March 3rd, 2009 Archive

What to Look For in a Golf Instructor – #3 Successful Students

by Paul Hobart

A good golf instructor will have a lot of successful students. This doesn’t mean that every great teacher works with tour players. It simply means that he or she has a number of students who have made significant progress and acheived some of their personal golf goals.

It’s a good idea to ask an instructor who his or her best student is, from a playing standpoint. have they worked with a PGA or LPGA player. Perhaps they work with better amateurs or college players. Do they work with or coach players at the local high school level?

I would want to work with an instructor that had coached someone well beyond my current skill level. Why is this important? Your teacher should help you progress towards your goals. In many cases, a good instructor will recognize your potential to go well beyond what you think is possible, and help you get there.

An instructor that works with good players will see you and work with you on a different level, and be more inclined to see your game from the big picture standpoint. Much as it’s helpful to play with better players, I feel it’s helpful to learn from someone that has worked with really good players. In addition to the teacher’s insights, you’ll also benefit from the insights the teacher has learned from these star pupils.

Asking about the instructor’s most accomplished students can also help you with a believable road map for the achievement of your goals. It’s always easier to embark on a journey that someone else has completed. Ask if the instructor has a student that has achieved a goal similar to yours. See if you can meet that student, and grab some insights on the process. At the very least try to get some information on how the good player got to that level. Every process has it’s steps, and these can be copied.

See if your instructor has a track record of success, and make sure that they have taught some folks that have already arrived at the place you’re looking to go.

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What to Look for in a Golf Instructor – #2 Full Time Teacher

by Paul Hobart

When you start your search for a golf instructor, I would recommend that you find a professional that teaches full time. Within the ranks of golf professionals, there are a wide variety of jobs and positions, and each of these can have an impact on the instructor.

In my experience, many of the best instructors have positioned themselves in a job that allows them to teach most or all of the time they are working. I have been at several different facilities, and my percentage of time teaching has varied at each one. My current position allows me to teach 100% of the time. The key to this, for me, is that I can spend my entire day thinking only about teaching, my students, and conducting my teaching business. I don’t need to worry about setting up the next day’s tournament, handicaps, shoe inventory, or the slow group that just made the turn.

What I’ve found, is that full time teachers are more focused on each individual lesson. They have time to set up their instruction area. They have an opportunity to review the day’s students, and to develop a game plan. Their mind belongs to the student during their time together.

I know many great professionals that wear all the hats of the PGA Professional, and still manage to be great teachers. This post is not meant to slight any of these fine women and men. I do think when you look at most lists of great instructors, you’ll find that most of them spend most if not all of their time teaching, and working in the business of golf instruction.

Love to hear your comments…

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What to Look For in a Golf Instructor – #1 Good Listener

by Paul Hobart

Based on discussions with my online friends, I thought I would compile my list of things that I would look for in a golf instructor. As a disclaimer, I am a PGA Golf Professional in Columbus, Ohio, and some of these thoughts may be biased towards the way I do things. When you write the blog…you get to do that! These “things to look for” are in no particular order, and you may rank them inorder of importance for your own situation.

I will make the assumption that the search for a golf instructor is based on the golfers desire to improve their scores, their shotmaking, their understanding, and their enjoyment of the game. Many may have an event in mind such as a tournament, family outing, golf team, golf tour, vacation, or business outing. Some need to get better for work, or to join a spouse on the course. For a lot of folks, a lesson may be a last resort. Perhaps the game has become so aggravating that they are on the verge of giving up.

Everyone has their own reasons, and one of the instructor’s first jobs is to determine the students main motivation for taking the lesson or lessons. A good instructor will spend a good deal of time asking questions and listening to the student or prospective student. I feel that each new student should go through a short sit down meeting before heading out to the range. I want to ask lots of questions, and listen intently to what the person says, and for what they really mean.

A wise man told me a long time ago that you have 2 ears and 1 mouth, and that they should be used in the same proportion. Golf instructors need to abide by this. A good instructor will spend more time listening than talking. This holds true during the initial interview, and during subsequent lessons.

During initial learning sessions, the instructor may have a lot to tell you to get you up to speed on terminology, and also explaining some of the cause and effect of the game. This is normal, although you will find that a good instructor breaks up the discussion by asking you lots of questions. This feedback is critical to a good instructor/ student relationship.

As players become more advanced, you’ll find the best instructors talking less and less. Watch a tour player work with their teacher…its often just a gesture or a nod that communicates the idea.  

If you find yourself involved in a lesson situation where the only one talking is the instructor, look somewhere else, you can do better.

Feel free to leave me a comment, I love to hear from you!

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