23 Feb 2017

The Madness of Golf Instruction

The great Bob Torrance, father of European Tour legend Sam Torrance, was once asked by Ernie Els to have a look at his swing. Els had been struggling with his game and had recently missed several cuts. He was certain there was some flaw in his backswing. Bob Torrance had been walking the driving range, a common sight back then at many European Tour events. Mr. Torrance didn’t say a word. He looked at Els’ swing from several different teaching positions. This went on for about 10 minutes. Not a word. Then he said directly and in his stylistic way, “There is nothing wrong with your swing. Now go play golf!” Ernie Els won the British Open the following week. In my opinion, there is a disturbing trend in modern golf instruction. Many golf instructors today complicate the golf swing. I have a profound respect for fellow golf professionals; however, some of the concepts and verbiage I hear coming out of their mouths are pure folly! I know several “Top Teachers” named by famous magazines and TV channels (many who are personal friends of mine) who teach and discuss the golf swing as if they are sending a rocket to Mars. Some of the invented terms, phrases, and concepts are truly atrocious. If it wasn’t so sad, it would be laughable. I have yet to figure out if these instructors are ego driven or just poor communicators, or a combination of both. To boot, they continuously cite the ball flight numbers from their launch monitors to further prove their theories. Don’t get me wrong; I am certainly not anti-science or technology. I have a degree in science and love the mechanics of how things work. I can sit for hours and discuss the physics of the golf swing with any golf instructor. However, in my own teaching, you will rarely hear me mention to a student any complicated instruction. There is no need for an explanation to the student about the D-plane or “going normal” or all of the other terms these instructors invent. These terms might have a place in a biomechanical discussion of the golf swing, but in general, they have no business being presented on the lesson tee. The average student, or for that matter, many tour pros, couldn’t care less about any of these terms. They just want to see results that are easily duplicated. Certainly, there are times when some students could benefit from some science. But the reality is, simple instruction leading to an acceptable and repeatable result for that player is the best form of teaching. My goal as a golf instructor is to use as few words as possible to convey a message and get results. That is why I so often use image and feel to get my point across. I want to be clear: As a golf instructor, it is important to understand and continue to educate yourself on biomechanics and technology. Having this knowledge can be important to the instructor to diagnose certain problems in a golf swing. However, it is not necessary to give a student all of this knowledge or science. This will mostly lead to more confusion. I once heard a great musician say that he didn’t become a truly great musician until he learned to be mature enough to conserve notes and leave some space in the music. The golf swing is simple: take a club and hit the ball. Remember how a child learns most psychomotor skills, by doing the action. We certainly can refine motions by simple thoughts. But remember, the golf swing is under 1.5 seconds from the move away to impact. The more you guide or force the movements, the more complex the action becomes. Many students’ problems in their golf swing stem from a flaw in their grip, stance, and setup position. This leads to compensations during the swinging action. To have a successful impact with a golf ball, physics dictates that one needs five things to be correct: center of contact, speed, angle of approach, clubface position at impact, and club path position at impact. But these impact positions can’t be forced. Impact is a direct result of setup fundamentals and the swinging action. How a student achieves this can take on many forms. However, the moment of truth is impact. In other words, just hit the ball! Then learn to get the ball in the hole in the fewest shots possible, like Ernie Els.
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22 Feb 2017

Memories From A Lifetime In Golf

Observing my 11-year old son grow up in the game of golf is such a wonderful gift. As I watch him traverse the golf course, it brings back my own childhood memories. My son is lucky; his poppa plays golf and is a golf professional. I did not have such a luxury as a kid. While my son has been playing golf since he could walk, I started relatively late – the ripe old age of 13.

It started when I found a broken club in a trash bin. A little duct tape and voila, my journey began. I grew up in a large athletic family; however, nobody in my family really played golf. Later, I found out that my grand poppa had been a scratch golfer in the 1920s. He had also played college baseball and once played against Ty Cobb. I never knew him as he died years before I was born. My journey was solo. I learned it on my own.

I first learned to swing a club by hacking old golf balls in the neighborhood. I went to the public library and checked out many golf books, one being by the legendary Tony Jacklin (1969 Open and 1970 U.S. Open champion). I did everything he said to do in that book. Later in life, I had the pleasure to meet T.J., and now I call Mr. Jacklin my friend. I recently had the chance to introduce Mr. Jacklin to my son Gabriel. The torch has been passed!

After I read all the golf books in the library, I decided I was ready. My pop dropped me off at the local muni golf course. I played about 45 holes that day! I was so enthralled that I went to the local private country club and cut a deal with the old pro. If I caddied, picked up balls and worked around the shop, I could hit all the range balls I wanted. Paradise! I shined shoes to make money to gamble with the older boys. I began to beat the older boys. Thus, I was off to my 30+ years of golf obsession.

Like many who spent their youth around a golf course, I have a plethora of golf anecdotes, so many that I have decided to start to write them down before I forget. I think my golf stories have to start with one of my best friends, Bo. His full name will not be revealed to protect the innocent. I have known Bo since birth. I started golf before him, but he soon followed my lead. Before we discovered golf, we were formidable tennis players in the public park. No matter what sport he played, Bo had the uncanny ability to play well when he was angry. He was also good at every sport he played. The madder he got, the better he played. This naturally carried over to golf.

Bo was frequently my teammate and caddie. He was also one of my first students and test subjects. I taught him the flop shot. He learned fast and soon possessed a Seve-like short game, which he exploited too frequently. We often amused ourselves by trying to hit flop shots over a 15-foot tall tennis court fence. We constantly tried to break the “world record” of who could get the closest to the fence and still carry the ball over the top without hitting the chain link fence. I will swear to this day that one night, Bo managed to set a high mark. He placed a ball about two inches away from the fence and somehow hit his old Ping Eye 2 sand wedge right over the 15-foot fence without touching a thing. (I later officially tied the record after many attempts.) Phil Mickelson would have been jealous.

Bo had perfected another feat. He could hit a balata ball with his putter over 260 yards. This was done “baseball” style with a flick of the ball in the air and whack, into the greenskeeper’s shed. He frequently did this when he had a bad hole. Of course, he would then make three birdies in a row. To boot, Bo had probably one of the ugliest golf swings I ever saw. But he was a scratch golfer and fierce competitor. Later in life when I turned pro, he would caddie for me on the European Tour. What a team! So many laughs, so much mischief, so much joy (and a little heartbreak) the game of golf has brought me… and taught me.

So, for my first installment of reminiscing, here’s to you, Mr. Jacklin and Bo! A library book inspired an adventure. Two kids from a small Louisiana town traveled the world golfing, laughing, arguing, crying, and chasing a dream. One kid turned out to be an engineer, the other a professional golfer. Both kids are still best friends. Both still dream of green-grassed fairways with the early morning dew still sparkling in the morning sun. Hey Bo, if we get up early tomorrow, we still might have a chance to make it on the Tour! (To be continued…)
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21 Feb 2017

Progress Report

In school we normally received a progress report every semester. It showed where your grades were and would give you a good idea of where you were doing well or where you needed to improve. In golf, we need to do this also, but it comes in two different forms.

As a player, we need to assess where we are, both good and bad. It can be like a report card with A, B, C, D or F grades. Beyond the grade, we need to add notes that get specific on what needs to be worked on. Once we have our progress report, then we can design our practice routine to help our improvement. This is called self-evaluation, something a lot of us are already doing.

Our students need help in this area, too. While they might perform self-evaluations, their judgment can be biased a bit. If you visit with your students about their progress, it will help their “report card” become better defined and more accurate. Plus, it gives them a great chance to develop their practice routine with their professional golf instructor.

From PGA Tour players to the weekend warriors, everyone needs to assess where their game is, with both strengths and weaknesses. Developing a plan is the only way to get better. Your students are lucky to have someone who is professionally trained to help them with through this process.
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15 Feb 2017

Breaking Out of a Slump

Not long ago, Rory McIlroy was the number one player in the world. With four majors, amazing power and youth on his side, it seemed like Rory would dominate golf for years to come. Then he fell into an amazing putting slump. Rory recently mentioned that he lost his confidence so bad that he only believed that he could make three-footers. Anything longer than that would be a struggle and it was! Then Rory did something very smart to break out of his putting slump. He changed everything. He changed his putting instructor, his grip and his putter. It worked. He went from one of the worst putters on the PGA Tour for the past two years to having one of the best putting performances at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He won this event with his laser-like irons along with his amazing putting! Rory McIlroy was following a psycho-logical process to break out of a slump: change can help eradicate a slump. Newness of a grip or club gives you a different mindset, and with this renewed mindset comes renewed confidence. Next time you are in a slump, or you have a student in a slump, you may want to try a simple strategy: change. This small step can result in a huge leap in performance for the better. Please visit www.MasteringGolfPsychology.com for more articles on the mental game, and your free mental game e-book. Also, visit this site to get certified as a mental game coach by the International Golf Psychology Association. The IGPA is the coaches division of the USGTF and the program is highly endorsed by the International PGA. About the author: Dr. Gregg Steinberg is ranked by Golf Digest as one of the world’s greatest sports psychologist. He is the head sports psychologist for the USGTF and IGPA. He has worked with Tour winners such as Brandt Snedeker and Brian Gay, as well as NCAA championship golf teams such as the University of Florida and the University of Alabama.
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Bagpipes and Golf Clubs
10 Feb 2017

Bagpipes and Golf Clubs

As the gentleman left the last green and headed for his golf cart, he was muttering under his breath and whacking his putter into the ground. His playing partner politely asked, “What’s up, Herbie?”“Well, I will give you a hint,” replied Herbie. “The same people that invented golf think that music comes out of bagpipes!” Scots will have you believe they invented golf and they invented the Great Highland Bagpipe. Neither is true, but there is no doubt the Scots have taken possession of the myth and have made each what they are today. We can thank them and curse them, as we often do. Playing golf and playing bag-pipes are equally difficult, even at the beginner stage! I have been playing golf for 40 or so years. I got my handicap down to 10 at one time, but so long ago it is a distant memory. Now I am about a 20, golf once per week with my golf buddies, and we tee off from the “old guys” tee box, just one back from the forward tees. I also play the bagpipes but started just eight years ago. Why and how I got started is a story for another day, but suffice to say I thought that with just nine notes, playing the pipes should be easy. I am about a 20 handicap with the pipes, as well. There is a big pipe and drum summer camp at the resort where my wife and I live. There are about 200 pipers and drummers at this camp every week and range in age from eight years to 80. One of the “more mature” pipers asked the head instructor if there was any chance for older pipers to become good on the pipes. He answered, “Well, we know of one older chap that became a world class piper.” “How old was he when he started,” asked the ancient. “I think he was 12,” was the answer. There is no substitute for youth. They are generally fit and they have no fear. They learn the pipe tunes quickly and their fingers are nimble. When they golf, they watch and they do. I started the pipes when I was a ripe old 67 years of age. My fingers are bent and stiff and I have to work at remembering tunes. When I started, I took a weekly lesson and attended band practice twice a week for over a year. I can now play the simple tunes bands play when they are marching down the street, am able to stay in step, and when I make a mistake, I make sure I do so “on the beat” so no one notices. As well as playing and marching at the same time, I am able to sidestep the piles of horse-apples that seem to be an inevitable part of parades. (Those parade organizers really have to change the horse’s diet or not put them just in front of the pipe band, as there is no soft peddle on the volume we create.) Now that winter is approaching, I look forward to teaching cross-country skiing. How does this all tie in? It all has to do with fitness. The X-C skiers that come to us for lessons are usually older adults. The sport demands the skier have the ability to balance on one gliding ski at a time, and the folks really need some strength in the legs and a matching strength in the arms/upper body. Unfortunately, the students generally have strong-ish legs as they spend some time walking, but they are not able to balance on one ski for any length of time and are not able to add the push with their ski poles to balance the push from their legs. Stance and balance! Sound familiar? The same is true for beginner golfers or golfers wanting to improve. The lad I take golf lessons from and I agree that the biggest hurdle we have to overcome with students is that we can teach them the proper technique, but we cannot teach them fitness. As with my golf, the bagpipes continue to be a challenge. For the instructors out there, if you have forgotten what it feels like to be a beginner, try learning the Great Highland Bagpipes. You just might be able to get an additional gig as the piper that many golf resorts around the world employ who pipe the sun down at the end of the day. That would give you the chance to do what I refer to as a Great Scot’s Triathlon: Teach golf during the day, pipe the sun down in the evening and repair to the club bar in your kilt and have the members shout you a dram and a Guinness!
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7 Feb 2017

Forget Trying To Play Like A Pro Unless You’re Willing To Put In The Time

From 1977 to 2013, there were six rounds of 59 scored on the PGA tour. That is a span of 36 years. Already this year there have been two rounds under 60. There was even a 58 shot on the Web.com tour. Professional golfers are overpowering courses of late. Justin Thomas just shot 27 under par to win the Sony Open with the lowest 72-hole total in history. At the recent Tournament of Champions, seven golfers hit drives over 400 yards with Dustin Johnson topping the charts at 427. I would need a driver and 3-iron to get where Dustin did in one shot. I guess this is the future of golf.

The question I pose: Is all this good for golf? For the pros, maybe, but for the average guy, it is hard to say. I can’t tell you how many students come to me and ask why they only hit their driver 240 yards. They want me to teach them how to hit it 300. When I ask them why, they say because that’s how far the professionals hit it. Okay I tell them, here’s the plan. First you should lose about 40 pounds and start going to the gym every day. Then you must hit about 300 balls after. And guess what the answer is – “Well, I don’t have time for all of that.” So, my advice to all you tour wannabes is fuhgeddaboudit. You’re not playing to put bread on the table, so play like you have a day job. You’ll have a lot more fun.
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