TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

When I ask people what their goals pertaining to golf might be, they are usually along the lines of; scoring average, distance attained, accuracy, a better short game or maybe consistency in ball striking. Nothing is usually said about staying healthy. A high percentage of golfers are unaware that swinging a golf club can cause injury to the body if certain aspects are not performed correctly…namely, POSTURE! That is why the number one priority that I have with each student is to keep him or her healthy.

Chiropractors, muscle therapists, sports medicine doctors and so on…are able to drive nice cars at least partly because there are millions of people that play golf and are not aware of how to swing a golf club with proper fundamentals. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I have educated those that I work with, how to keep him/herself as injury free as possible while playing golf. The seriousness of this matter gives them the impetus to relay that importance on to others.

Wonderful…even those that I never meet, can learn to enjoy golf more because those that I have taught, saw the need that every golfer has and may have relayed that information along to others! That being; "TO SWING THE CLUB WITH PROPER POSTURE AND AS TENSION FREE AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO STAY HEALTHY!" Many people understand that you should try to keep tension out of the golf swing but…have no idea of how to implement that into their own swing. 

Putting health issues aside, let’s consider the golfer’s desire to become more proficient at playing the game. First, if they decide to take lessons, it would be beneficial to find a pro that can match their aspirations to that of the student. Frustration surfaces all too often when the student desires one thing and the pro seeks another. That is one of the reasons why I ask many questions of each student that may seem to be of a personal nature. I am here to help you fulfill YOUR GOALS…not mine. This is about YOU, not me!

I teach no gimmicks! I have no miracle cures…although some of my students insist otherwise! I am a firm believer that if something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. It is in our nature as human beings to want the quick fix. Especially if we feel that we’ve tried every other solution. Like dieting, exercising, investing money or anything that we expect positive results from…quick fixes exist. However success in virtually any endeavor usually comes to those that habitually employ correct fundamentals. My experiences have taught me that golf is no different!

That has to be kept in perspective though! Back in the ‘sixties and ‘seventies when I was learning to play golf, the best teachers in the world were teaching us at least partially…incorrect methods of swinging a golf club. A fellow named "Jack" was performing head and shoulders above the competition while swinging the club in a way that hurt his body and was not as efficient as many of the swings on the PGA Tour today.

Since there were very few touring pros back then that knew how to swing the club in a way that would transfer energy efficiently and also reduce stress on the spine similar to today’s pros…Jack had great success because virtually all of the other pros were making the same mistakes! His success however, was mostly due to his tremendous strength, not only physically but mentally as well. He was probably the wisest player in history, as far as course management, knowing when to be aggressive or not…and keeping emotions in control are concerned.

Since those days though, we have learned that the classic "REVERSE C" finish was incorrect. Trial and error has helped the (industrious) teaching professional to learn more efficient and healthier ways of swinging the club. Advances in our understanding of biomechanics have added to our knowledge of how to swing the club in a way that results in maximum club head speed with the least amount of effort and also causing less wear and tear on the body.

You see, in the former days, virtually all golf teaching pros derived their teaching methods from those that had excelled to maybe world-class levels PLAYING golf. Many teachers were former touring pros that had retired from the tour. They simply conveyed to their students those techniques that had worked for them on the tour along with tips that they had received from other touring pros.

There was very little knowledge of how muscle groups should work together to transfer energy efficiently while providing support for the spine along with other joints of the body. Additionally, most people were being taught to swing the club in the same manner…regardless of physical attributes and other intangibles that simply must be figured into the equation.

If everybody had the same physical attributes, skill, desire to obtain proficiency, time allotted for practice and so on...I would teach everybody to swing the club in a similar manner. I don’t think I need to explain that that scenario simply does not exist. Therefore, I focus on teaching each person in a way that would gain them the most improvement given their own personal goals, physical attributes, time allotted for golf and so on.

As an examiner for the United States Golf Teacher’s Federation, I certify other teaching professionals. I listen to their experiences of teaching golf quite often. I see myself in many of their experiences of frustration. Quite often, I hear an instructor conveying their frustration of how a certain student "just didn’t get it"! Or maybe of a student that insisted on doing things their own way and consequently, never reached their potential. However, many times it is the teacher’s lack of communication skills that caused the breakdown.

Honestly, every golf instructor, no matter how great a teacher he/she may be, has and currently does make mistakes with every single student they teach. If we were working with machinery…that would not necessarily be so. Machines tend to have much tighter tolerances, are not creative and are therefore predictable and tend to do only what they are programmed to do. Machines can be complex but all other things being equal…do not compare to the complexity of the human being.

Throw in the uncertainties of emotion, motor control, work habits, desire, focus, imagery and so on…and you have very complex students that reach their potential, through any number of techniques or methods of instruction. Consequently, the most successful instructors are those that can adhere to the sound fundamentals of swinging a golf club and yet…modify the delivery of those fundamentals in order to best communicate and effect improvement with each individual. That is a process and there is going to be a certain amount of trial and error until the student and teacher can work together in harmony…thereby making time spent together more efficient.

Early in an instructor’s career, they tend to think that if they had success with a particular delivery to the last three students…the same delivery will work on the next three. That would be so much easier and I suspect far more successful instructors would be around if that were true. However, it is not necessarily true and the instructor that doesn’t accept that fact…will lack patience and tend to give the impression to the student that it is either "my way or the highway!"

It behooves each instructor to keep in mind that every lesson he/she gives is a learning experience for the teacher as well as the student. The teacher MUST pay attention to what works with each individual and learn to modify his/her delivery in order to correctly convey steps of improvement to each individual. That…to me is one of the reasons why I absolutely love to teach! I grow from each experience along with the student.

Teaching of any kind is not only science but also art! The teacher that possesses a thorough knowledge (science) of his subject has an advantage over those that are only half informed. The teacher that is creative enough to forge new techniques (art) in order to reach a broader audience has an advantage over those that refuse to learn more intuitive ways of communicating simply because they have done it the same way for so many years.

I often refer to my work with students as "a journey to improved golf!" It is a journey that we take together. Along the way, I am going to teach you things about the golf swing that you may not know. You, on the other hand…are going to teach me how to relate to you better. I am going to learn what motivates you, discourages you, helps you to focus and makes you lose focus. You are going to teach me what I have to do to help you to improve at the rate that is optimal for you. I am going to learn how to deal with someone that has your unique combination of desire, focus, work habits, patience and confidence…along with many other intangibles that you possess.

Early in our journey, I am going to ask you to be patient with yourself as well as with me. I am going to ask you to do things that will take you out of your comfort zone. That is never easy for the person that has to leave that warm, cozy place. Keep in mind though…how many people have you known in the past that have hired somebody to keep them IN their comfort zone?

I want you to know that I am aware that it is difficult to leave that place as I have to do the same thing occasionally while I am teaching or…I would have to watch my list of students wither away to nothing as they become increasingly frustrated with me. Eventually, I want you to be back in your comfort zone. However, that comfort zone will be far more efficient than the old one as we work to achieve better positions in the golf swing. Enough repetition will actually create your new, more efficient comfort zone.

You see…I REALLY want to help you! I want to help you to get over that hill that you have been unable to traverse until now. If you’ve played golf for very long at all, I realize that you have become impatient with your progress at times. I know that you have often debated whether to work it out yourself or…seek help from an instructor. I am also aware that you have assessed whether it would be worth the time, money, effort and possible frustration to take lessons.

Bearing that in mind, I want to alleviate your concerns of that nature and help you to make your investment something that you feel good about. If you are already a student of mine…thank you for giving me the opportunity to do that. If you are considering me as your golf instructor, I can only promise you that I teach with a passion for the sport and seeing others experience the same level of fulfillment and satisfaction that I have experienced since learning the game. I will do my utmost to help you achieve your goals pertaining to golf in the same manner.

The success of our endeavor together, will be directly proportional to our ability to communicate with each other. If you aren’t quite sure of something I’ve covered in a lesson, please just ask me via a phone call or e-mail. If you are unsure of what our objective is at a certain juncture, let me know so that I can clear it up and make the objective very clear.

Because there is an abundance of information about the golf swing available through the internet, golf magazines and from fellow golfers, confusion can proliferate and serve to thoroughly frustrate many golfers. Please…if you have decided to let me be your instructor, bring any and all doubts up to me, so that we can understand where each of us are in the process and what path would be best to take from there. From experience, I can tell you that if we both focus on turning your weaknesses into strengths and keeping the communication lines open…the journey will be both fun and exciting for each of us!

Finally, let me state very succinctly…the pleasure of working together with you is all mine and...I look forward to our journey!

Thank you,
Steve Williams