Golf Instructors

[gogolfer]

I am a novice golfer just learning the game. I took lessons under a golf instructor. My instructor was a good one and made my lessons a thoroughly enjoyable one. But my friend’s 12-yr-old son had a bad experience. The teacher passed sarcastic remarks, overanalyzing his game. In fact his each and every move was analyzed and criticized. The result was my friend’s son developed an aversion to golf. I think instructors like this should not teach.

http://www.golfinstruction.com/features/in...ly-sins-726.htm

[paulfr]

I played golf for 40 years and was a clubmaker for

15 years. Golf is a very difficult game to teach

because it is so individualized. That is success can

be had with many different types of swing. Take a

look at the pros, especially the very best ones and

you will see almost no similarities. Trevino, Watson,

Nicklaus, Couples, Tiger, VJ Singh.

You just need to hit a lot of balls to become proficient.

But a good teacher can get a reasonably athletic person

to score in the 90's fairly quickly if he has the student's

consistent attention for 3-6 months.

Just try as many pros as you can find and you will feel

right when you find the right fellow.

Golf is a wonderful game and perhaps the

hardest one to master. But you dont need to be a

master to enjoy the smell of the grass, the dew in

the morning and the wonderful serenity of the golf

course.

Good Luck and remember it is just a game.

[penelope]

i've also played glf a long time and done a bit of teaching(for free).

i always advocate trying to find your own natural swing,keep relaxed and not worry too much about mechanical theory.if u do have to think about anything, ensure that you are olny ever thinking about one thing (for me it is my swing plane).

[joinme2leave]

imho, i'd rather prefer having (had) a teaching pro telling me....ooooh, u are soooo bad... instead of (most of them telling u): ...oooh...what a wonderful swing...u are a natural talent....

[Khutan]

Golf instruction is so so important if you are going to be able to enjoy the game.

There are some fundaments that must be correct, or you will never play properly. These generally come because everyone is an individual (inside out and outside in swings) which bring an irregular hook, slice to the game, thus a player who watched the videos and went to the driving range will never get out of "C" grade.

It is not hard if you are of average build and strength to be able to hit monster drives all the time, it is technique and practice, and more practice and more practice.

But a monster drive is nothing if you can't chip and putt. The number of people - even on the tour who you can are weak with their short game or putting (The Yips).

I started to teach my son at the age of 2 how to play. Yes we had lots of fun and plenty of proken stuff in the house when he occasionally threw his cut down 6-iron on a practice swing. I realised when he was 6 he needed a better coach - someone who specialised in kids. and now he plays off 22 - at the age of 11 (playing off the members Tee's NOT the ladies). As an example he has about 5 or 6 different short shots he can play in different conditions, I would have 4, and I play off a h/c of 3. I feel his short game is better than mine. The Father-Son Ambrose is a really good event when we play together.

I used to go to his lessons and the Coach had these kids all doing all these diffreent things and very well. Like hitting the ball through a large hole in a blanket at different heights off the ground. So they were being tought the fundaments of different elevations of the short game.

Basicly, the guy he learns from has a huge number of interesting drills that work and keep the kids interest.

I have to agree with Sin number 6

Sin No. 6 – Lust (Love of the long-ball)

It is so so true, the number of chips and less than 90 yard shots you play on the course is amazing. Now if your short game is poor, and you take 2 shots to get on rather than 1, you have just added 18 shots to a round of golf.

The other one that is so important is get a good regular swing. When you do that you can just keep that and work on the other stuff. You will be able to hit a 1-iron properly and play those shorter shots.

Golf is about consistancy and not alot else. If you know how long you hit every club in your bag, and what you want your next shot to look like, sure its a bit boring, but it gets you on the green. Sure aggressive shots are occasionally rewarded, and you see it on TV alot, but the course preperation and the green preparation are so much more important.

Finally think of this, if you could go around a course every time in -2 with a H/C of 0 how many tournaments would you win.

[ThaiAmGuy]

Good comments, although I respectfully disagree with some of the points. Golf is a wonderful game, i.e., the bonding, the great outdoors, and simply the joy of hitting that elusive sweetspot dead-center. But I think that most folks would enjoy golf more if they played reasonably well (or up to their potential). I rarely see folks enjoy the game if they’re out there hacking it all over the course, especially if they know they’re capable of playing better. It really helps to know the fundamentals at the outset. While it’s true that pro golfers have tremendous success with what appears to be a wide array of swings (e.g., Trevino, Furyk, K. Perry), with different tempos (Els vs Price, Goosen vs Daly), and body shapes (TW vs Herron, Weir vs DLIII), it must be noted that (IMHO) pro golfers all share the same basic swing THROUGH THE BALL. That is, inside approach, slightly descending blow, stay down through the shot, smooth/full follow-through, etc. High-handicappers, aside from having a miserable short game, lack most if not all of these. I can’t see how one could enjoy the game if he/she is constantly coming over the top and consequently chunking it or slicing it into the woods with regularity. Got to know the basics.

The other big problem I see with hackers is their tendency to want to hit the ball out of the park. If these guys would just swing a little easier (with a full turn), they would enjoy their golf outings much more.

My advice to beginners is to learn the basics first, and then go out to the range and smack buckets of balls until your hands are bloody. If you don’t learn the basics first, you’re simply going to practice and reinforce bad habits which, I assure you, will be hard to overcome later on.

[chingy_]

i willing to learn golf, anybody want to teach

[SarahH]

Are you in Bangkok? I know a good but cheap instructer in Bangkok. He charges 200 baht per hour, plus golf fees. Send me a PM and I'll give his number.

[khun jim]

I was in Loei last december and was invited to play in a tourney at a local course on a army base through my brother in law. It was a 2 dat tourney and very nice indeed. beautiful scenery in the mountians. i was treated like a movie star and even had a camera man follow me around and shoot video of me playing. I was playing with my brother in laws clubs and still managed to take 3 in b flight. It was a greast experience and had a blast with the locals. Every day after play there was a party with live band.Local big shots and even got some phone numbers of some decent players to call when in the area next time. Golf is a good ice breaker and helps to meet new people with same intrest regardsless of lack of comunication. love golf in thailand.

[Rinrada]

I am not really a golfer (too much like had work playing with those little balls)but had a few swings at the driving range 2 weeks ago up at the R.T.N course on the corner of Bagna Trad/Suk road.(behind the Geo Dept)and not too bad.

One of K.W. mates owns the place so if anybody wants to try it I am sure I could find out what the score is. ie entry requirements....??

There didnt appear to be any Non Ts/ in the place so dont know if its "reserved"but if they let me have a go then.......

Also again (for golfers) keep your eyes open for the new Course that will be opening up in Chiang Mai in Oct.(same time as new airport ...ye-yea ) I had a tour with the big boss/owner and he intends to make it the no.1 in the country in a couple of years time when its fully matured.He also has plans for a lux housing development..of course and the usual 5 star hotel (looking for a foreign partner.......but I aint touting.....just for info...)

Chiangers will never be the same.