On Becoming a Teaching Professional

For some 40 years, I have dedicated myself to teaching and coaching golf. Many people ask, “How can you teach golf day after day for that long? Doesn’t it get boring? I’m quick to reply, “If I taught golf, I suppose it would get repetitious, even monotonous. But I don’t simply teach golf; I teach people to play golf.” The difference is not simply one of semantics. Working with people in the game of golf has been a labor of love for me all these many years. Every hour of every teaching day brings another problem to solve - a different swing issue, a different personality, learning style, and skill set. That is what makes the work so interesting. When personal satisfaction is synonymous with professional reward it is, perhaps, a most fortunate fusion. 

Like any other chosen line of work, the ingredients in achieving any level of success at it are diverse. They likely include any, or all, of the following:

1. Learning your craft. The very first lesson I ever gave, the student complained of occasional shanks. After watching him for a few minutes, sure enough, every fifth shot or so, he would hit one off the hosel. I worked with him for 30 minutes or so and proceeded to tell him everything I knew about a shank. And clearly, I changed his swing. He was now shanking every shot! It was at that moment I realized how much I had to learn about teaching golf. It is a unique discipline that requires study, years of practice, and an unwavering resolve to every detail of the work. This includes grasping and familiarizing yourself with the substance of your subject matter - in my case, the golf swing. 

I discovered early on that learning to teach would be a full-time career, one that precluded all other duties of golf operations. This meant finding a mentor, covering every detail, spending countlesshours on the lesson tee, in seminars, reading, scrutinizing golf swings, and considering all swing perspectives regardless of their merit. In my formative years, I worked for a large international golf school based in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the winter months, January through April, their five-day golf schools ran Monday through Friday and were attended by 70 students every week! As the student/teacher ratio was 5-1, we had 14 Professional instructors (five students per day, per instructor.) Then, on the weekends, we would drive four hours over to Palm Springs, California to conduct two-day golf schools of similar size. So, I would have some 120 days of teaching in a row! Following that, I’d return to New Jersey, where I was the Director of Instruction at a large resort. There, I’d teach six days a week for the rest of the year! It was a hectic pace to be sure, but I was never bored. And learning, learning, always learning!

2. Adopting an unbiased, pragmatic approach. Every hour of the day (half-hour when I started) presents a new problem to solve, another personality type, another learning style, a completely different swing problem, totally different abilities and with a variety of experiences and backgrounds. Because no two are alike, no two lessons should be either. One student comes with a hook, another with a slice, another hitting thin shots, another hitting fat shots and so on. One is a visual learner, next one a feel learner, next one… This keeps my mind bustling and ready to adjust on the fly. Every correction must be relevant and explained in terms that students can perceive the meaning of. A teacher needs 10 ways of saying the same thing, never losing sight of the end goal. To know your subject in all its complexity and teach it in all its simplicity is what makes a great teacher. Talking the entire lesson through is counter-productive at best. Use as few words as possible to get the message across. The “one size fits all” method of golf is totally ineffectual, and every “methodology” has come and gone like summer wages!

3. Empathy, respect, and patience. The great Harvey Penick once said: “The person you are teaching is far more important than anything you are teaching him or her.” Regardless of how accomplished a golfer is, the game was a struggle for him or her at one time. That is why, as a teacher, it is important to remember the struggling days when a student is having difficulty. My way of reminding myself is to hit balls left-handed (I’m a righty). This makes it clear enough that the game is just flat-out difficult at times. Putting myself in a student’s shoes is critical to a rapport with her or him. A teacher’s day can be a long one. There are no “breaks.” I am “on” for the entire time. After some six to eight hours of this, it can test one’s resolve. But dedication to the craft requires the patience to give the eighth student of the day the same energy, enthusiasm and focus I gave to the first, regardless of skill set! It still amazes me that one of the main reasons for golfers not taking lessons is “I will look foolish in front of the pro”! Not this pro you won’t.

I mentor young professionals in the art and science of teaching golf. My advice to them is always the same: If you are getting aggravated at a young age, or if you do not get as much joy as your students in seeing a long, straight drive, get out while you’re young. The work must captivate you from day one. And if it doesn’t, it’s not likely to anytime soon. 

These are just some of the aspects of becoming a teaching professional. And if, through it all, I have helped anyone enjoy the game a little more well, what a nice thought that is, too.