Keeping Juniors in the Game
Golf club managers are aware of the boom in junior golf memberships, and while some children are wielding clubs at the age of three, it is probably only from age five onwards when lessons will be able to add real value. Golf provides juniors with a grounding and understanding that it is a social game with solid rules of conduct and proper etiquette. Being part of an established club, mixing with adults, and learning how to respect...
Teaching with the FLAT STICK
You would think that an activity seemingly as simple as putting would have widespread agreement as to how it’s best done…but, as with many things in golf, that’s not the case. All sorts of conflicting instruction is offered, which can leave students (and, frankly teachers!) confused and frustrated. Let’s start with the very basic. All putts have only two components to them: distance and direction. It would be fair to say that...
Take the “Routine” Out Take the “Routine” Out of Warm-Up Routines
Ben Hogan was famous for being meticulous, and his warm-up routine proved no exception. He got to the course an hour ahead of time and warmed up for 40 minutes – 20 on the driving range, 20 on or near the putting green. Once, during World War II when he played an exhibition, he arrived late at the course and was told he could not warm up. He proceeded to shoot a 78, grumbling all the time about not being able to go through his normal...
My Oldest and Favorite Teaching Aid
During my school holidays as a kid, I used to work in the St. Andrew Golf Company in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. They made some of the finest persimmon woods and forged irons in the world. From an early age, I was shown how to assemble, adjust, and repair clubs of all types and sizes. When I started teaching, one of my teaching aids was a club I had assembled from that factory. That teaching aid is now 39 years old from origin. You...
The Olympic Mindset for Golf
Everyone gets nervous: You, me, and even Olympic athletes, including the great Michael Phelps. We all get butterflies when the situation is important to us. That is human nature. The difference is how we view this nervousness. There is a wise saying in sports psychology: “It is okay to have butterflies; just make sure they fly in the right formation.” Successful Olympians in London this past year needed to have command over their...
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