Coaching Philosophy

When it comes to my coaching philosophy, I best summarize my beliefs with the following 5 points:

1)     Every golf swing is unique

2)     The body’s ability to move is what makes the swing your own.

3)     Properly understanding the process of making a change, speeds up improvement

4)     Constant support and feedback is crucial

5)     Students need to have ownership of their game, the coach is simply a guide and supporter

Every golfer’s swing is unique. This fact is why there is no one way to swing a club. That being said, there are fundamentals that are mandatory to controlling your golf ball effectively. Fortunately, there are many routes to obtain those fundamentals. It is up to the coach to identify the most efficient way for a player to achieve them.

The body’s ability to move is what makes the swing your own. Golf coaching unfortunately has turned into creating the “pretty golf swing”. Get to this position because Tiger Woods does. The problem with this method is that not everyone is built like Tiger Woods and very few can move their body the way he does. A coach should not ask you to do something you are physically not capable of doing. As a TPI Certified Coach, I test what your body can do first. I then help you build your swing around you, not Tiger Woods. 

Properly understanding the process of making a change accelerates improvement. ONE OFF LESSONS DO NOT WORK! The process for improvement is not seeing a coach once every few months and practicing a few times. The best way to make lasting change is through following a plan, committing to the time necessary for change, and to follow the 4 key steps of mastering a new skill:

1)     Understand what is causing the problem, and what changes need to happen to correct it

2)     Practice with structure and proper feedback

3)     Transfer to the golf course

4)     Execute automatically and naturally under pressure

Constant support and feedback. When making a change to a players game, the player needs to have feedback in many areas: practice, drill work, on course, and in lessons. A coach provides support during lessons in most cases. To achieve the best results, the player needs to have feedback when practicing on their own. This comes from the coach giving the player the understanding of what they are looking for during their practice. Too often players don’t have the proper feedback during practice and they slow down the road to improvement. Through the Skillest app, I encourage my players to constantly send me videos during practice and on course sessions. I am able to send the feedback quickly to help propel their practice to a new level. 

Students need to have ownership of their game, the coach is simply a guide and supporter. Students too often just follow orders in a lesson without discussion and understanding. I believe that players are the only owners of their golf swing and game. My role, as a coach, is to guide and support the player to help them improve and understand their game. Players that improve the most tend to be players who ask questions and create discussions about what I am suggesting we change. This puts the player back in the role as the owner of their game rather than someone just following orders.