Teaching Philosophy

"The only purpose for a golf swing is to move the club squarely through the back of the ball at maximum speed.  It is of no significance how this is done as long as it is a method than can be repeated.”  (Taken from “Practical Golf” by John Jacobs, Page 15)

My teaching approach, is invariably very similar to that of John Jacob’s, simply for the fact of the many years of influence and apprenticeship I have had under his tutelage.  I have watched many great teachers, but none in my opinion have worked with golfers at all levels of ability with such excellence.    

Knowing that golf is much more than golf swings, as teachers we find most of our time working on the full swing, therefore that is what I will comment on the most.  Every golf lesson, with no exception to the aspect of the game you are working on, should have the sequence of Diagnosis, Explanation, Correction.  When we are helping someone to be a better ball striker, therefore a better player, it is very important that we make the correct, diagnosis.  If we fail in this first step, we will be working from a false foundation for the rest of the lesson.  When making our initial diagnosis of a golf swing it is important to look from down the line of the flight of the ball, not facing the player.  Of course we can see the grip, and ball position more clearly from in front of the player, and may need to do that occasionally, but the real meat of the information needed is gained from the side of the player (down the line).

Situated in this position, we can see most importantly the flight of the ball, which tells us almost everything we need to know, along with the players swing path and his club face position at impact.  I believe our diagnosis needs to start with the ball flight, not the swing shape.  It is possible to change the swing shape, making it look “better”, but make a players impact to the ball worse.    

There are only three factors that must come together to give the player good crisp golf shots on a consistent basis.  The club face must arrive to the ball squarely, the swing path must be moving straight through the ball toward the target, (actually in to in) and the angle the club approaches the ball must be relatively level to the ground.   There is a fourth variable, club head speed.  Amazingly enough when the player is doing the things that cause the face, path and angle to be correct, 9 times out of 10 they will also be doing the things that cause their club to swing at maximum speed.

After some simple training it is fairly easy to diagnose these three impact factors by the flight of the ball.  So simply stated; the ball tells us about what is happening at impact, which tells us what the player must change in order to correct their impact.  Ball flight first, then impact, then changes to the players set up, or swing.

Once we are sure we have made an accurate diagnosis, then we explain our diagnosis to the student.  Video, is very helpful to show the student, very much like a doctor uses an X-Ray, however, the video is not the final say, the ball flight is.  It is possible to get a person’s swing to look very good, even have the club swinging on the correct plane and have the ball behaving worse than when we started.  During the explanation, you are informing them of what you are asking them to change and what you are expecting of them.  The explanation is very important, if we explain well, then they are convinced of your diagnoses and are willing to give it 100% of their effort to do what is being asked of them.  It is very important to be able to demonstrate any golf shot you are asking the student to perform.  It will earn respect for you as the teacher, as well as give the student the visual image of what is expected. 

The diagnosis, and the explanation, are both relatively easy compared to the correction.  The correction, takes patients, virtue, knowledge and experience.  I believe we should strive to correct the players impact with as few changes as possible.  We all know changes are uncomfortable and challenging.  As much should be done at address as possible to allow the player to get into the best position for them; to allow them their best chance of making a good swing with the desired result.  Often times if we are dealing with better players a set up change is all that is needed.  This allows the club to arrive at the ball that little bit different, that is needed to effect the change. 

We should note that there are three set up factors that control our three impact factors more directly than others.  The grip controls the face, shoulder alignment controls the swing path and a players posture controls the angle of approach.  Of course these are not the only contributing factors, but they are the major ones.  Many times we can effect a very positive change in a players impact and ball flight, by simply changing their address position.  If we have a clear vision in our mind of where the player is and where we want them to get, based upon these foundational factors, we can coach and teach them to get to where they need to be to play their best golf.

During the correction, whether we use drills to help them feel the change, or swing keys during their swing, we should be very careful to note what kind of student we have in front of us.  Here lies the wisdom of the teacher.  Each student is different, they learn differently and they have diverse expectations.  We must be careful not to expect each student to react the same.  Therefore we must quickly learn not only how to change the swing but how best to relate to each student.  Some learn by seeing, others by hearing, others more by doing and feeling.  As teachers we must be able to pick up on each persons personality and learning style as quickly as possible to be able to help them the most effective way possible.  I have found it very helpful as a part of my initial diagnosis, to ask the student a few questions to get a feel for their expectations and their learning style.   

There are no two students the same and no two golf swings exactly the same, that is why it is important to teach people how to play better golf, rather than simply teaching golf to people.  There is a difference in my opinion, between pure golf, and practical golf.  Pure golf would be more like the golf lessons David Ledbetter has had with Nick Faldo.  Practical golf is most everything else.  We must learn how to maximize each players potential, with the least amount of changes in the shortest period of time.