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If there is one fundamental concept that pervades the psyche of all of us who play golf it is that we all would like to get better. The desire for improvement makes us all “students of the game” in some way, shape, or form, and we pursue our goals in a variety of fashions. Many of you reading this article right now have, amongst other things, taken one or more lessons from a golf professional. Your experience may have been wonderful, in which case you are probably still taking on a regular basis, or it may have somewhere between so-so and total disaster, in which case you are either still taking lessons (perhaps from a different pro) or you’ve sworn them off completely. And although it’s true that many times when things don’t work out the teacher is at fault, there are many instances when the lesson-taker plays a major role in the failure of the student-teacher relationship.
Almost everything I have ever read regarding the subject of golf lessons has focused on the instructor. What method does he use, how well does he communicate, does he use video or swing aids, does he talk a lot, does he show you how to feel the correct movements, does he give you drills to practice, does he help you with the mental side of the game, is he good with the short game, is he fun to be around, is he really helping you? Everybody wants to rate the teacher.
But there is another side of the coin. Just as there are varying levels of instructors, there is the same variation when it comes to students. And being a better or worse student has nothing to do with achieving good results, or being able to accomplish what the teacher is trying to get them to do. Instead, it is knowing how to take a lesson that makes a student a pleasure to work with or a major annoyance.
I thought it would be instructive for all current or prospective lesson-takers to understand what it might be that would make them a “good lesson”. And it follows that someone who does what it takes to be a “good lesson” usually gets more out of the information imparted during the lesson and eventually achieves their goal, which is to improve. So let’s take a look at a “perfect” lesson, one in which the student says and does all the right things, thus deriving maximum benefit from what the teacher has to offer.
Wayne: So, Joan, how’s it going? Have you been playing? You can go ahead and hit a few to warm up while we talk if you want to.
Joan: That’s O.K. I got here early and already hit balls for a while. I played once, but I’ve practiced three or four times since our last lesson.
Wayne: And how have you been hitting it?
Joan: Pretty good, actually. I mean, it’s still very off and on, some good and some bad, but I feel like I understand what I’m doing. I’ve been practicing the drills that you showed me, and I think I’m doing them better, and that seems to be making a difference in my full swing as well. I’ve also been spending time in the mirror at home, but I wanted to show you what I’ve been trying to do as far as my positions to make sure that I was doing the right things.
Wayne: That all sounds great. How did it go out on the course?
Joan: Not bad. I started off pretty lousy, but after a few holes it started to come around. I think I was getting a bit too mechanical, but then I remembered that you told me to keep my thoughts simple on the course and to take a practice swing as a rehearsal before each shot, then just try to repeat that motion. Once I cleared my mind and focused on the overall motion I did much better. I did what you suggested and took the list of things I had going through my mind before each shot and boiled them down to two simple words that got me back and through. And what also really seemed to help was the pre-shot routine we went over last time. It really kept me concentrating on each individual shot. I think I was able to set up much more consistently by going through that procedure each time. I used to see people doing that and wonder why they would waste so much time, but now I find that I actually play faster because I know what I’m doing before I hit the ball. I feel much more certain that I haven’t done anything to screw myself up before I swing.
Wayne: It sounds like you’re really getting the idea, Joan. Come on over here and let’s see what you’re doing in the mirror. Go ahead and address that ball. (Joan walks over, sets herself up parallel to the shaft I’ve set on the ground and gets ready to swing.) O.K., now take it back slow and show me what you’ve been trying to do at home. (Joan swings slowly to the top of her swing.)
Joan: (Looking in the mirror) I remember how uncomfortable this stretch was when you first showed it to me. I thought you were crazy to think that I was flexible enough to turn my shoulders that much without moving my lower body almost the same amount. But I have to admit, after a few months of doing those flexibility exercises you showed me I can really feel the difference. This coiling does not feel that hard to do now. Now, what I wanted to ask you was when I’m here at the top, should my wrist be flat or bent like it is now?
Wayne: That’s a good question. Too much of anything is probably not a good idea, but a little bit of bend or “cup”, in the left wrist is a good idea, and a position that a lot of the best ball-strikers get into at the top. If the wrist is too flat it tends to shut the clubface and restrict the cocking of the wrist, which we need eventually to store up power in the downswing.
Joan: That seems pretty important. Hold on a second while I write that in my notebook. That’s just the kind of thing that I tend to forget when we move on to other areas. I hate it when you have to tell me the same thing every lesson. If I don’t write this stuff down there’s no way I can remember it all. There is just so much that needs to be done right. It helps when I can organize my thoughts, especially when I come out to practice. I used to show up at the range with no idea whatsoever as to what I was going to do for the next hour or two, and if I started hitting it poorly I couldn’t find a way to correct myself. Usually I would end up getting frustrated and leaving. Needless to say, I didn’t improve much.
Wayne: Making notes is a great idea. So is practicing effectively. Just be careful to remember that the swing is a motion, and a continuous one at that, and if you get too bogged down in details you run the risk of becoming too stiff and mechanical. Practicing the pieces of the swing is important, because if you don’t do something correctly you need to understand and repeat the correct motion so that you can feel a difference between what you usually do and what you would like to change to. But this is only part of the practice. After working on positions or drills for a while go ahead and hit some full shots and try to incorporate the feel of the new position into your motion. Move through the positions when you look at them in the mirror. Keep watching, but keep moving. Like you found out when you played, on the course you have no time to deal with the details of the swing. The best you can do is to give yourself one or two simple, one word reminders to get you going back and coming through. Your practice must prepare you for the course.
Joan: That’s a great point. I’m a very analytical person, and I think that you’re right. I tend to lose the big picture. I’ll be sure to incorporate more movement into my practice sessions on the range and at home in the mirror. Can I hit a few drivers for you now? And take a picture of it, please. I love to see my swing on the video. Nothing is as big a help as seeing whether or not I’m doing what I’m picturing myself do. I’m constantly amazed at how hard it is to really change my swing. But I think I’m on the right track, and if I just keep plugging away I’ll keep making progress. And that’s what it’s all about, right?
Wayne: You’re exactly right. O.K., now go ahead and hit a few. (Joan hits a few weak fades off the heel, and I decide to take a video of her swing. I get two pictures from behind her and two from the front). C’mon over here, Joan, and let’s look at these swings.
Joan: Those sure weren’t very good shots. I’ve been hitting some of my drives like that on the course. I’ll be very interested to see what it looks like.
Wayne: (Watching the video) Do you see how the club is swinging way around you going back? This is too inside, and once your arms get behind you, you lift the club up over your head, where the downswing motion then takes you outside the proper path. You end up holding the face open to avoid pulling the ball way to the left, and the result is a weak fade.
Joan: So, in other words, my takeaway gets the ball rolling in the wrong direction, then the mistakes just kind of pile up on each other until I’m left with a bad shot.
Wayne: That’s pretty much the case with everyone’s swing, even the best players. Early mistakes lead to later compensations. This is why it’s so hard to fix a swing quickly. If you attack the early mistake and succeed in changing it for the better, there is no guarantee that the ensuing compensations will change right away. Some swing problems are fairly complicated, and merely fixing one piece of the overall chain of mistakes will not immediately produce better shots. Such as in your case. We need to make your takeaway better, but there is a good probability that the rest of the swing will stubbornly remain the same until you understand how the overall pattern of the swing needs to change as well. If we get the club more in front of you going back, but it still swings up and over the top coming down, you may very well hit it worse.
Joan: But if I understand the sequence of the problems and that it will take time to work it all out I won’t get too frustrated if the ball doesn’t fly great right away.
Wayne: Right. The really hard thing about changing your swing and making permanent improvements is that many things need to be accomplished in a very short period of time, in the proper sequence and in the right combinations, for the motion to function effectively and consistently. I tell people all the time that if the game were easy or simple there would be a lot more good players. It’s not at all easy, and even if you fully understand conceptually what it is you have to do that doesn’t mean that your body is going to be willing to do what you ask of it. When the athletic action is as complicated and difficult as the golf swing, the body and the subconscious mind conspire to keep doing whatever comfortably has produced acceptable results. Major change is quite terrifying to a body that remembers how hard it was to learn to hit the ball in the first place.
Joan: But at least I feel like I understand the direction I’m going in. I just want to be better in the long run. A little short term success wouldn’t be bad, but now that I know what I have to do I’m ready for the struggle.
Wayne: I’ll do everything I can to keep you playing good golf while we learn, but I won’t Band-Aid you with anything that’s not correct and could come back to haunt you and make getting better even more difficult. If I’m good at what I do I should be able to get you to play well while you improve your technique. I’m not successful with everyone, but I always give it 100%, and I am actually quite flexible. I have learned over time that there are many ways to skin a cat, and there are many variations of effective golf swings.
Joan: Sounds good to me. I’m having fun doing it, so let’s keep hammering away.
Obviously, teaching Joan is a pleasure. She is interested, involved, prepared, and has a great attitude. If all my lessons were like this each day of work would fly by. So let’s end up with a short list of things a student can do to be what a teacher would consider a great lesson:
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