narrominded
I
was
recently talking
to a great
friend
of
mine, and
we
were,
believe
it or not,
comparing notes about our golf
games. He’s been a great player
for a long time but has not been
playing up to his expectations for
longer than he cares for.
He told me all the things he
was doing wrong that were preventing him from hitting the shots
he envisioned. He mentioned
he was going to get a lesson and
then uttered the phrase I cannot
stomach. “I’m
going to
He mentioned he was either
get better, or
going to get a lesson and I’m going to
then uttered the phrase I quit.”
I can’t tell
you
cannot stomach. “I’m either timeshow many
I’ve
going to get better, or I’m heard that either in casual
going to quit.”
conversation,
standing behind the counter in a
golf shop or actually while giving
a lesson myself.
He continued telling me he
had scheduled a lesson with a
prominent teacher in our area
that uses the latest in technology
like Trackman and Flightscope.
He then was skeptical of the technology, referring to himself as
“old school” and was not sure of
whether he would get anything
out the lesson but more confusion.
As a lifetime PGA member, I
was happy to hear my pal ready to
take the first step and get a lesson.
However, he was not approaching
the lesson with the proper atti-
tude to succeed. His first mistake
was the pressure he was placing
on himself to “either get better or
quit.”
I sure would hate to place never playing golf again on whether
I will ever get better or not. If
playing golf at your peak level is
the only reason you’re playing,
then perhaps your priorities are
a bit out of sorts. Let’s face it, we
have jobs, kids and plenty of other
things going on in our lives to keep
us from practicing enough to have
our golf games clicking on all cylinders. Ultimately golf should be
about getting away from the hustle and bustle of life and spending
time with friends and family. For
those who are lucky and skilled
enough to compete in tournaments, high expectations are usually a tough way to approach playing well.
Secondly, he was second guessing whether he could handle the
information from the latest that
technology has to offer regarding
ball flight and technique. While I
must admit I’m a bit “old school”
as well when it comes to teaching,
I’m also fascinated with how far
teaching has come over the past
10 years. Launch monitors such as
Trackman and Flightscope have
revolutionized the way to game is
taught. Not only has the science
disproved a few long time theories of ball flight, it’s also provided
valuable data to properly fit golf
clubs to the golfer.
I explained to my friend the information is more for the teacher
than the student so he may diagnose the problem more accurately.
I personally like all the information technology has to offer but
certainly do not stand over a shot
in a tournament thinking about
what my attack angle may or may
not be.
Teaching the game of golf has
certainly moved forward since the
turn of the century ... which is a
good thing. Of course, this doesn’t
mean you have to have the latest in
technology to improve your game;
it only means you may have more
information as how to go about it.
Working on pre-shot fundamentals like grip, alignment, ball
position, and posture will never go
out of style. However, as technology continues to improve, so will
teaching. Instead of having skepticism about something new, try to
embrace it. You never know what
might happen if you do.
Getting back to my friend. I finally told him in a stern way (yelling) what he needed to do. First of
all, take the pressure off to either
get better or quit. That’s just a
terrible mindset. Secondly, go get
that lesson and open your mind to
what you learn.
Whether technology is for you
or not, the information will be
good and accurate. Lastly, practice. Find the joy in practicing you
used to have like we were when
you were a kid. After that, call me
in a three or four months, and I
would be willing to bet you’ll not
only still be playing golf, you’ll
be playing much better ... which
means more fun.
Jake
Jake Narro, PGA professional, head golf
coach at Southeastern Louisiana University
and Backspin publisher
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