The Pay Off of Golf Instruction

Over the summer I have worked with dozens of players of all levels and abilities. Some have been extremely dedicated at working toward their swing improvement that they desired.

Those that have excelled the most were ones who “took responsibility” for their current swing while at the same time desiring a new swing. These students committed to a series of lessons (usually 4-8) and asked “what am I doing wrong and what can you help me to improve on to do better or right”?

I began with a detailed video analysis of each players swings and looked at the overall swing and as with most lessons, I will “identify” one or two major areas in the swing that are causing a “chain reaction” of things to occur in a poor direction.

As I tell all students, when your body has better mechanics and better angles in their body (spine angle at address, body tilt at address and rotational axis) then the swing they will begin to see will fall into a better “sequencing of positions” as they progress.

Players with poor postures, body angles and flexibility have the most difficult times at finding improvement in their golf swings.  However, as I “identify” these points that need attention, the learning curve becomes much easier for all students.

There is no doubt golfers who have the time to commit to working at their swing changes have a better chance of finding a faster increase of improvement.  However all that time does not have to be at the golf course as my students know.  I give almost all students drills, feelings and positions to work on with their swings while at home or in their office.

The pay off for these dedicated students this year that I have seen is a dropping of their handicaps of 2-5 strokes (a few instances of 7-9) and comments such as ” you have improved my game so much I am shocked to see where I am today compared to three months ago”.

With all of my students I not only explain that these positions and fundamentals in their swings are important, but also their mind set when they play.   What are they expecting to create with each shot?  What are their thoughts before, during and after each swing?  Are they visualizing the exact outcome they desire to see?

All of the above questions  I asked at first were generally answered by a blank look on each players face.  But as our lessons progressed and my suggestions to them become greater as to how much they have to do with each shot in regards to the creation of shots they would see when they played, they began to “take responsibility” for their game!

This is a huge statement!  Most golfers play by “default”, meaning they let the swing happen and just take what they see.  I find that interesting, because they do not operate in the rest of their lives that way.  They are deliberately trying to create a new job, better work place, new car or home or happier home environment.   Most golfers do not see the same “power” they have in those areas they also have with their golf game.

I encourage each of you to take golf lessons, own the learning process of a better swing and game, hold the vision of where you wish to go and proceed to see where the pay off for your dedication will lead you.  It is never too late to improve, and you are a VERY POWERFUL CREATOR!