Online coaching with Ed Teer (edteergolf)- Let the experiment begin!

[DriverBreaker]

Fellow Spies,

I was contacted by one of our own @edteergolf about some online coaching.

Ed was gracious and supportive enough to offer me some sessions in exchange for some honest feedback and sharing with others.

We had our first session today and I really did not know what to expect.  I've heard of online coaching before, but as with anything else, there are some good some bad.  

I like to think I know how to play golf, but golf is just like any other sport.  Football coaches have a strategy, basketball coaches have a strategy, but with golf us amateurs often think we can go it alone.  I'd honestly never thought about any golf coaching aside from swing mechanics.

One session on the books and I am excited.  Ed is a very personable, passionate, and easy to talk to.  We hit it off immediately and felt like old friends.  This is so important in a good coach/student relationship.

Having read and responded to some of Ed's posts on another thread, I was intrigued by some of his concepts.  I really like hitting driver. I mean I REALLY like it! lol  It is a huge advantage for me in the game.  However, I've been trying to make yardage books and strategies on my own.  In my own planning, I'm hitting driver just a few times a round. 

One thing Ed immediately made clear to me was that I didn't have to necessarily keep driver in the bag as much.

I'm a stats guy, and Ed shared lots of stats that I was familiar with, but presented them in a new and enlightening way that makes the game look much different to me.  A lot of it has to do with the way we perceive things and the words we use to describe/think of concepts in golf.  Total game changer after just one session.

I'll be going back and looking at my yardage books for ways I can attack courses that I've previously ignored.  I'm also going to be looking for some different KPIs the next time I play, so we can analyze where I really need improvement.

I will be reporting back on how things are progressing as we go along.  Y'all show @edteergolf some love and shoot him your questions.  The man has a plan!

I can't wait for the next session!!!

[cnosil]

I will also chime in here.  I have taken a few lessons, in person, from Ed over the past few years and just recently he helped me with my short game.  @ChasingScratch sums Ed's personality and commitment to helping players improve pretty well.    I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ed for lessons.  

[edteergolf]

@ChasingScratchThank for the very kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed our first session.  I love what I do and I'm passionate that there is a better & possibly easier way for a player to improve their golf game.  It takes work and at times a lot of it but putting a systematic plan in place can make the process easier.  As you are know well aware, I think golfers think it is the right thing to always be finding their way, having to make a choice about what to do, should I be aggressive, etc. when think the decision making process is and should be simple.  The is a correct target and a safer target on every hole no matter the circumstances.  The only thing to determine is how to get to the correct target in the current environmental conditions.  

I look forward to the next sessions and watching you improve.  Thanks again!

[edteergolf]

On 8/6/2019 at 6:37 PM, cnosil said:

I will also chime in here.  I have taken a few lessons, in person, from Ed over the past few years and just recently he helped me with my short game.  @ChasingScratch sums Ed's personality and commitment to helping players improve pretty well.    I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ed for lessons.  

Thanks @cnosilfor the support and the kind words.  You are a knowledgeable and easy student to work with.  Keep up the work with the finesse wedges and let me know how it's going.  

[DriverBreaker]

I don’t want people to think I forgot about this. I just haven’t played or swung a golf club in over a month..... it’s been crazy in the ChasingScratch home... you know... real life stuff lol

 

 

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[DriverBreaker]

First round in the books on a course I’d never played before. Shot 5 over which is really good on a new course, especially when I didn’t putt well (35 putts with two 3-putts). I also hit a ball into the water off the tee (hit it through the fairway....).

 

I had not swung a club in over one month, so I was very happy with the overall score. Ed’s tee shot strategy really payed off. I was very confident with driver off the tee and hit some monster balls (having the right game plan really frees up your driver game and you can rip it).

 

I hit it long thru a few greens on par 5’s, turning would be eagle putts into scrambling for a decent birdie try. I think the lack of play caused me to mess up my distance control on some of those approaches.

 

I’ll get two more rounds under my belt and then we will re-evaluate with the stats I take.

 

Stay tuned!

 

 

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[BMart519]

17 hours ago, ChasingScratch said:

 Ed’s tee shot strategy really payed off. I was very confident with driver off the tee and hit some monster balls (having the right game plan really frees up your driver game and you can rip it).

 

 

 

 

 

What is the tee shot strategy? To use driver as much as possible and shorten your approach shots?

[DriverBreaker]

What is the tee shot strategy? To use driver as much as possible and shorten your approach shots?

With respect to Ed and the work he does, I’ll let him expound on it as he chooses. I can say that I was looking at tee shots in a completely different way before, and now it really opens up my strength of hitting the ball a really long way.


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[edteergolf]

10 hours ago, BMart519 said:

What is the tee shot strategy? To use driver as much as possible and shorten your approach shots?

That would be an over simplification of the strategy but your theory isn't completely wrong.   The idea is really to understand your shot cone and to always place that cone in play.  The cone must fit between obstacles and penalty areas.  It is the cone placement that dictates which club is used off the tee.  One must also understand efficiency (average number of strokes from a distance and lie) when choosing the correct tee shot.  "Correct" be the word of choice.  On every hole and every situation there really is one correct shot and then all the other solutions.  

[DriverBreaker]

Round #2 in the books. Shot a 78 (+6) with a less than stellar ball-striking and putting round. I had 35 putts, three of which were 3-putts, and I missed three 6 footers for birdie.

 

If I eliminate the three putts and make a few of the four 6 footers, it’s an easy +1, 73 round. I did have 3 birdies on the day and hit my wedges inside of 80yds to less than 10ft often.

 

As I suspected, my putting is an area where I can drastically improve.

 

 

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[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, ChasingScratch said:

Round #2 in the books. Shot a 78 (+6) with a less than stellar ball-striking and putting round. I had 35 putts, three of which were 3-putts, and I missed two 6 footers for birdie.

If I eliminate the three putts and make a few of the four 6 footers, it’s an easy +1, 73 round. I did have 3 birdies on the day and hit my wedges inside of 80yds to less than 10ft often.

As I suspected, my putting is an area where I can drastically improve.

OK, 3 3-putts isn't good, but how long was the first putt in each case?  If it was 20 feet, a 3-putt is bad, but if your first putt was from 60', blame the shot that got you to the green.  You say you had 4 6-footers, missed 2 of them?  That's not unreasonable, making 3 of 4 would be better than the tour pro average.  How long were your birdie putts?  I'm not saying that you're wrong in blaming your putting, only that it might not be as much of a problem as you think it is.

[DriverBreaker]

OK, 3 3-putts isn't good, but how long was the first putt in each case?  If it was 20 feet, a 3-putt is bad, but if your first putt was from 60', blame the shot that got you to the green.  You say you had 4 6-footers, missed 2 of them?  That's not unreasonable, making 3 of 4 would be better than the tour pro average.  How long were your birdie putts?  I'm not saying that you're wrong in blaming your putting, only that it might not be as much of a problem as you think it is.

 I had 4 putts that were 6-7 feet and didn’t make a single one (3 of those were birdie putts).

 

The lengths of the first putt on the three-putts were: 36’ (horseshoe lip-out on the 2nd putt), 48’, and 66’.

 

I hadn’t played in two weeks, so I don’t know what I can expect out of distance control from 30+ feet.

 

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[DaveP043]

53 minutes ago, ChasingScratch said:

 I had 4 putts that were 6-7 feet and didn’t make a single one (3 of those were birdie putts).

The lengths of the first putt on the three-putts were: 36’ (horseshoe lip-out on the 2nd putt), 48’, and 66’.

I hadn’t played in two weeks, so I don’t know what I can expect out of distance control from 30+ feet.

Yeah, you're right, you really should make something around half from 6 or 7 feet.  But with the 3-putts, 36 is moderately long, 48 and 66 feet are pretty long chances, I'd expect to 3-putt at least one of these.  If you did 2-putt from long range a few times, the 3 3-putts might be a reasonable percentage.  Depending on the club into the green, I'd put a significant part of the "blame" on the approach shot.  And if you hit a poor drive, one that left you a longer-than-average shot to the green, maybe the "blame" would go more on the driver than anything else.  I'm not suggesting that you NOT work on putting, but sometimes the other parts of the game are a significant contributing reason that a player would need a lot of putts.  You might want to use something like this Strokes Gained putting calculator to look a little deeper into your putting:

https://www.golfrankingstats.com/strokes-gained-calculator/

[DriverBreaker]

Yeah, you're right, you really should make something around half from 6 or 7 feet.  But with the 3-putts, 36 is moderately long, 48 and 66 feet are pretty long chances, I'd expect to 3-putt at least one of these.  If you did 2-putt from long range a few times, the 3 3-putts might be a reasonable percentage.  Depending on the club into the green, I'd put a significant part of the "blame" on the approach shot.  And if you hit a poor drive, one that left you a longer-than-average shot to the green, maybe the "blame" would go more on the driver than anything else.  I'm not suggesting that you NOT work on putting, but sometimes the other parts of the game are a significant contributing reason that a player would need a lot of putts.  You might want to use something like this Strokes Gained putting calculator to look a little deeper into your putting:
https://www.golfrankingstats.com/strokes-gained-calculator/

I definitely had a few tough approaches and flat out missed swings (who doesn’t). The 66 footer I bailed out from a sucker pin (bailed out really hard lol).

But overall, when I hit the green:

30-80yds: 15.25ft
81-125yds: 24ft
126-175yds: 29.71ft
176-225yds: 34.5ft

I obviously missed a few greens that I should have hit.


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[mr.hicksta]

I took a lesson with Ed a couple weeks ago and I wanted to echo everything @ChasingScratch mentioned. I enjoyed working with Ed so much that I'm planning on sticking with him for awhile!

[DriverBreaker]

I had my second session with Coach Ed Teer this morning.

Man, this guy is such a genuine person.  I don't know how to say it any different.  He originally told me we'd do three 30-minute sessions for free.  Today, he spent 1hr on Zoom with me this morning, just because.  I appreciate his vibe and how he will call you out on your B.S. (I may or may not have made some excuses for some poor holes here or there LOL).

Having provided Ed with 6 rounds of golf to get some baseline stats on my game, we spent this hour discussing some things that I thought were problems and what Ed says the stats say.  First, I wanted to say that my putting is terrible.  Ed was quick to help me realize that, given the parameters of my overall putting stats, I'm actually not doing too bad.  This really helped me to focus my perspective, understand realistic expectations, and give me new goals going forward.  It's encouraging to hear that I shouldn't be too hard on myself from time to time.  Plus, these new goals seem stupid easy compared to how I've been playing golf.

The lofty goal of 'scratch' golf (especially given my budgetary constraints and lack of time) must be put into proper perspective.  What I've learned thus far is that, when I hit the greens in reg, I actually am hitting it closer on average than the pros do.  However, my decision making and strategy is severely lacking.  The skills are present, but the strategy/focus needs to match those skills.

I am looking forward to playing soon and implementing the new goals and strategies from our session today.  

Here is my biggest takeaway from today; Ed has made golf seem very stress-free to me.  All I have to do is stick to the game plan, and my skills should be able to get me to my goals (that is if I can stay out of my own head and simply follow the plan.....  that's a challenge for me LOL).

I'll keep posting here as I progress with my new goals/strategy.

Please reach out to Ed if you are interested in improving your game.  Maybe you aren't as bad in some areas as you think you are and you may need to improve areas you think are strengths.

[DriverBreaker]

Shot a stress-free 76 that could have easily been an even par round. I made bone-headed mistake (my father-in-law tried several times to talk me out of the shot lol) that cost me at least one stroke, didn’t account for the wind on a few shots, had two chips for birdie that finished 1” away from the hole, and had 4 putts on the lip. Literally had my strategy for each hole and just swung freely. It was very simple. Looking forward to the next round!


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[DriverBreaker]

Walked a quick nine holes tonight and got to play a few on the back before it got too dark. No warmup, just hopped out of the car and started walking.

 

I have played this course before and already made my driving cones. First two holes I hit wedges fat from 100yds and 70yds (I was experimenting with a new move). No stress, just pitched up and two putted for bogey (no panicking, just accept it and move on).

 

Hole 3 is a par 3. Guess what, hit it fat again. Hit onto the green from 70yds and had a 20 footer back to the hole (made it to save par).

 

Hole 4 is a par 5. Hit the fairway, 190 to the green hit 7 iron to 18ft (not flag hunting and didn’t even use a range finder, just aim for the middle of the green). Easy two putt birdie.

 

Hole 5 is a 225yd par 3 into the wind. Hit it long past the green, pitch up (downhill so ran too far). Two putt for bogey.

 

Hole 6 hit a good drive and good wedge, two putt par.

 

Hole 7 hit a long 5 wood and a wedge into the green, two putt par.

 

Hole 8 is another par 4. Hit a good drive, missed green short (fat again) chip up to 2ft, easy par.

 

Hole 9 is a layup hole. Hit 7 iron and then 7 iron again to front of green, roll in a 30ft putt for birdie.

 

Easy least +1 round with no stress and a bunch of fat shots.

 

Hole 10 I hit the fairway; hit the middle of the green, and make a 10ft birdie.

 

Played a few more holes with easy pars (birdie putts).

 

The thing was, I spent 3-5 seconds reading each putt. I didn’t stress if I missed one inside of 10ft for a par save, it happens. I knew there were some putts I would make that I could make them up on. Very stress free way to play.

 

Thanks[mention=69065]edteergolf[/mention]

 

 

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