Truth in Teaching Golf

I wanted to share a conversation that I had the other day with one of my students, a 50 year old fellow named John who I’ve been teaching for a couple of years, although not consistently as he stays in Florida half the year and takes lessons sporadically when he is in Maryland. He has become a good friend, inviting my wife and I to stay at his condo in Park City, Utah the last two years (we accepted and had a great time), and I was pleased to be able to return the favor by having him play on my team in the TaylorMade Invitational last year in Cabo San Lucas. He wants to be a good player, but he suffers from poor technique, and has had a difficult time incorporating the major changes I believe he needs to make. It pains me to watch him make the same mistakes over and over, and our lessons almost always include a dose of lecturing about the nature of the game, swing technique, and how to improve. This last lesson was no different, as John has been bedeviled by his inconsistency in every aspect of the game except putting.
 
John: How can I hit the ball so well one shot and totally goof the next one? I play a hole like a pro then play the next one like a beginner. I hit one drive 270 yards and the next one 220. All my shots move left to right. I feel like I’m doing more of what you want me to do.
 
Wayne: I hear you. Let’s check out the video. (I tape a swing and we sit in front of the computer to watch on split screen). Your backswing is very good up to left arm parallel, and that is a big improvement from what it used to be. From left arm parallel in the backswing to left arm parallel in the forward swing your swing is quite simply not very good. Your right arm over-bends and causes your left arm to buckle almost in half, you wait until your hands are completely behind your head to begin your forward leg movement, you lean your upper body past your lower and ahead of the ball to transfer your weight, your right arm reverses and you have almost completely released well before impact. There is no way you can hit the ball consistently well like this.
 
John: But what about the good shots hit? If I can do it once, why can’t I do it all the time? Is it in my head?
 
Wayne: No, it’s not in your head. It’s in your technique. When you hit a good shot it’s the exception, more luck than anything else. Your technique is poor. You lack any awareness of what is happening in transition when you swing. You can get it started ok and eventually hit the ball, but from here to here (I draw a line at left arm parallel and run the swing from there back to the same place in the downswing) you just black out. We’ve gone over this many times. You need to stop collapsing your right arm and give your arms some structure. You can’t wait until you go back as far as you can to start your hips. The fix for this is a combination move that you really haven’t committed to changing. It’s a big task, and a tough one, but I know you want to be a good player and it’s not going to happen until you make some progress with the middle of your swing. I can show you every one of these “model” swings on the V1 (there are hundreds) and none of them, and that means zero, look like your swing. There is not one that’s even close. That means that you can’t have a model swing doing what you do.
 
John: But I try. I really do want to get better.
 
Wayne: I know you do. But you have to do what it takes to get better. Everybody wants to get better, but few are willing to do the work. There is aggravation involved with changing things, as you have to try it on the course for it to eventually be of use, and things don’t always go so well when you are in the middle of figuring out what you need to think about when you swing. If you don’t think you will just continue to swing the same way, and I don’t think you want to stay a 14 handicap forever. You could be much better, but wishing it were so doesn’t make it so. You lack awareness of what you are doing in a crucial part of the swing, and if you are not at least somewhat aware of where you are and how you are moving in space you can’t change. That’s why good players practice so much, because the swing is so complex and happens so quickly that it takes many repetitions to develop any type of feel for what you are doing. And after that (and during) you have to look at it on video to see what happens when you think different things. We always do the same type of thing: we film the swing, look at it, decide what needs to be changed, go over the look and feel of the change, find ways to practice the new item and incorporate it into your swing, and then try to take it out on the course. It’s up to you to put in the practice time, commit to the change, and try it on the golf course. I see you hitting balls, but I don’t see you doing the stop and goes or doing the drills that we come up with for you to practice. I never see you look in a mirror. You could use your phone to film the swing. You’re a smart guy. You don’t need me to oversee your practice sessions.
 
John: (Sighing). Yeah, I hear you. It’s just hard. I don’t seem to have any feel for what I’m doing when I get close to the top of the swing.
 
Wayne: You always do the same thing. If your swing feels anything like comfortable or normal you are making the same mistakes. If it doesn’t feel quite different I can assure you that it’s not. You have to exaggerate to get anywhere. The video record of your swing proves that these swing issues are chronic. This (pointing at the screen) is your “natural” swing. You can swing that way all you want with no thought, but you’re a 14 handicap for life (or worse) like that.
 
John: (Smiling). Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?
 
Wayne: Look, I’m not here to pat you on the back, make you feel good, and take your money. My job is to help you get better, and so far we’ve done a little, but not nearly as much as we should have by now. We go over the same things pretty much every lesson, and I think enough of your ability to think that you can do better. So I’m going to try to squeeze it out of you. You’ll have a lot more fun with the game when you can hit the ball better.
 
John: Ok, I get the message. Now, let’s get to work.

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