Learning Golf: The Magic of Self Discovery

Of all the things I teach or have taught in golf, I think this is the most important: It’s not what we cover in a lesson, it’s what you discover. 

Some years ago, I had a student in golf school for a few days. She was topping every single shot. Zero were airborne. I explained that she was opening her body and moving forward before her arms and club were coming down. “Late” we call it. I had her feel like her arms were coming down first and her body was staying behind, a common correction for late tops. Bingo! Every ball went up into the air. She was ecstatic.

A while later, she called and said she was topping every shot. She scheduled a lesson. She topped every shot. I asked her why she was topping the ball. “I think I’m picking up my head,” she said to my look of utter disbelief!

I had another student who was shanking the ball. At least three out of five came off the hosel with his wedges. I explained that he “fanned” the club open in the back swing, and never squared it coming through impact. This is a really common cause of shanking (there are several). In the lesson, we were able to get the club square, and the swing path a little closer to his body coming down. No shanks…not a one! He called me sometime later. The shanks had returned. You get the rest. When I asked what was causing him to shank, he told me “I get too quick.”

If you are hitting the golf ball better during a golf lesson, you have proven to yourself that you CAN do it. But what comes after the lesson is out of a teacher’s hands. It’s as simple as that. I cannot control what you do after you leave my lesson tee. Now, if you are NOT hitting the ball better during a lesson or don’t understand why you’re not hitting it better, I will take the blame. And…you do not have to compensate me for my time. That is the extent to which I’ll go to display my commitment and accept my responsibility. What we as teachers ask is the same level of commitment from our students.

Improving at golf is a two-way street. My way on the street is making the correct diagnosis and offering you a personalized correction, possibly several of them. Pick the ONE THAT WORKS FOR YOU! Why do many students forget so soon after getting the proper guidance? Here are a few reasons:

• If you are taking a lesson at 10:00 AM with a tee time at 11:00 AM and you’re playing a $20 Nassau with your buddies, you pretty much wasted your time and money.

• If the only time you hit balls is to warm up for your round, you have to be realistic about your results.

• If you are expecting 250-yard drives with an 85 mph club head speed, well…let’s get real.

• If you “fake it” during a lesson, you’re not going to realize any lasting improvement. When the teacher asks if you understand or can feel what’s being explained and you say yes - when in fact you DO NOT understand - you’re giving misleading feedback and hurting only yourself. Speak up!

Please realize this:

If you don’t get it during the lesson, there is no chance you’ll get it later. It’s not enough to just hit it better; you have to fully understand WHY you hit it better. Or if you miss, WHY you missed it.

I have a rule I follow when conducting a golf lesson. After I explain the diagnosis and offer the correction, I’ll usually get some better results. So, I continue to offer that advice swing after swing. But at some point in the lesson, I say NOTHING. Typically, before long, the old ball flight returns and I wait– THREE SWINGS. If the student was a slicer and slices THREE IN A ROW, then it’s time for me to step in again. I have to allow time for SELF DISCOVERY at some point. You have to wean yourself off my guidance and internalize the corrections. You have to FEEL IT. You must find your “AHA” moment, the time the light bulb goes on, and you get it…that magical feeling every golfer living strives for.

Start by learning from your ball flight. When you can say, “If the ball did this then I know I did that” you are likely getting it. There is always an individual cause and effect you need to understand in order to go off by yourself and continue SELF IMPROVEMENT. If you hit a better shot but do not know why, please ask your teacher. What did I do? That way you’re playing to learn, not simply learning to play.

A golf lesson is a guidance, not an hour of how to do this or that. The teacher is trying to get you to discover what YOU need to feel to get more desirable outcomes. If all you’re getting out of it is “how,” you are not likely to stay “fixed.” Remember this: It’s not what we cover in the lesson; it’s what you discover!