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Teaching In Today’s Environment
Years ago, the only way lessons were given was for a student to show up on the driving range and an instructor would dispense advice after seeing a few balls hit. This was usually accomplished by fixing, or attempting to fix, the student’s most glaring visual flaw. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
As the video recorder age came about in the 1980s, it allowed teachers to break down the swing frame by frame. The emphasis became fixing not only the most glaring visual fault, but trying to correct as many as possible during the allotted time. While instructors knew about the ball flight laws, their knowledge was incorrect, as it was taught that the clubhead path through impact determined the ball’s starting direction. We know now that this is wrong, that the clubface angle mainly determines the starting direction. But with incorrect knowledge and methodology in full force, some players improved, but many didn’t.
Today in 2020, any student who wants to go see a teacher who has a launch monitor can usually find one within a reasonable drive of their home. Teachers who use launch monitors focus less on what the swing looks like and more on what the numbers say. We’ve seen this manifest itself on the pro tours, where Matthew Wolfe’s homemade swing makes Jim Furyk’s look downright conventional. But Wolfe’s teacher, George Gankas, was astute enough to know he had a talent on his hands who could repeat his swing time and time again. And since Wolfe could repeat the numbers, no changes were necessary.
While it’s not mandatory to have a launch monitor to teach, it’s becoming almost crucial. The days of a teacher going to the range to help someone without any technology are fast coming to a close. While most every teacher has access to a video system through their smartphone, it also wouldn’t hurt to invest in launch monitor technology. Any teacher who plans on teaching making a full-time career of it must have it to be competitive. Part-time teachers who can’t recoup a large investment should at least look into lower-cost options, such as FlightScope’s mevo, which is around $500.
The golf teaching industry has always evolved and will continue to do so. Teachers who stay current have the best chance of succeeding.
1-2-3 Putter Setup Golf Lesson Teaches Putting Speed Control
One of my best golf putting lessons for new players or players that are struggling with distance control in putting is my 1-2-3 putter setup golf lesson. This concept is very simple yet very powerful for players that have a difficult time controlling speed on putts.
What you want to do is to get your students to set up with a narrow putting stance on short putts, I call this the #1 setup; I only want enough space between the feet to allow 4-6 inches, or the length of one putter head. I like to actually place a putter between my feet to demonstrate the spacing. Once the spacing is in place, I instruct the player to only take the putter back to the toe of the trail foot.
I like to use a forward ball position in my putting instruction. My idea is that I really like to have my students be aware of rolling the golf ball on putts. To achieve a better roll, I like a player to feel like the putter is striking the upper half of the golf ball at impact, so I need a forward ball position.
In the setup, I instruct the player to let the weight of the putter control the strike, no extra hit, or pop in the motion. I like them to feel a pendulum motion, letting the weight of the putter control movement and the strike of the golf ball. I encourage each player to use a symmetrical movement in the exercise: Let the putter move back to the trail foot toe (right toe for right-handed player), and then let the putter head move forward in a pendulum motion past the front toe the same distance. In most cases, we are talking about a putting stroke that moves back away from the ball 6-8 inches and through the ball 6-8 inches in the #1 setup. This consistent motion will create a consistent putt that travels the same distance every time. The goal is to use five balls in practice to no target, I call this “putt to nowhere” and try to get all five balls to travel the same distance, creating a small cluster using this exercise. All the player has to do is to remember what distance they create based on #1 setup and match that distance to their setup when they play.
Short putt, #1 setup. I get a lot of 5- to 7-foot putts in the #1 setup with my students.
Once the player has created the #1 setup and motion, all they have to do is simply widen their stance to 10-12 inches for the #2 setup. I like to explain the idea of being able to space two putter heads in length between my feet. Using the same ball position, let the putter head move back to the toe of the trail foot, and with a pendulum motion, strike the golf ball with a symmetrical follow through. Because of the larger setup, the putter head will move with a longer stroke, creating a longer follow through and a longer putt. Just like in the #1 setup, each player will have to learn how far the putt rolls with the #2 stroke vs. the #1 stroke, depending on green speeds.
In the #2 setup, I get a lot of 15- to 21-foot putts with my students.
Finally, the #3 stance is 15-18 inches apart, spacing three putter heads between the feet; longer putting stroke, longer putt. As I teach this concept, I am instructing the student to feel the putting stroke, not hit the ball.
In the #3 set up, I get a lot of 30- to 40-foot putts with my students.
Over time, each player will develop a confidence in controlling speed, thus improving distance control and improving putting.
Arlen Bento Jr. is an award-winning golf coach and “Top 100” world-recognized golf instructor. He is the former head golf professional of the PGA Country Club in PGA Village and director of golf/general manager of Eagle Marsh Golf Club in Jensen Beach, Florida. He operates his indoor golf center in Stuart, Florida, and outdoor golf academy in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where he specializes in player development, and offers his highly successful “Bento Golf Method” to players that want to learn how to get better. For more information, you can contact him via his websites www.arlenbentojrgolflessons.com or www.bentogolfmethod.com.
Follow The Sun
By Thomas T Wartelle, USGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional
Washington, Louisiana
I was a kid who loved sports and the outdoors. For me, every season had a sport assigned. Baseball gloves that were soft from use in the summer became cold in the winter. Basketballs were worn out in the winter, but hardly moved in July. Sports and the outdoors were a way of life. If I wasn’t playing some game, I was trekking in the forest.
Although I played every sport offered in our area, I was always drawn to individual games like tennis. I was also a huge John McEnroe fan, mostly because he was left-handed. After baseball season was finished, my morning summer routine was to wake up as early as possible. I would eat breakfast on the fly. Then, I would ride my bike to the public park a few miles away. I would literally play tennis from sunrise to sunset. Most of this time was spent on the cracked courts at the park creating tennis mischief with my best friend Bo. He would later become influential in my golf life, and he even caddied for me on several tours around the world.
My life changed dramatically one day. I saw the shimmer of a silver shaft in the trash can near the gate. I was hoping it was some tennis-related treasure. A few months earlier in that same trash can, I found a wooden Wilson Jack Kramer tennis racquet that just needed a new grip. I was anxious to discover this day’s new find. To my surprise, it was not a tennis racquet this time. It was a golf club with the shaft broken 3/4 of the way up. What a score!
When I got home, I wrapped duct tape on the end and formed a grip. The neighbor had a few old balls in his storeroom. I took a few swings and was instantly hooked. There was one minor issue: I was left-handed and this club was for a righty. Oh well, at least it was free!
I started carrying that little five-iron everywhere, even to school. I would sneak away at recess to hit balls in the field behind the gym. I think the coach must have said something to Pop, because he asked me about it. Pop said that I needed a proper set. We drove to JCPenney and he bought me a set of Northwestern golf clubs. It was a full set, including a bag. He probably didn’t spend more than $100 for the lot. But I was so proud of that set of golf clubs. It was “high cotton” for this kid who grew up in rural Louisiana.
I decided to join my school’s golf team. During the tryouts, I shot 68 for nine holes! The coach told me I was not a golfer and to go back to baseball and tennis. A little over a year later, I was a scratch golfer. That coach sure welcomed me back with open arms.
One day, Pop decided that driving 20 miles to the public golf course was too far. He brought me down to the local private country club. Even though it was a basic small town goat ranch, one would have thought it was Augusta National. The members thought highly of themselves and the club, as well. I was an outsider around the affluent kids with their Hogan Apex irons. My homemade swing and cheap golf clubs would soon conquer their terrain.
In those days there were still a few caddies, and there were plenty of odd jobs for a 14-year-old kid to do. I occasionally caddied, picked up range balls, and became head cart boy and shoeshine expert. Along the way, I hit a lot of balls and played every chance I could get. I read every golf book at the public library twice. I wore the pages out of the books Golf with Tony Jacklin and Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons. My golf journey had begun.
My Pop was truly a special man and one of a kind. Pop liked to let you figure things out on your own. He guided and mentored, but never dictated. His sense of humor was amazing. Most of all, he was always passively supportive. When I finished my last final exam in college, I told Pop that I was going to turn pro and fly over to Europe to play the European Tour. He told me to follow my dreams. I didn’t even go to my college graduation. I turned pro the next day and drove to Florida to play mini-tour events until my venture to Europe that autumn. For the next 30 years, the game of golf took me to over 40 countries playing and teaching with some of the most influential people in my life. Pop gave me that gift with a cheap set of golf clubs from JCPenney. What an investment he had made!
Fast forward 30 years: spring turns to summer; summer turns to fall; fall turns to winter. Pop passed away late this summer. He was 90 years old. Pop had a good run and a colorful life. He was a cowboy as a kid; always had a great story, served his country, drank beer with Hank Williams, the country-and-western legend; raised six children and was married 60-plus years. He was a revered local legend in the community. Pop was the best of men. He was like the sun to me, always shining, even in his last days. His youngest son decided to pursue a passion. Pop always encouraged this pursuit. I am proud to be a professional golfer. Although Pop didn’t really play the game, he gave it to me as a lifetime gift.
With Pop gone, I now look at my own 14-year old son in a different light. I try to mentor my son the same way Pop taught me. It is funny; when I see my son from afar, I see my Pop’s mannerisms. There is definitely a genetic component at work. He inherited many of Pop’s qualities. My son loves the game of golf and works really hard. He even plays left-handed, mirroring his father’s right-handed swing. This boy (young man) has new dreams and aspirations. He will have to follow his own path in life. I will be there to caddy and to occasionally suggest the right shot. However, I have no doubt that he will follow the sun.
The Wisdom of Julius Richardson
He came to a USGTF certification course in January 1993 in Naples, Florida. It wasn’t long before he captivated everyone with his demeanor: confident yet humble, quiet yet with plenty to say, and dignified yet playful.
“He” was the late Julius Richardson, whose legacy lives on in the thousands of students he’s taught over the years. Richardson was named the USGTF’s Teacher of the 20th Century. He also is a member of the USGTF Hall of Fame and the African-American Golfers Hall of Fame, and was part of the USGTF’s first Master Golf Teaching Professional class in 1995. He is also the first – and so far only – African-American to be named to Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers list.
Born in 1921, Richardson enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II and learned to play golf while in the service. When the war ended, Richardson entered a number of military tournaments, winning many of them. He earned the nickname “Sprinkler Head” because of his unerring accuracy with the driver, reflective of a time when sprinklers were in a single row down the middle of the fairway.
Because the PGA had a Caucasians-only clause in its constitution until 1961, Richardson was unable to join that organization. But it didn’t stop him from teaching as a sideline while he forged a career as an insurance agent. Upon retiring in 1986, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, and began to give lessons there.
Richardson’s teaching style was reminiscent of Harvey Penick’s in that he did not impart a whole lot of technical advice. But don’t be fooled: Richardson knew the mechanics of the swing as well as anyone and he could speak in-depth on the most intricate areas of the swing. Then touring professional Eric Booker was a student of Richardson’s, and Booker had previously had instruction from David Leadbetter and Ken Venturi. Booker wrote a letter of praise about Richardson, saying he was the equal to those two teaching greats.
What made Richardson’s approach unique is that beginning golfers never hit a ball for the first four lessons they took with him. He showed them the fundamentals of a proper setup, and made sure his students put their hands on the grip correctly. He then had his students go through a whole program which consisted of making movements which mimicked the proper golf swing. (Think of the movie The Karate Kid, where Mr. Miyagi had Daniel execute a series of chores with specific motions that seemingly had nothing to do with karate, but in the end had everything to do with that discipline.)
After those first four lessons, only then would Richardson allow his students to hit a golf ball. Now some would question this teaching approach, and certainly it wasn’t for everyone. But Richardson was adamant that this was the best way to learn to play golf as correctly as possible, likening it to the way he was taught skills in the Army. He outlined his approach in his book Better Golf: A Skill Building Approach. While the book is out of print, it is readily available on the internet and it is a highly worthwhile read.
Although Richardson was successful teaching golf prior to 1993, after he earned his USGTF certification was when his career really took off. In addition to getting his instruction book published and being named to the Golf Magazine Top 100 Teachers list, Richardson appeared on Golf Channel’s Golf Academy Live in 2001 with host Peter Kessler. Richardson was able to present his teaching approach to a live national television audience, and his appearance drew much positive feedback. Also, as the result of his ascending career, Richardson was asked to teach at the prestigious Pine Meadow Golf Club outside Chicago. The club is owned by the famous Jemsek golf family and featured a stable of top teachers. Richardson fit right in and soon earned a loyal following.
Richardson had a keen eye and seemed to be able to diagnose any golfer’s problem quickly. He wintered in Florida and often could be seen at USGTF certification courses held in the winter there. He once observed a struggling female golfer on the range and went over to see if she could use some help. After Richardson advised her to loosen up her shoulders, the lady immediately started hitting solid shot after solid shot. The lady was thrilled beyond belief. In the tech-laden world of golf instruction, Richardson’s simple advice worked wonders and left onlookers in awe of his teaching prowess.
He eventually began slowing down and learned that he had throat cancer, a disease that would take his life in 2007. If there is any testament to the greatness that is the American dream, Richardson certainly personified it.
