Do We Need To Change How Golf is Taught?

Changing How Golf is Taught

After watching the Canadian Open this week end and watching Bubba Watson and Jim Furyk I have to ask the question - "Is there a better way to teach someone to play golf"?

This is not about WHAT we teach so much as it is about HOW we impart that knowledge.

Bubba Watson may be the best thing to happen to golf instruction in years.  For those of us that believe it is all about impact and not about what the swing looks like we have a two time Masters Champion talking about developing his on swing – not someone else’s idea of what it should be.

Then you have Jim Furyk.  He's only had one golf coach his entire life and that's his father who is quoted as saying, "I taught him to play golf, not how to swing the club".

When Lee Trevino came along the swing gurus hadn’t become so entrenched.  The really funny thing was that all those that “were in the know” said he would never last.  He went on to win six majors and become recognized as one of the greatest ball strikers ever with an odd looking swing he built himself.

Unfortunately technology has become so readily available that instructors have come to depend on it rather than develop their own skills.  The other problem is there is no unified code of instruction.  It’s all opinion and we are trained to take the opinion of the so called experts who are pushing their pet theories.  This is one thing that is killing golf.

We have taken the fun out of it.  It’s generally different with children because if you start them young and don’t let them grip the club cross handed they will more often than not develop a good golf swing just out of trial and error and have fun doing it.  Unlike adults, they do not have a fear of failure and don’t worry about looking foolish.

We need to take more of the same approach with beginners of any age and let them use trial and error with some coaching along the way to develop their own swing and have fun doing it.  Fortunately there is a growing movement that includes some of the top ranked instructors that are pushing for this.

One of the major reasons that Butch Harmon is so successful is that he tries to optimize the swing and game that got guys on the tour.  He doesn’t try to rebuild them based on some image in his own mind.  In my personal opinion that is why Tiger was so successful while he worked with Butch.

I ran across a great quote by Michael Hebron, PGA Master Professional, One of America's top 50 golf instructors.  “PGA should not be an acronym for “perfect golf alignments, but rather, pleasurable game for all.”  Encouraging participation over perfection is the best way to grow the game.” 

The main point is that it is all about impact and not how you get there.  Just relax, quit thinking, feel the club, and have fun.  

Please spread this around to your friends and leave comments.