Swiss Pro Cruises to Victory at US Pro Hickory
Paolo Quirici of Switzerland successfully defended his title at the fourth annual United States Professional Hickory Golf Championship at historic Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida, this past February. The tournament, a commemorative to the 1925 Florida Open, is played with pre-1930-era equipment and balls. Quirici, the reigning World Hickory Champion, toured the Tom Bendelow layout in one-over-par 74 to grab...
Why I Teach Golf
Dedicated instructors in all subjects throughout history have drawn upon their own experience, learned skills, and native teaching ability to transfer their knowledge to their pupils. Golf instruction is no different. Anyone can aspire to the field of teaching, but only those with a near-magical blend of selfless commitment, patience, and expertise rise to master the profession. True stories abound of famous individuals who have...
Hickory-Shafted Clubs as Training Aids
USGTF Southeast Region director Mike Stevens plays golf exclusively these days with hickory-shafted clubs, reminiscent of a much earlier era in our game’s history. Stevens loves the traditions of the game, and has often remarked how playing with hickory sticks has given him the most pleasure he’s ever had in the game. Stevens has had a lot of success playing with his hickory clubs, three times winning the National Hickory...
Statistics Shaping New Way Coaches Look at Golf Success
An article in the Spring 1999 issue of Golf Teaching Pro, titled “Statistical Analysis: Surprising Conclusions”, pointed to a study in a 1987 issue of Golf Digest that showed greens in regulation was the most highly correlated statistic in overall scoring average. Of course, this flew in the face of accepted convention that the most important factor to good scores was the short game and putting. A number of USGTF...
Teaching Golf Skills Is Only One Piece of Being a Good Teacher or Coach
I spend a fair amount of time talking with clients about their teachers and coaches and their impact on the clients’ performances. Outside of golf, it’s sad to say, many athletes do not have positive experiences with teachers and coaches. Why? Teachers and coaches aren’t necessarily chosen to teach and coach because of their fabulous people skills. Similar to other jobs, where people are hired to do a job for their technical skill and...
2014 Canadian Golf Teachers Cup ® – All WGTF Members Welcome!
September 21-23, 2014 Bay of Quinte Golf & Country Club, Belleville, Ontario The Bay of Quinte Country Club will be hosting the 2014 Canadian Golf Teachers Cup. The Bay of Quinte has a long history of hosting prestigious championships in its 90-plus years. One interesting fact about the course is that more provincial championships have been played there than at any other golf course in Ontario. The course is full of subtle...
Teaching Analogies from Other Sports
Golf, by far, is the most technique-oriented sport around. Although other athletic endeavors have technical models that they follow forbest performance, no sport like golf is dissected to the nth degree. One of the reasons is that a correct golf swing is an involved process. In other sports, the number of exact mechanical movements are not as many as there are in golf. This is not to say that golf demands precise conformity to a swing...
Top Tips on How Golfers Can Build and Keep Confidence for Peak Performance
Having the ability to be confident is really one of the building blocks to life. Without it, there is no belief that we can succeed. Success is what keeps us motivated to participate in golf and in life. The hard part about confidence is that it seems to hinge on so many things: Success, never losing or making a mistake, how others talk about us, and the expectations of coaches, parents, spouse, kids, and friends. The even more...
The Rhythm of Golf
As golf teachers and coaches, we often talk about the mechanics of the game and the mental side of competing, but sometimes we forget one aspect that may be among the most critical – the rhythm of the game. When most golfers think of rhythm, they think of it purely in terms of their swings, i.e., the ratio of the speed of the backswing compared to the speed of the forward swing. While we will discuss this in this article, we also...
Forget The Score and Enjoy The Game
I want to tell you about my friend Pete. When I started teaching skiing back in the mid-1960s, Pete and I ended up to be roommates. Pete, like your dear president Geoff Bryant, was a golf teaching pro in the summer and a ski teaching pro in the winter. Pete moved on to be a fly fishing pro when a business opportunity presented itself. Pete introduced me to fly fishing on the Bow River in Canada. The Bow River flows out of the...
Please Visit Our Sponsor
