Teaching golf -- Part II

December 29, 2013

Teaching golf -- Part II

A teacher’s job, in any field, is a very important one and golf is no exception. If a newcomer learns the wrong technique then there is a big chance that he would never really recover. That is why it is always recommended to newcomers that they do their research and go for the best available coaching before they plan to hit the course.

Meanwhile, this week I would continue from where I left by sharing some tips that might help you improve your game.

Putting: A powerful golfer is equal to a very weak golfer on the putting green. It is one area where you don’t need power; it’s all about reading the green and having good feel because your stroke may or may not make you millions of dollars.

If you are a smart golfer you can keep collecting money on every green and end of the round you can be very rich and satisfied golfer going back home happily. My advice to all golfers: club selection and line reading should be done by you. That’s how you will improve your golf.

If we compare past golf to present golf, there have been big changes in various areas like athleticism, golf ball, equipment etc.

Personally I take great care when I’m supervising training of golfers. It’s important to record swings before I start teaching and again after finishing to be able to show the difference. After the lesson I email all the videos so that they can watch their swings at home and show their wives how good they hit the ball. It makes it easy to get out of the house for golfing the next time. Normally golfers get to know it very quickly. Good or bad, the golf ball trajectory says it all.

The most important of all is the quality of range ball. How good the balls are. If you ever get a chance to see golf tour players live go to the driving range and see their range balls. They practise with balls of the same brand which they have to use on the course.

Golf has to be played on grass. Hitting golf balls from the mat can pose the risk of various injuries. Golf elbow or tennis elbow, wrist joint, shoulder and neck injuries are very common. Before hitting off the mat put some water on it. It makes it softer and will save you from injuries. An experienced coach knows the angle of the swings. Once a golfer hits it he knows what the impact was. As a coach I can tell how good or bad the shot was by hearing the sound of the impact. I tell my students that they lost their grip. They ask how I knew it. It all comes with a lot of dedication, commitment, hard work, proper study and experiments.

As a coach I keep learning every day. No one is perfect in the world of golf. Everyone including me is student of this game. When I get a phone call or an email I understand things aren’t right. If golfers feel they are losing control they must take a lesson to be able to identify the problem in early stages. Otherwise they will need to spend more money and more time. Golfers pay me for my professional work to sort out his problems. But the most important aspect is that the coach can only tell. It’s the golfer who has the club in his hands. If he is LOFT (if anybody wants to know about ‘loft’ contact me it’s a golf joke between golf coaches and golf students.) then it is always unfair to blame the coach.

I always say if you look at golf it looks very easy, but when you play it’s the most complicated sport on earth. Interestingly it’s mostly played on individual basis so a golfer can blame his caddy, himself, wind or the golf course. Unlike tennis courts, squash courts, cricket grounds, every golf course is completely different from the others: in length, landscape and design. And that adds to the beauty of golf.

Teaching golf -- Part II