Teaching Golf - Keep it Simple!

As I continue down the path of developing my golf teaching business, I continue to research many of the golf swing ideas and philosophies out there. Do a little research and you may find Jim Hardy's "Plane Truth" concept, the Stack & Tilt method, Moe Norman's Natural Golf, and the list goes on! Unfortunately, some of these ideas can become quite complicated and difficult to learn.

As I mentioned previously, last month I traveled to Dallas to attend Hank Haney's "Teaching the Teacher" seminar. In his younger days, Hank worked with John Jacobs and Jim Hardy. Jacobs is described by Hank as the master of the quick fix, while Hardy was probably the hardest working and most passionate teacher he had met.

What I learned from my participation at the seminar was that Hank has an ideal type of swing in mind, and each golfer can attain their own version of that ideal swing. That ideal revolves around the one characteristic of keeping the golf club on the same plane angle throughout the swing. But first, he wants to correct the major error in the student's swing, then move on to build a better swing. His approach is quite simple, and there are no complex descriptions of how each part of the swing should be constructed. He simply tells you where you should be in the swing, then puts you there! His book "The Only Golf Lesson You'll Ever Need" is written simply and concisely, and is a good read for teachers and students alike.

I also had the opportunity this past week to observe the best teacher in Pennsylvania, Ted Sheftic, give a lesson. Ted is probably ten years older than Hank and thus his sole influence is Ben Hogan, but I could see that his approach is similar to Hank's, except from the standpoint of personality. In other words, Ted and Hank seemed to be on the same page, and I could see that reflected in the swings of students that Ted has taught. In fact, one of Ted's students is currently attending the Haney Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head. She was actually invited there and received a scholarship.

With all this in mind, it is clear to me what approach to take in teaching my students, and I have all the confidence in the world that I can get the job done with anyone.

Scott Cole
Professional Golf Instructor, USGTF Associate Member
www.powergolftraining.net