What to expect from a lesson and choosing an Instructor
By: B. J. Hathaway, G.S.E.B., M.C.I.Think of a golf lesson as being similar to a visit to your doctor. He will do some basic diagnostics like checking your pulse, weight and blood pressure before you sit down to discuss your concerns. Then it's time to tell him what the problem is and the dialog begins. A good golf lesson will be similar in many ways.
1. Your teaching pro should watch you hit some shots and may not say much. The good instructor is looking at key alignments to see what the root problems are. He may use video to help identify the issues more clearly and to let you see them for yourself. If the instructor does NOT use video then look somewhere else! No one can clearly see what is going on with the golf swing at 100 mph with the naked eye, and from the student standpoint you WANT to see yourself on video-no matter how painful it might be- so that you can see what is "feel versus real"!
2. Once he has established the key issues, he or she should begin the dialog process of asking questions and giving you feedback on the difference between what you feel and what is really happening. Remember some of what you feel is not real when it comes to the swing!
3. He or she should then offer solutions or drills to help you change the problems.
2. Once he has established the key issues, he or she should begin the dialog process of asking questions and giving you feedback on the difference between what you feel and what is really happening. Remember some of what you feel is not real when it comes to the swing!
3. He or she should then offer solutions or drills to help you change the problems.
Now, here are some things a good teacher should not do.
1. Stand there and just watch you hit balls the entire session as a cheerleader. Everyone loves praise and there are times when you should be told about the good things you are doing, BUT their job is to help you improve and if your Pro is only telling you what you want to hear then either you are having a perfect day or they are being a salesman and not an instructor.
2. Remain quiet and leave you wondering what to do. Although it may take several minutes to discern what ails your swing, a good instructor will soon begin the discussion of what needs to be done and why.
3. Offer too much information. There are occasions where an instructor may know this was a one time visit, but other than that you should be receiving limited information. The qualified Pro should give you one or two key elements to work on, even though they know there may be a dozen! It is very difficult for even advanced players to change too many things at one time because your mind and body get confused and you lose ability to focus when you have too much information. Your teacher may discuss other issues with you to let you know how they relate to your current situation, but they should give you one or two key things to work on until they feel those areas are improved.
Now let's talk about what to look for in an instructor. Whether you choose them from the yellow pages or referral, it pays to find out what this person has to offer.
* Many of you would be surprised to know that more than a few teaching professionals do not have much of a foundation to support their ideas. They may get new ideas from this month's golf magazine or the new DVD on the market. Although their intentions are good and they want to help you, they are quite frankly lost in the shuffle of information that bounces around constantly and that will not help your game in the long run.
* The method teacher. These are the folks that teach the same swing to every single person who steps onto the lesson tee regardless of age, flexibility or ability. Don't get me wrong, most methods have validity for SOME people, but not everyone swings the same and not everyone can make progress from the cookie cutter mold that some teachers use. You can look like Davis Love III but it doesn't mean you can swing like him!
* The fundamentals teacher. These are the people you want to spend your money with because they have spent many an hour researching and learning the science of the golf swing -why and how it works. They understand that there is no "the way" to swing a golf club because there are quadrillions (that's 15 zero's folks) of ways to effectively hit a golf ball, but every one of those employs key alignments that you must have to make a repeatable motion. Every one of us at the Medicus Golf Institute and The Golfing Machine are rigorously trained to discern how YOU swing the club and what corrections need to be made in YOUR swing and the information is based on the geometry and physics of the golf swing, not opinion!
* The method teacher. These are the folks that teach the same swing to every single person who steps onto the lesson tee regardless of age, flexibility or ability. Don't get me wrong, most methods have validity for SOME people, but not everyone swings the same and not everyone can make progress from the cookie cutter mold that some teachers use. You can look like Davis Love III but it doesn't mean you can swing like him!
* The fundamentals teacher. These are the people you want to spend your money with because they have spent many an hour researching and learning the science of the golf swing -why and how it works. They understand that there is no "the way" to swing a golf club because there are quadrillions (that's 15 zero's folks) of ways to effectively hit a golf ball, but every one of those employs key alignments that you must have to make a repeatable motion. Every one of us at the Medicus Golf Institute and The Golfing Machine are rigorously trained to discern how YOU swing the club and what corrections need to be made in YOUR swing and the information is based on the geometry and physics of the golf swing, not opinion!
My recommendation to those who really want to improve: find a qualified instructor who is professional, courteous and a good communicator. Ask them what they teach and how it will help your game. The job of your instructor is to give you good information and show you how to apply it. Remember, they can't MAKE you improve! Your job is to listen and apply. It sounds simple but that's the real key, listen and apply. We can't follow you home or make you practice, we give you the information and the keys.
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