One of our USGTF examiners happened upon the
assistant professional practicing on the range at
their course. The assistant, an accomplished player
and a novice teacher, was getting very frustrated. The
examiner asked him what he was trying to do, and
the assistant said, “I’m trying to work on my cut shot,
but all I keep hitting are draws.”
The examiner watched the assistant hit a couple
of balls and quickly diagnosed the problem. “Your
ball position is in the middle of your stance,” he said.
“No wonder you can’t hit a
fade. You need to play the
ball up in your stance.”
The assistant protested,
saying it would
produce an even greater
draw. The examiner stood
firm and got the assistant
to play the ball more forward.
Predictably, he hit a
beautiful cut shot.
“How did you do
that?” the assistant asked
in amazement.
Too many people who
teach golf, frankly, don’t
have accurate belief systems.
Like many professionals
(but hopefully not
a majority), the assistant
didn’t know the basic fundamentals
of ball position as it relates to ball flight.
It’s not just ball position cause-and-effect that
flummoxes some teaching pros. Many pros believe
certain things about the golf swing and teaching, that
simply aren’t accurate. While this may not necessarily
be detrimental to all of our students, likely it will be
to some. Here are some common teaching beliefs that
are simply wrong, yet persist in the teaching world.
Keep The Head Still
In a good golf swing, the head does not stay still.
It drifts back slightly on the backswing, and moves
forward on the forward swing. In fact, right before
impact, a majority of touring pros actually move the
head back again, counterbalancing the strong forward
movement of the swinging club.
Although it is not desirable to see the head move
up and down, there are
several pros who do not
keep theirs level, including
Tiger Woods, Jack
Nicklaus, Paul Azinger,
Kenny Perry, and Todd
Hamilton. It’s not the
killer some people think,
but it still should be corrected,
if possible.
Keep The Hands
One Fist Away From
The Body For All Clubs
This belief fails to
take into account the differing
lie angles from club
to club. Ideally, the angle
between the shaft and the
arms should be somewhat
consistent throughout
the bag. This means, the
longer the club, the farther away from the body the
hands should be. This isn’t necessarily a dramatic difference,
but there should be some. For most people,
if the hands are one fist-width away from the body
for the wedges, they should be about two fist-widths
away from the body for the driver.
The Backswing Can Never Be Too Slow
Many golfers, both amateurs and professionals,
tell us that “swinging too fast” on the backswing is a
common error in amateurs. The fact is, research shows
pros, on average, swing back faster than amateurs.
A faster backswing promotes more of a gyroscopic
(stabilizing) effect. The key is to be smooth.
When Teaching, Look At The Setup First
There is some controversy with this statement, because
it’s not entirely inaccurate. However, the USGTF
Technical Committee believes the ball flight should
be the first observation in teaching a non-beginner or
a non-novice. That’s why the “ball flight laws” is the
first technical talk of the week at certification classes,
because it all starts here.
Sure, someone might have a technically incorrect
grip, but if it’s returning the clubface to square time
after time, why change it at first? After all, the grip is
doing its main job.
Instead, we believe the teacher needs to diagnose
what the problem is for non-novices within context
of the ball flight laws: clubhead path, clubface angle,
sweet spot contact, angle of clubhead approach, and
clubhead speed.
“If It Works For Me, It Must Work For Everyone”
You can tell these types of teachers because they
say things like, “Now when I take the grip, I…,” “When
I set up to the ball, I…,” etc. They strongly believe that
if it works for them, it must work for everyone.
The problem, as USGTF National Coordinator
Bob Wyatt says, is that they are confusing their own
preferences as fundamentals. Fundamentals deal with
the direct movement of the club throughout the swing
and as it relates to the ball flight laws; preferences are
how someone best executes the fundamentals.
For example, in putting, many teachers believe
that the weight should be mainly on the front foot,
and consider it a true fundamental. However, this is
simply a preference which may help to stabilize the
body. Stabilization of the body is indeed the fundamental,
because body movement will directly affect
the movement of the club, but how this is done is
strictly a preference.
The Best Way To Learn Is From
The Cup Backwards
Many teachers will swear that this is not just the
best, but the only, way to learn golf properly. And,
we have no doubt that it is the best way for some
people to learn…but not for all people.
Again, this way of teaching is strictly a preference.
Many fine players have been produced by teaching
them the full swing first.
The Best Way To Cut 5-10 Strokes Is
Through The Short Game
Golf Teaching Pro has published several articles
in the past that refutes this through statistical analysis
and research. Golf Digest has done the same thing.
Yet, this inaccurate teaching belief continues even
among the finest teachers in the country.
Here’s the truth: for a certain number of greens
in regulation averaged over many rounds, a golfer’s
scoring average will be plus or minus two strokes
from a certain number. For example, a golfer who
averages 5 GIR will average between 83 and 87 – no
more, no less. If this player wants to start breaking 80
on a regular basis, he must improve his ballstriking.
Only Great Players Make Great Teachers
False, false, false. It doesn’t take a plus-handicapper
to have detailed knowledge or know cause
and effect in the golf swing. And, the very fact that
there are many USGTF professionals who teach successfully
– yet don’t shoot under par – is powerful
testimony to this fact.
The only advantage an excellent player has in
teaching is that he or she has a better understanding
of what a good golf swing feels like, and this can
be helpful in teaching excellent players. Having said
that, there are more important acumens in teaching
golf than mere playing ability.
These are the major inaccurate teaching beliefs
that we have come across, but by no means is this list
complete. Always keep up to date through self-study
and materials from the USGTF.
