Lesson hypothetical

[Justincasalino]

Friend posed this question to me the other day and I thought it was interesting.

Would you rather have a lesson with Rory or his swing coach?

I choose swing coach cause it could be more tailored to my style but missing the chance to meet Rory would be a downer. 

Interested to see what other people would say. Do you prioritize performance or experience (not saying you wouldn't get performance from Rory).

Edited October 18, 2020 by Justincasalino

[Buffly]

@Justincasalino Definitely, no matter who the player or coach is - I would always pick the player. 

The player has insights on competition, physical fitness, natural ability, practice regimen, and equipment choices that a swing coach may only have pieces of. 

Getting inside the head of the player has much more benefit to me. 

By the way, I respect Rory but, I am not a fan. His pouty demeanor is off putting to me. When I watched him play at Torrey Pines it was disappointing. 

I am much more a fan of Bubba Watson's temperament so, I have really enjoyed the early rounds for charity where he was on a mic - very entertaining. 

[Chip Strokes]

from his coach, definitely. 

players know what works for them, whereas a coach knows what works for players across a broad spectrum. 

i’ve worked with pro baseball players in the past. when someone is that talented, they take certain things for granted and sometimes can’t relate to what an average player might struggle with. 

[Justincasalino]

1 hour ago, Buffly said:

@Justincasalino Definitely, no matter who the player or coach is - I would always pick the player. 

The player has insights on competition, physical fitness, natural ability, practice regimen, and equipment choices that a swing coach may only have pieces of. 

Getting inside the head of the player has much more benefit to me. 

By the way, I respect Rory but, I am not a fan. His pouty demeanor is off putting to me. When I watched him play at Torrey Pines it was disappointing. 

I am much more a fan of Bubba Watson's temperament so, I have really enjoyed the early rounds for charity where he was on a mic - very entertaining. 

I totally didn't consider the competition mentality and other non swing aspects. As someone who doesn't play competitively as much as I used to id still go with the coach for just personal game growth but that definitely makes it a seriously tougher choice.

[Malaka]

I think it's easy to downplay how valuable a great teacher is. I think I would personally get coached by the coach, and if I had a chance, play with the player. I think the middle ground might be choosing one of the champions tour players that have been in the game for a while, and still perform strong. Maybe Freddie, or Vijay.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[cnosil]

I am going with the coach. I would say they are better equipped to communicate with you. Just because you are good at something doesn’t mean you can teach some how to do that thing.

[THEZIPR23]

Coach. Way too many players have no idea what they do that makes them successful. Just listen to how they announce the game. 

[Chip Strokes]

@cnosil @THEZIPR23 i agree completely. 

i wonder if i’d feel the same if the question was asked using Tiger as the example.....

[THEZIPR23]

17 minutes ago, Chip Strokes said:

@cnosil @THEZIPR23 i agree completely. 

i wonder if i’d feel the same if the question was asked using Tiger as the example.....

If you are looking for an actual lesson I don't think my answer would change. If it was an hour with Tiger or Rory or any big name guys then that would be a different story. 

[cnosil]

If you are looking for an actual lesson I don't think my answer would change. If it was an hour with Tiger or Rory or any big name guys then that would be a different story. 

If it were just spending time playing/talking golf and not lessons then playing/talking everytime. I love volunteering as a standard bearer or walking scorer at professional tournaments which has allowed me to spend lots of time on the course with the pros (Symetra, LPGA, and Senior PGA) and just talking to them and their caddies is a blast. During on the the Symetra rounds we drove carts and one of the players instructors rode with me and i got to hear amazing insight into the golf swing and what he saw from the pros in the group I was scoring.

The concern about an hour lesson would be how much would I actually get out if the lesson. Probably wouldn’t change much of anything other than a small
Tweak.

[DaveP043]

If I wanted to become a better player, I'd spend time with the coach.  Players aren't necessarily knowledgeable about swing mechanics other than their own, they're not necessarily able to diagnose faults, and they may not have the experience to relate to individual players.  Coaches NEED all of those talents, the players don't. On the other hand, I'd love a chance to sit and have a pint with many of the players.

[Pandaman]

No brained for me, for a proper lesson it would be the coach.  On course time and tips though would be cool with the player.

[Kenny B]

Rory and I look nothing alike, and I can't do the things that Rory can.  I seriously doubt that Rory could tell me anything that would be useful to me to make my swing better.  Most any swing coach would be better, but the coach would have to be able to work within my capabilities.  

[dlow206]

Generally I would pick the coach. However, it is possible that Rory could also be talented at coaching and be able to give swing insights that match the type of help I need.