sorry for being blunt, but the short answer is a resounding yes! Business people with a vision placed the equipment manufacturers as the leaders within OUR industry. This IS our industry. WE started it, and through vision and passion built it. The real question that now confronts OUR industry (when I say OUR industry, I mean the industry of playing golf) is do we have the vision and the guts to become the stewards of the game once again? The almighty dollar is manipulating the perceptions of the amateur golfer.  We, however, as a like-minded group know better or at least should .Our role is to teach and not dictate. Our role is to lead and not follow. The future and integrity of our profession depends on us becoming stewards of the game once again.  I have a vision. Where are you, Old Tom? I’m calling on you.

7 Feb 2013 Corina Pelloni

TIGHTENING THE V’S!

This is one of the most basic and yet advanced positions in the golf swing.  Basic, because it is something that should be taught to beginners, and advanced, because if a person is to reach advanced levels of golf, they need to employ tight V’s.  We can call it a position because it involves the positioning of the hands, but also because it is best observed at the address position.  However, this fundamentally essential principle should be maintained throughout the golf swing. Look at every single player on the PGA Tour and you will see tight V’s.  I say every single player, because I’ve not seen one yet that doesn’t have tight V’s.  Maybe there is one out there, though!  The only player that I can recall in past years who didn’t have tight V’s was Ed Fiori.  We all understand that occasionally there will be a world-class player who defies logical understanding of the golf swing and still makes it to that level of expertise. Picture it like this: The inside of the first joint up from the fingernail of each thumb should be touching the underside of the knuckle of the index finger where it connects to the palm.  Tightness in this case has nothing to do with tension, but is simply referring to tight tolerances.  In other words, no gap between the two parts. This position is of the utmost importance, because if a golfer doesn’t have tight V’s, they are forced to increase hand and forearm tension to support the club at the top, or they will lose control of the club.  At address, gravity is pulling the grip into the index finger, but at the top, gravity is pulling the grip into the V’s. A person can have both V’s parallel, the heel pad of the top hand on top of the grip, see two or three knuckles on the back of the top hand, the thumb of the top hand fitting perfectly in between the pads of the bottom hand, a perfect Vardon, interlocking, or ten-finger grip and so on…but if the V’s are not tight, the grip is problematic at best. The only reason why I mention this very basic fundamental is because I’ve seen numerous teachers who do not have tight V’s.  Excuse me for being so opinionated, but please…if you think of yourself as a golf instructor and yet you don’t have tight V’s, you are demonstrating an incorrect example for your students and handicapping your teaching. Good golfing!