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Sorry, I need to brag


Matt Saternus

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Found out about this last night, and, outside of my fellow instructor, I don't really have anyone else to share this with.

 

A little over a month ago, a gentleman came in for his first lesson and told me that he shoots over 100 (105 was his best) and his goal was to shoot in the mid-80's. He's a good enough athlete and is willing to practice. We have had a total of 3 lessons together. Last night he came in to practice and said, "Matt, I have to thank you for the 85."

Me: "The what?"

Student: "I shot 85 this weekend."

"You went from 105 to 85? You broke 100 and 90 in the same round?"

"Well, no, I shot 98 in between."

 

Needless to say, I was (and am) VERY excited for him. The only problem is: how do I follow up those first 3 lessons?

Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus

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Great. And congrats to you on a job well done.

 

What did he do differently? Besides keep it in play.

:ping-small:G430LST 10.5° on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Driver 

:ping-small:G430MAX 3w  on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Fairway 

:ping-small:G425 3H on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Hybrid 

:taylormade-small:P790 Black 4-A 
on :kbs: TGI 80S
 

:mizuno-small: ES21 54-8° & 58-12° on :kbs: Hi Rev

:L.A.B.:DF2.1 on :accra: White

:titelist-small: ProV1  

:918457628_PrecisionPro: Precision Pro  NX7 Pro

All Iron grips are BestGrips Micro-Perforated Mid

Driver, 3w, 3H are JumboMax JMX UltraLite XS 

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I'm taking the next flight to Matt.

Make me shoot low 70! :D

:cobra-small: SpeedZone 9* w/ Aldila Rogue Silver 60 S
:callaway-small: X2 Hot 3 Deep 14.5* w/ Aldila Tour Green 75 S
:taylormade-small: JetSpeed 5W 19* w/ Matrix Velox T 69 S OR :adams-small: Super LS 3H 19* w/ Kuro Kage Black 80 S
:mizuno-small: JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S
:titelist-small: Vokey SM7 50/08F, 54/14F & 58/08M w/ Modus3 115 Wedge
:EVNROLL: ER1 34" w/ SuperStroke Fatso 2.0
MfleKCg.jpg Pro / 9dZCgaF.jpgH2NO Lite Cart Bag / :Clicgear: 3.0 / :918457628_PrecisionPro: NX7 Pro LRF

My reviews: MLA Putter // Titleist SM7 // PING i500 // PuttOUT

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Great. And congrats to you on a job well done.

 

What did he do differently? Besides keep it in play.

 

The biggest difference? He had confidence in himself.

 

When he first walked in and said he shot 110+, I expected to see an awful swing. Then he hit some balls and the first thing I said was, "You must be the worst putter walking the planet. There's no way you shoot 110+ with that golf swing. 90's? Ok, but not in the 100's. Unacceptable. Stop it now." He looked at me totally puzzled.

 

Have I made some technical changes? Sure, a couple tweaks, but it's still his swing. The biggest thing I do is tell him, for the entirety of the lesson, every time he sees me, "You can't shoot in the 100's with that swing. It's an 80's swing." Took 2 hours of hearing it, but he finally believed it and took it to the course.

 

I think some teachers would be ashamed of that, but I think it might be my best teaching achievement. I could have torn his swing apart on video, and if he wanted to play tour level golf that might have been appropriate, but I didn't. I didn't sell him more lessons than he needed. I gave him exactly what HE needed to meet HIS goals. Now we're going to set new ones...and reach them.

Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus

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The biggest difference? He had confidence in himself.

 

When he first walked in and said he shot 110+, I expected to see an awful swing. Then he hit some balls and the first thing I said was, "You must be the worst putter walking the planet. There's no way you shoot 110+ with that golf swing. 90's? Ok, but not in the 100's. Unacceptable. Stop it now." He looked at me totally puzzled.

 

Have I made some technical changes? Sure, a couple tweaks, but it's still his swing. The biggest thing I do is tell him, for the entirety of the lesson, every time he sees me, "You can't shoot in the 100's with that swing. It's an 80's swing." Took 2 hours of hearing it, but he finally believed it and took it to the course.

 

I think some teachers would be ashamed of that, but I think it might be my best teaching achievement. I could have torn his swing apart on video, and if he wanted to play tour level golf that might have been appropriate, but I didn't. I didn't sell him more lessons than he needed. I gave him exactly what HE needed to meet HIS goals. Now we're going to set new ones...and reach them.

 

It does not matter what you did, you still have a major accomplishment.

 

I have been working with my nieghbor for almost a year now that was the same way. He never broke 100 yet he had one of the best swings in our group. I was simply amazed the first time we played and we were walking off the first green and I said what did you have and he said 9. I was like 8? How the hell did you make an 8. You had a decent drive. Well, I hit it out of bounds, and then short and then short again, and then 3 putted. Then on the next hole he drives it ob. He now shoots 85ish but there is no real reason he can not do better than that but he is on his own now. He has started winning based on our handicap wagers.:P

:ping-small:G430LST 10.5° on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Driver 

:ping-small:G430MAX 3w  on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Fairway 

:ping-small:G425 3H on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Hybrid 

:taylormade-small:P790 Black 4-A 
on :kbs: TGI 80S
 

:mizuno-small: ES21 54-8° & 58-12° on :kbs: Hi Rev

:L.A.B.:DF2.1 on :accra: White

:titelist-small: ProV1  

:918457628_PrecisionPro: Precision Pro  NX7 Pro

All Iron grips are BestGrips Micro-Perforated Mid

Driver, 3w, 3H are JumboMax JMX UltraLite XS 

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Nice work Matt, I think that is awesome. You know what they say, golf takes place in the 6" between the ears!

Ping I20 8.5* - Aldila NV 65g S
Adams XTD Super Hybrid 15* - Stock Fubuki S
Adams DHY 21* - Stock Matrix Ozik White Tie S
Mizuno MP58 4-8 Irons - Fujikura MCI 100 S
SCOR 42,46,50,54,58* - SCOR/KBS Genius S
STX Robert Ingman Envision TR 35", Iomic grip

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What a great story. I appreciate my pro in Wisconsin because he asked me the first day what I wanted to accomplish. He was upfront too - if its to get ready for the senior tour we're going to have to make major changes and hit the gym. If it's to play more consistent or even to break par on occasion that won't be so difficult - I'm sure he was thinking, "This guy isn't getting near the senior tour without a ticket but the fact that he threw it out had me beaming with confidence."

 

Great teaching Matt

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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I'm taking the next flight to Matt.

Make me shoot low 70! :D

 

:D :D :D

That's what I was thinking too!

:D :D :D

MENTOR, L4 COACH & TRAINER  FIRST TEE GREATER HOUSTON
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In my bag, April 2023
:titelist-small: TS3 Driver & 4 Wood Hzrdous Smoke Shaft (Stiff Flex)
:titelist-small: TS2 Hybrids  Mitsubishi Tensei Shaft (Stiff Flex)
:mizuno-small:  MP-59 5-PW; KBS Tour (Regular Flex)
:titelist-small: SM8 Wedges

EVNROLL ER2  Putter
SRIXON Z-STAR DIAMOND BALL
Sun Mountain Cart Bag
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Well done Matt.

 

Having coached a few sports there is nothing better than to see a student achieve a goal because of something you did.

 

I find that most of the time there is very little wrong with their technique and the majority of the time it is self confidence that is holding them back. This applies to all sports, not just golf.

 

It sounds like you offered exactly the right advice at the right time. This is what makes a good coach a great one.

 

AJ

WITB

Driver: Ping G25

FW: TM RBZ

Irons: Miura 57 Series w/KBS C-Taper

Wedges: Vokey SM4 52-08,56-12,60-04

Putter: Watch This Space

Ball: SRixon Z Star

Other: Tourstriker 7i

 

"Go Hard or Go Home"

 

"Do or Do Not. There is NO "TRY"

 

"Be normal, and the crowd will accept you. Be deranged, and they will make you their leader"

 

"I don't fail. I succeed at finding what doesn't work"

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Congrats Matt! I know this is your first season as an instructor so hopefully you'll have many more success stories to come!

 

Thanks. It's my first season doing this as a primary source of income, but I've been doing it to a lesser extent for a few years.

Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus

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Matt you should drive up to Grand Rapids MI soon and give me a lesson or two!

 

In all seriousness, that's awesome. Two rounds and he shaved 20 strokes off is something special.

What's In The Bag:

 

Adams 9064LS

Ben Hogan Edge CFT Ti

Ben Hogan Apex Edge 4-PW

TaylorMade ATV 50* 54*

Mizuno Bettinardi BC3 Tour Issue

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Excellent post. You know golf is a game of inches the 6 inches between ones ears. That was excellent teaching. I am really glad to read this because there is (in my humble opinion) to much B S in golf instruction today

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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That's a great achievement to have on your resume. It sounds like he needs some new goals. Now you'll have to start telling him he can shoot 70's.

 

Thank you. I saw him again tonight for a lesson and he showed me the scorecard from his 85: he had four 3 putts!!!! The 70's are not far off at all.

Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus

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  • 6 years later...

Gonna do a "Throwback Thursday" 😄

Golf really is a game of confidence but also very much of attitude

The more experienced I become as a player, the more I realize .. and start to internalize .. just how much your (internal) attitude directly affects your (external) performance on the course.

2019 goals include - play with a positive attitude ... and allow that to help me achieve positive results!

(..and continue with lessons and lots of practice, too, of course!)

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

followthrough.jpg

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Excellent post and bragging is good for the skin...

Congrats to both of you!

DRIVER: Cobra F9 10.5  Tensei AV Blue 65g

3W- Callway XR PRO 16 stiff

5W- Alpha- Mitsubishi Diamana  Redboard w/band

Irons- Mizuno JPX 919 Tours with S KBS Tour shafts

Hyrbid- TM 4h mid-rescue

Vokey- Vokey SM5 51 degrees,  SM7 Wedges 54 and 58 1/2 half 3 degrees upright

Putter- Taylor Made Rossa Monza Mini Spider

Ball-ProV1 and AVX

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