Has YouTube made you better or worse?

[JDunc55]

Short answer - Yes. I think you have to watch a lot to find a the precious few that can be helpful. Personally I've found a few concerning reading greens that have been good - tons are not. As a visual learner, I get value from watching golfers with classic swing mechanics. 

[OU812DAY]

Yes it has been a great help to see all the different ideas to help understand and feel the golf swing not to mention other aspects of concepts that would take years to learn on your own.  I have also read about 5 books on the golf swing and been doing something that looks like golf for 30+ years and needed to understand stand things a bit more than the most people.  Trying to understand how to be more consistent has been the quest and what I learned more about is how to make the game you brought to the course work as best you can that day.  
 

Played other sports competitively but not golf.  Never cared about winning in golf but only how to not beat myself.  

[NotQuite70s]

There is no doubt that I am better at golf due to youtube.  Danny Maude fixed my swing enough to eliminate my slice.  To be fair, some others may have helped too.  I think I looked at Chris Ryan back then too.  Mark Crossfield provides the most relevant instruction to me currently.  Iron strike is much improved and dispersion is narrowing.  Once hopeless fairway woods are now pretty solid.

I have had limited instruction from PGA pros.  What I had did not induce me to buy more.  As I see it, there are dozens of nuances to the golf swing to be learned:  grip, stance, ball position, swing path, sequencing, face control, release........You might get one of these knocked out per lesson.  Hopefully, one experiences no back-sliding.  One could spend a small fortune to get one-on-one pro guidance to learn all the pieces.  Maybe that's okay if you have the budget and that is an effective way for you to learn.  I am much more inclined to research it and apply the learnings myself.  Lessons learned from one's own experiences are likely more durable.

Beyond getting the full swing somewhat squared away, I have picked up many useful nuggets on short game and putting.  

All that said, I am mindful of what Bobby Clampett wrote in his book "The Impact Zone".    He claimed that his pro career was cut short when he developed "rabbit ears".  Apparently pros are vulnerable to copying their peers and listening to the others' coaches on the practice tee.  Clampett lost his way by diluting the swing keys he had ingrained with what his "rabbit ears" picked up.  I think one should not take input from so many instructors that the the message gets confused.

 

 

 

[Barrio6]

Usually hurtful..but sometimes I can’t help myself it has to be something in the algorithm 

[Toddlemm]

No, as I would not out the range to try a move to see if it works. I have an old body that does not function like the 40 years younger youtuber.

[matt_puttercup]

I have fallen down the Instagram / Facebook golf tip rabbit hole many times!!  And I have mixed feelings about it.  There are legit good tips & drills on there, but it requires a couple of things to make it worthwhile.  1. You've got to know your swing, so that you have a decent shot at paying attention to what's relevant and ignoring what's not.  2. Once you do find a good drill on there, you've got to try it for a good number of times and let it sink in, which means ignoring pretty much everything on there for the duration, because one big swing change at a time is all that I can handle...!

[Dogface]

Yes, Absolutely.

Whether a review of swing mechanics, stopping a s...k (don't say the word), how not to hit fat, etc. etc.  GolfwithAimee and Meandmygolf (those 3 guys from somewhere in the UK) and a few more they do help.  Also just watching Freddy Couples grainy videos of swing tempo can save strokes just by itself. 

While a PGA pro is better, they normally wont come to my house the night before my next game/match to fix my head.

I have too many other swing coaches on the course but listening to most violates my rule "never take advice from a double digit handicapper".   I normally just smile, grunt and nod.

You really can learn almost anything from YouTube

 

 

 

[MarvChamp]

Best for me, an ancient high handicapper, are the tournament highlights, especially LPGA b/c I can see what a slower, smoother swing looks like and the results. Also, venerated older pros like Tom Watso and Lee Trevino have videos that simplify and make sense. Trevino's old videos are very pleasant. Watson's are a little more technical, but not overly so. 

And there are some good course management and mental game videos.

All because I'm about vision and feel, not about someone who explains all the angles like how my wrist should be cupped or not...All such just makes for tension, for me.

Best, -Marv

 

[RetiredBoomer]

Since I use YouTube mainly to watch Japanese women's wrestling, it's had minimal effect at most on my golf swing.

[Dweed]

For me, time is hard to justify watching golf. My basic premise is to use what I have, to get better takes practice. I especially enjoy the practice time I can find as well as the playing time I have. I just don't place any emphasis on U Tube.

[Drive2Survive]

I watch a couple of things: golf sidekick for course management for high hcp. He’s applying the approaches playing as a lefty to prove a point these days.

once in a while I will watch a video on short game. I avoid swing videos like the plague. 
 

playing videos used to be fun to watch but now they are all the same over bromancized format.

product reviews have become uninteresting too. Every piece is “the best club you did not know of” - not much criticism. Feels like everyone is sponsored. 

[Boshane123]

 I try not to watch too much golf lesson content on YouTube! They all think they're right and it just confuses you to watch too many from too many different instructors! 

[bama no 1]

On 4/19/2024 at 7:41 AM, Golf Detective said:

YOUTUBE RESPONSE

Has YouTube helped or hurt my game????

Interesting question and depends on what perspective you look at it.

I generally do not respond to any post but I do read them for entertainment purposes only.

As all good things which originally mean well and have great intent, YouTube is good and bad. 
good for it keeps people excited about the game and learning about the game and swing. It allows people to see how large the golf world is in many ways. History, rules, equipment, lessons, etc……., basically every facet of the game.

There is some very good information on it in certain aspects.

With as much content that’s on it, it certainly shows the desire of people who want to learn about all of golf, so the interest is there.
THATS THE GOOD.

NOW FOR THE BAD! AND THIS IS MY OPINION.

YouTube is the perfect case of where too much cake will teach you to not like cake any longer! Computers and what they are capable of are a god sent to mankind but also their mis-use is a destruction to mankind.
You can only eat so much cake before you just don’t like cake anymore.

It is over kill at the highest level! As a teacher of golf in every aspect of the game, expert on the swing, equipment, physics, etc…, trying to undo the damage and mess from mis-understood information from a students mind is a nightmare because they believe what they see on it is the gospel and everyone else is full of crap and crazy and do not know what they are talking about.
DIDN’T YOU KNOW BY NOW EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON LUNE IR YOUTUBE IS TRUE??? LMAO :0:)

I laugh when I see so much poor information on the swing is there for one. 
NO WONDER ALL THESE POOR PEOPLE CAN NOT CONSISTENTLY IMPROVE!

I see the ranges full of all these YouTube swingers chasing the mess they find on YouTube and it is amazing. 
AND THEY WONDER WHY THEY CAN NOT AND DO NOT IMPROVE!!

LMAO AGAIN!!!

WHY IS THIS???

Heres just a couple of reasons:

A- THEY WANT FREE LESSONS AND DON’T WANT TO PAY FOR TRUE KNOWLEDGE

B- WHEN THEY FIND OUT THE REALITY OF WHAT IT TAKES TO IMPROVE AND BECOME BETTER, THEY DO NIT REALLY WANT TO PUT IN THE HARD WORK!

Ben Hogan was correct!

THE SECRET IS IN THE DIRT!

Golf is a game for a lifetime!

 

 

 

 

I do want to take an opportunity to respond to your opinion. In your listing of

A) They don't want to pay for lessons. Of course this may be true but I find whether the information comes from youtube or an actual golf pro lesson, both can equally destroy a golf swing.

B) I believe most golfers want to improve, otherwise why play the game?  Youtube provides a means to learn different techniques quickly then to try out on the range to find out what works for them and what doesn't.

Of course, how you swing could be totally different from how you think you are swinging the club. This is where a pro can give give instruction or the person can video themselves and make adjustments.

True what Hogan said, the secret is in the dirt.

[BVRP2617]

yes, quite a bit 

[TMG_Golf]

I wish when I first started out YT would have been around. As a kid I would tinker a lot but never felt like I was improving. YT would have given me some incredible insight into the game as I was in no spot to afford lessons. Now older I have the means to pay for lessons but I still find myself on YT because it increases my understanding of my swing and feels my coach is trying to get me to feel. Sometimes with lessons it works right off the bat from my coach but often I find it doesn’t and I just need to described in a different way or have a different feel and for that YT is invaluable. My understanding of the swing is so much better thanks to YT as well. Yea you can get sucked down the YT rabbit hole but as long as you know which swing you’re working on and avoid the videos that teach a different system you’ll be alright. Overall I’d definitely say YT has increased my knowledge of the swing and has been as beneficial as lessons for me. 

[Decssm]

It has made me better as a coach but not as a player.

 

I got a lot of new drills for my teaching from YouTube.

[NotQuite70s]

10 hours ago, Decssm said:

It has made me better as a coach but not as a player.

 

I got a lot of new drills for my teaching from YouTube.

So, it appears that the PGA pros on YouTube have some useful drills in their repertoire.  The trick for the viewer is to pick out of the haystack those that will be helpful for their game.

[RockerFCC]

I use what seems to make sense and see if it works. If it doesn't no big deal, it's free. If it does, awesome. It's Free. But really nothing replaces a human identifying the nuances you can't see as you swing, not even video.. 

[JusTzin]

It’s funny, I was just watching one now and I caught myself thinking about all of these comments. I had to stop myself from watching any more. Haha

[MissionMan]

There are a couple of videos I've found good, but they are more to do with strategy than swing changes.

Phil Mickelson warm up video was interesting to hear the different kinds of shots he plays in different conditions, and how he warms up. So rather than being at the range and hitting an 8 iron X distance, he'll be playing a shot saying "This is an 8 iron into the 7th hole at Sawgrass from the right side of the fairway. I am trying to fade it into the green with a high fade. He does this for every shot and alternates between different irons (other than when he is just stretching and warming up).

Listening to Ian Poulter talk through his strategy on shots in his video with Rick Shiels was great. He talks you through why he is going with one iron over another to control spin, etc.

One of the few instructionals I actually liked was the athletic motion video on shallowing as it gives a real perspective on what shallowing means in terms of right arm on it's own. It really helped me

[Haile]

Youtube is fun if you use it the right way. Nothing replaces an in person coach. Well, ok, a good in person coach. But, if you find a good youtuber, like danny maude(who's actually helped me shave a few strokes), or someone else who can possibly help you out, then give what they've got to say a whirl. I tend to go completely off of feel. The numbers tell the rest of the story. I only started golfing a few years ago. So I don't have the decades of experience that all these guys have. But the way some of them explain things is awesome. I'll watch a few videos on the couch at night. If I find something that really makes sense to me, I have the ability to walk out into the garage and try it out in my sim. I give it a few days of trying it. If it works out, great, I'm that much better. If it doesn't work out, then I just write it off. Sometimes the theory is solid but in practice it sucks. I have to find things that work for my swing. I say all that to say this, I hit a draw with my driver now because of a dumb tik tok video my wife sent me. The goofy guy in sweats just explained something the right way. I tried it and stood there in amazement as I hit the first draw I've ever hit with my driver. The next thing you know, it almost looks like I know what I'm doing with that thing in my hand. Of course, that's just one example.

[bama no 1]

34 minutes ago, Haile said:

Youtube is fun if you use it the right way. Nothing replaces an in person coach. Well, ok, a good in person coach. But, if you find a good youtuber, like danny maude(who's actually helped me shave a few strokes), or someone else who can possibly help you out, then give what they've got to say a whirl. I tend to go completely off of feel. The numbers tell the rest of the story. I only started golfing a few years ago. So I don't have the decades of experience that all these guys have. But the way some of them explain things is awesome. I'll watch a few videos on the couch at night. If I find something that really makes sense to me, I have the ability to walk out into the garage and try it out in my sim. I give it a few days of trying it. If it works out, great, I'm that much better. If it doesn't work out, then I just write it off. Sometimes the theory is solid but in practice it sucks. I have to find things that work for my swing. I say all that to say this, I hit a draw with my driver now because of a dumb tik tok video my wife sent me. The goofy guy in sweats just explained something the right way. I tried it and stood there in amazement as I hit the first draw I've ever hit with my driver. The next thing you know, it almost looks like I know what I'm doing with that thing in my hand. Of course, that's just one example.

Link to the drawing a driver please.

[Haile]

5 hours ago, bama no 1 said:

Link to the drawing a driver please.

I thought someone was going to ask for it. You're going to have to give me a bit. But I'll find it and try to figure out how to post it.

[bama no 1]

1 minute ago, Haile said:

I thought someone was going to ask for it. You're going to have to give me a bit. But I'll find it and try to figure out how to post it.

thanks much in advance.

[Haile]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4GOwwjL8m8/?igsh=MW9icjN3cXNtdjFiMg==

14 minutes ago, bama no 1 said:

thanks much in advance.

I found it. Just for noting, I was having a terrible time closing the face of my driver. This did actually help me fix it. Whether it’s right or wrong, it worked for me.