The Two Types of Golf Lessons

There are two types of golf lessons. For lack of better names, I’ll call them origination and modification. They are distinctly different lessons. Let’s explore…

Origination: This is a lesson for someone who has never played golf or is suddenly blessed with an abundance of free time and may opt to completely start anew. New players make up perhaps 90% of the origination lessons. For those that have played for some time, this is not something I suggest, but am willing to do if asked.

Modification: This is a lesson for those who want their existing swing “tweaked” or modified. This golfer has no time or interest in breaking everything down and finding a brand-new swing. They simply want to get back to hitting the ball like they were before it went off the rails. Suppose you are a 10 handicap who has recently gone to a 15. Your goal is to get back to a 10 and rightfully so. So, we should identify what was working and put it back together. How would a teacher know what type of lesson to conduct? He or she should ask! It’s as simple as that!

Modifying your existing motion involves matching parts. Think of a golf swing as an equation:  the two sides are the backswing and downswing, or the body and the arms. This is the inherent difficulty in golf. It’s like rubbing your head and patting your stomach! We must sync the two parts; -2+2 must equal 4, somehow!

Example:  Player “A” has a very wide backswing; the arms and club are swung well away from the body. This much width can have the effect of creating more power simply because more centrifugal force may create greater club head speed. However, the downswing must be narrower than the backswing. Two “wides” will not balance the equation! Wide to wide can bottom-out well behind the golf ball. More concretely, a swing with width going back must have considerable “lag” or “down cock” to balance. If the wide backswing player has an early release or “cast” he/she is toast!

Let’s take another look. Say player A tends to take the golf club outside on the backswing; that player must reroute the golf club coming down. Two “outsides” will not balance the equation. 

A player coming “over the top” is not afforded the liberty of lagging a late release on the downswing. On the other hand, a player coming into the ball from inside MUST “lag” or release later to avoid hitting the ball fat.  

A player with a “flat” swing needs to stand further from the golf ball to avoid hitting the heel or shanking. Swinging flat and standing close is not a match.

An upright swing must stand closer to the ball to avoid hitting the toe of the club. Standing too far and swinging upright is not a match. 

So, you see the pattern. A golf swing is an equation and must be balanced. This is an incontrovertible law of the golf swing. Feel free to call for a lesson or send me a video.