Who do you take golf advice from?

[TheDIYGolfer]

I just read Rotella's new book, How Champions Think: In Sports and in Life, and absolutely loved it!  It really got me thinking about my thought patterns off of the golf course.  

One of the topics in the book talked about swing coaches, and how to find someone you know is good to listen to.  I thought this was the best part of the book, because it made me realize how many sources I was trying to improve my golf game from!  I have a swing coach, but was constantly going on YouTube for instruction as well.  I found that the mixed theories are extremely harmful to a golf game.  Definitely been playing better by sticking to what my swing coach tells me, and politely ignoring any other volunteered instruction (unless of course it deals with something other than the actual golf swing). 

Just thought it would be cool to hear from everyone where they get their golf instruction from?

Also, for a little bit more discussion, I pose this question:  Do you think that Tiger Woods would have reached 18 major championships by now had he stuck with ONE swing coach for his entire professional career (a.k.a. Butch Harmon)?

[revkev]

What a great topic!

 

I've made that same mistake on numerous occasions. Quick synopsis.

 

I started playing golf nearly 50 years ago and was very much self taught. I primarily focused on baseball in the summers though only playing on occasion but hitting lots of balls in my spare time, big back yard.

 

I got serious about the game when an illness forced me out of baseball my junior year of college. I read Golf My Way and got myself down to a 2 very quickly even making a nice run at the Ithaca City Championship the next summer. Took a couple of lessons from the Pro at Cornell but it was terrible, don't know if it was him or me, probably both.

 

Back issues and the birth of a child messed with my swing in my late 20's. I went to a Ballard school and it helped but didn't have much time to play or practice because I was getting ready for Seminary. I played some there because it was so cheap and I could hit balls on the grounds, up to a six iron. The Ballard stuff stuck. It was during that time that I found that some advice worked for me and some would mess me up. I hated become a one plane type. Once I settled into my own little church I became a steady 3-5.

 

I moved to Wisconsin had less time to play but maintained my game pretty well. Towards the end I had a great teacher for the very first time. He also fit me for clubs. He got me down to a solid three that I maintained and for a while improved upon here in Florida.

 

I got sick, screwed my swing up trying to force it back, constantly cgphanging equipment and making it worse. Found another teacher who helpinfpg me get it back together. I finished last year at a 2.8.

 

Right now the issue is time and the temptation to make changes when I need to stay the course, be patient and not tinker. The game is there, it will come back out when I have the time for it, if I have the time for it.

 

Bottom line is that it would be best to have a teacher, have a plan and work on that. Just ignore the rest of the white noise. But that's tough.

 

I don't know about Tiger. Maybe the question is would he have won 14 if he hadn't of switched?

[evershady]

I usually go with my swing coach, but I still read and look at a bunch of things online especially on thing that I am having trouble with, but I usually run it though my coach to see what he thinks about me trying that with my swing.  

 

As for Tiger I think injuries are more of a factor than swing coaches, but was it Butches or Hanks swing that lead to the majority of the injuries? 

[PlaidJacket]

Throughout the years I've taken occasional instruction from a club pro or two. Until recent years I received most of my instruction from friends who were very good players. Guys that were scratch to 3 handicappers. Over the past few years many of the guys I played with and learned from have moved away or joined other clubs. This year I decided to begin working with a local PGA Champions Tour player. I've described our work as coaching. It's been a great experience. I usually meet with him every 60 days. In between I work on the things he suggests to me. Building on each session. Just recently I decided on my own to switch to a full-finger grip and see what happens. Wow!  So far it's been great. I haven't seen my instructor since I changed but I doubt he'd care as long as my ball striking and ball flight is good. Which it is.

 

As for Tiger? Who knows. Quite frankly it was fun watching him all those years. Truly a special player. But... I've moved on. The Tiger era is over.

[Kenny B]

As I have stated before, when I started playing golf 24 years ago, I thought I could learn this game on my own.  I was reasonably athletic; not great but pretty good at just about every sport.  After a couple of years of slicing my way around the course, I decided that I couldn't play golf this way and took a lesson.  That lesson led to the Moe Norman single plane swing, and it's a process that I have been following ever since.  My slice is gone, and most of the time I am in the fairway.  My issue is that with this swing, I have to find someone that knows the swing and can tell me what my flaws are.  There are no instructors here in my area that I want to touch my swing.  Unfortunately, my swing instructors live on the other side of the country and I have only taken lessons 3 times in the last 8 years.  However, this winter I have signed up for a video coaching program with them where I can send in face-on and down-the-line videos of my swing (as many as I want) for the next year.  They analyze my swing and tell me what I need to do to improve.  I am looking forward to this program over the winter.

 

Tiger who?  Seriously, I believe that he has screwed up his swing so bad over the years that he has no idea where to go next.  It all started when he decided to build up his body.  I am sure that when he did it, he thought that it would make him indestructible to be in great shape.  But I think it led to his downfall because he was not the loose, limber kid that he was when he started and his swing really stressed his leg and back.  If he hadn't made any swing changes, he had a very good chance to break Jack's record.  No more.  

 

If you think about it, other than a decent year a few years ago, Tiger has not played much and has not been any better than any other player in the field and sometimes he was the worse player in the field.  We have to go back 8 years to his playoff win over Rocco in the U.S. Open for stellar play.  8 years!  Kids that started playing golf back then are now playing in high school.  Those kids and the ones that will follow will have other idols to emulate.  

[jaskanski]

Golf advice is like any other advice in life - you just have to sort through which is relevant and useful and which is bogus and junk. Some you can relate to and put to good use, others simply do not strike a chord.

As to whom it comes from, that part is unimportant - if it works, it works.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

What a great topic!

 

I've made that same mistake on numerous occasions. Quick synopsis.

 

I started playing golf nearly 50 years ago and was very much self taught. I primarily focused on baseball in the summers though only playing on occasion but hitting lots of balls in my spare time, big back yard.

 

I got serious about the game when an illness forced me out of baseball my junior year of college. I read Golf My Way and got myself down to a 2 very quickly even making a nice run at the Ithaca City Championship the next summer. Took a couple of lessons from the Pro at Cornell but it was terrible, don't know if it was him or me, probably both.

 

Back issues and the birth of a child messed with my swing in my late 20's. I went to a Ballard school and it helped but didn't have much time to play or practice because I was getting ready for Seminary. I played some there because it was so cheap and I could hit balls on the grounds, up to a six iron. The Ballard stuff stuck. It was during that time that I found that some advice worked for me and some would mess me up. I hated become a one plane type. Once I settled into my own little church I became a steady 3-5.

 

I moved to Wisconsin had less time to play but maintained my game pretty well. Towards the end I had a great teacher for the very first time. He also fit me for clubs. He got me down to a solid three that I maintained and for a while improved upon here in Florida.

 

I got sick, screwed my swing up trying to force it back, constantly cgphanging equipment and making it worse. Found another teacher who helpinfpg me get it back together. I finished last year at a 2.8.

 

Right now the issue is time and the temptation to make changes when I need to stay the course, be patient and not tinker. The game is there, it will come back out when I have the time for it, if I have the time for it.

 

Bottom line is that it would be best to have a teacher, have a plan and work on that. Just ignore the rest of the white noise. But that's tough.

 

I don't know about Tiger. Maybe the question is would he have won 14 if he hadn't of switched?

Rev--when I read this I thought maybe you had been into the whiskey a bit.  "I hated become a one plane type."  "constantly cgphanging equipment"  "Found another teacher who helpinfpg me get it back together."   But then I looked at the time of your post, early morning, thought "naaah".  But wait, do you have early morning services with wine at your church???

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

Me, I listen to everybody and everything, and try to keep track of everything during every swing.  

 

That's not easy to do........

[TheDIYGolfer]

That lesson led to the Moe Norman single plane swing, and it's a process that I have been following ever since.  My slice is gone, and most of the time I am in the fairway.  My issue is that with this swing, I have to find someone that knows the swing and can tell me what my flaws are.  There are no instructors here in my area that I want to touch my swing.  Unfortunately, my swing instructors live on the other side of the country and I have only taken lessons 3 times in the last 8 years. 

Boy can I relate!  As you may have seen, I refer often to Bradley Hughes and his instruction, because I have sworn by the old school methods that he teaches.  Luckily, my personal swing coach was actually the one that showed me Bradley's stuff, and so we basically work on it and learn it together which is really nice.  I also found a site called Advanced Ball Striking which teaches the same stuff Bradley does.  

 

To be honest, there is a growing community online now that teaches from the same school of thought (BradleyHughesgolf.com, Advancedballstriking.com, secretgolf.com, secretinthedirt.com), which has been extremely convenient to be able to have a circle of instructors that I can always learn from, and that I know are teaching from the same core principles.

 

I'm definitely one to welcome any advice and filter through it, but I just wanted to post this topic to see what kind of responses it got.  Wondered if people were more online these days or still taking in person lessons.

[TheDIYGolfer]

Oh and my opinion on Tiger... I think he would have surpassed 20 by now if he'd have stayed with Butch.  

 

But I've always been a big Tiger fan 

 

Painful to see him play golf nowadays

[Fireinthehole]

I don't have a specific person per say, but have read a lot from the top teachers golf digest has guest writing. Butch Harmons driving tips are my favorite especially his tips for curing the push that I fought for a year.

Mostly self taught, though I had a swing analysis for golftec- really messed me up took months to recover, had two lessons from different instructors, the first of which really helped iron play, the second was not so good.

I've only been golfing 3 years, but have a natural swing, a little old school with the hips . I don't practice at the range which might help improve some aspects.

I am trying to avoid further tampering and more or less working with my natural tendencies Lee Trevino style. I don't give friends tips or advice, don't want to be blamed!

 

Tigers rise is still the best I think I will see. Nobody in golf moves the needle like him!

[Kor.A.Door]

My swing is my swing, I don t have a coach, but my swing is good, If I am having a issue I usually take advice from a coupme guys that I play golf with a lot, they know my good swing and what it should look like so their advice is good, and usually not over extensive, usually its a simple suggestion to think about. Unfortunately the advice comes after a few bad shots, but if I didn't have bad swings, I wouldn't need advice

 

Tiger's issue wasn't from switching coaches, his issues were from the Damage he was doing to his body with his golf swing.

[revkev]

I've got a nasty head cold Jax - throw in that stupid IPad and anything is possible without touching a drop of scotch.  My wife actually suggested throwing some into a cup of tea last night to help my sinuses drain but the only scotches that I have in the bar right now are way to good for that.

 

I don't know how you could actually reach your potential without having a live instructor looking at your swing from time to time.  Certainly I've been on the side of the fence that fooled himself into thinking he could because I was pretty good.  Fact is, I got better once I went to a teacher. 

 

I think that with video or if you play with a knowledgeable group of good players it's possible to see a teacher less frequently so long as you are able to do self analysis and articulate to your buddy(ies) what they should be looking for when they are watching your swing. 

[Kor.A.Door]

The buddies I refer to are + caps, and former college players, and the advice is not all inclusive, do this do that, fix this fix that, just tips of observations I would like to see our club pro for a lesson or 2, but it's not likely to happen soon, so I will use the advice I get from the buddies and go from there, most of the time I can feel whati am doing wrong, it's just good to hear if that's the case, and they don't blindly offer the advice, If I am struggling I will ask if they can see anything that looks amiss.

[revkev]

I would trust that kind of buddy Kor A Dor.  Thanks for the clarification.  What scares me is the guy who is a 14 that trusts his buddy that's a 10 when the 10 only gives advice that he's read in Golf Digest.  Let's face it, that happens a ton of times, way more times than guys invest in lessons.

[Kor.A.Door]

I agree Rev, these are the guys I have been playin rounds of golf with for the past 4 years so they have helped a lot, and their advice is usually correct, I love learning about the swing from these guys, they really know the game, and the swing, and are very helpful when needed.

When they struggle, they go talk to the club pro for 5 minutes and get it figured out, I really like learning from them, they are +2, one is tour long, rarely hits driver from 7000 yards, he hits his driver like a lot of forum guys say they do, he is 320 plus, the other is not super long, but very consistent with every club, he doesn't overpower the course, but rather tears it apart with great irons, and good putting.

They are fun to watch and play golf with