About Golf Instruction

Thursday, September 16, 2010

What is there about golf instruction that makes players think they can do it just because they play?  Any kind of instruction follows a process.  What is most important in the teaching process: 1) knowing how much the student already knows. 2) know what their abilities and capabilities to learn what you are going to teach. 3) Your ability to communicate with the student at a level that they can understand. 4) understanding attention spans and when enough information has been relayed to the student.  Give them things to accomplish and give time to practice.

 Now lets look at the process:

• What does the player know?  How much as he played?  Does he have a grasp of the fundamentals?      Can he make an athletic move while swinging?
• What are his limitations?  Does he have any physical restrictions?  Are there any handicaps we need to be aware of?  Is he a fast, medium, or slow learner?
• What is your ability to communicate?  Can you transfer your knowledge to him effectively?  Are you    patient and knowledgeable enough to present alternatives to accomplish the task you are trying to achieve?
• What is their attention span?  How long should a session be?  When do they start getting frustrated?  When is there is too much information?

Most all people learning the game knows what a good swing looks like.  And, most think that they look the same way.  People learn the most visually and as a result their first swing can be almost flawless.  The result probably won't be.  If the result is good we think he or she is a natural.  For most it will be disaster, they may miss the ball entirely.  Instead of repeating the swing and allowing their hand eye coordination to improve, they change their swing.  Now they direct all their attention to hitting at the ball instead of swinging through the ball.

In golf, people will begin evaluating every shot, swing, and result, without knowing what causes the ball to react the way it does.  Learn the fundamentals of the golf swing.  Don't try to move along the process too fast.  Example:   If you were teaching someone to drive a car, would you want them to drive 100 mph when they can't drive it correctly at 10 mph.

All this information is about golf instruction.  In no way is it intended to be all there is to know about golf instruction.

There will be more posts and information coming soon.  If you find any of this helpful, please comment
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Posted by at 11:20 PM

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Dale Bartlett, PGA Member

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Golf article writer, golf instructor now residing in Arizona.
Dale Bartlett,.PGA Member

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