Brian Manzella
Administrator
What is Golf Instruction? What should it be?
Before I answer these important questions, let's get some facts on the table.
Only 11% of all avid golfers—a group that includes those who play a dozen or so rounds a year or more—have taken a lesson in the last three seasons.
Ouch!
So, what is Golf Instruction in the year 2010?
Of the 40,000 or so "golf pros" who give lessons on the planet, only about 10% of them give more than a few lessons a year. My guess is the number of lessons to be in that top 10% of amount of lessons given group, is a around 60.
So, of that group of four thousand teachers, what are they actually doing in a lesson.
About 1250 of these teachers just watch the student and give some general tips.
About 1250 of these teachers use a video camera, and maybe a line drawing program, and they teach "spine angle" or "shaft plane."
About 1250 of these teachers subscribe to a method, like one plane/two plane, stack & tilt, Leadbetter, Haney, morad, tgm-lite, or tgm-lieteral. Maybe on half of these folks are very dogmatic in their approach. Most use a camera, some use other technologies.
That leaves about 250 teachers world-wide who use some technology more than a regular old video camera, don't teach a "method," and give a least a couple of lessons a week.
Whoa!
Out of these 4000 semi-active or more teachers, only about 1000 of them give lessons as their primary income.
That 1000 is comprised of about 850 method teachers, leaving maybe 150 serious teacher in the world who don't primarily teach a method.
Of the that 1000, 95%+ of the method teachers want to see students several times to get them to do the method. This includes folks like the Golf Tec company. 80% of the non method teachers probably would like to sell a package to be able to affect the golfer through whatever it is they believe in.
That math leaves about 100 teachers in the world, who are serious about their craft, and will just even believe they could help a student a bunch in just a lesson or two.
Teachers of the World, you are missing why folks take golf lessons.
Most golfers have never hit a draw. Most golfers have multiple marks on top of their drivers. Most golfers have no idea how to hit a bunker shot beyond an open face and hitting behind the ball, and most golfers have no idea what to do when they putt.
Most golfers have never been able to rid themselves of one serious malady, like a duck-hook, a shank, or thin shots.
Teachers, you really need to learn how to do these things.
Quick.
The vast majority of serious lesson givers in the world do not believe that you can give a chap a lesson and fix their slice for good. Or teach them to chip. Or whatever in one or two lessons.
They say anything that is done in that much time is a and-aid at best, or total bull turds at worse.
In my opinion, it is The Second Biggest Lie Ever Told in Golf Instruction History.
A perfect example is a lesson to I gave recently to Neil "Shot Limit" Courtney.
He took one lesson from me a year ago, and if I recall, I looked at him one other time to make sure things were in order.
He was shooting around 105 when he came to see me, with a swing that was at least 10° inside-out.
He told me before his lesson this week that he now breaks 90 consistently, and has shot 82.
Wait a minute!
I thought that wouldn't and couldn't happen.
Well it did.
You just have to know what you are doing.
You see, a method teacher, maybe would have spotted the overly inside-out path, but they would have prescribed a swing that was "perfect," by their theory.
I knew, and know better.
I gave him a pattern that not only would work better in very short order, but one that would "blow up" the old one.
It worked better and so completely blew up the old swing that there was zero remnants of it when he showed up.
We then upgraded from that point, with all the same ideas that I used before, just closer to the "middle of the Manzella Matrix."
Neil does not plan to take another lesson until the summer.
As I travel around the country, when I see folks who are working with me for the first time, and ask them to tell me about their games, I often here something like this:
"I used to be a 15 handicapper and a slicer, but I bought Never Slice Again and now I am an 8, and I want to get closer to scratch."
No lessons. No band-aids.
Kust know how.
That's all most folks need.
Or want.
Sure, I really enjoy working with a golfer over a long period of time. Gave my first lesson to David Toms in 1988. Gave me last one to him in May. Gave my fist lesson to Lindsay Gahm 10 years ago. Kevin Shields going on five years. Jim Markovitz, four. Tom Bartlett's first lesson with me, 1986.
So, in a long amount of time, you can move mountains and eat elephants.
But, in 1980, I gave my good pal Todd Nunez a 10 minute putting lesson.
He had no idea what he was doing.
To this day, Todd is an exceptional putter.
You see folks, that's is what is called teaching.
Before I answer these important questions, let's get some facts on the table.
Only 11% of all avid golfers—a group that includes those who play a dozen or so rounds a year or more—have taken a lesson in the last three seasons.
Ouch!
So, what is Golf Instruction in the year 2010?
Of the 40,000 or so "golf pros" who give lessons on the planet, only about 10% of them give more than a few lessons a year. My guess is the number of lessons to be in that top 10% of amount of lessons given group, is a around 60.
So, of that group of four thousand teachers, what are they actually doing in a lesson.
About 1250 of these teachers just watch the student and give some general tips.
About 1250 of these teachers use a video camera, and maybe a line drawing program, and they teach "spine angle" or "shaft plane."
About 1250 of these teachers subscribe to a method, like one plane/two plane, stack & tilt, Leadbetter, Haney, morad, tgm-lite, or tgm-lieteral. Maybe on half of these folks are very dogmatic in their approach. Most use a camera, some use other technologies.
That leaves about 250 teachers world-wide who use some technology more than a regular old video camera, don't teach a "method," and give a least a couple of lessons a week.
Whoa!
Out of these 4000 semi-active or more teachers, only about 1000 of them give lessons as their primary income.
That 1000 is comprised of about 850 method teachers, leaving maybe 150 serious teacher in the world who don't primarily teach a method.
Of the that 1000, 95%+ of the method teachers want to see students several times to get them to do the method. This includes folks like the Golf Tec company. 80% of the non method teachers probably would like to sell a package to be able to affect the golfer through whatever it is they believe in.
That math leaves about 100 teachers in the world, who are serious about their craft, and will just even believe they could help a student a bunch in just a lesson or two.
Teachers of the World, you are missing why folks take golf lessons.
Most golfers have never hit a draw. Most golfers have multiple marks on top of their drivers. Most golfers have no idea how to hit a bunker shot beyond an open face and hitting behind the ball, and most golfers have no idea what to do when they putt.
Most golfers have never been able to rid themselves of one serious malady, like a duck-hook, a shank, or thin shots.
Teachers, you really need to learn how to do these things.
Quick.
The vast majority of serious lesson givers in the world do not believe that you can give a chap a lesson and fix their slice for good. Or teach them to chip. Or whatever in one or two lessons.
They say anything that is done in that much time is a and-aid at best, or total bull turds at worse.
In my opinion, it is The Second Biggest Lie Ever Told in Golf Instruction History.
A perfect example is a lesson to I gave recently to Neil "Shot Limit" Courtney.
He took one lesson from me a year ago, and if I recall, I looked at him one other time to make sure things were in order.
He was shooting around 105 when he came to see me, with a swing that was at least 10° inside-out.
He told me before his lesson this week that he now breaks 90 consistently, and has shot 82.
Wait a minute!
I thought that wouldn't and couldn't happen.
Well it did.
You just have to know what you are doing.
You see, a method teacher, maybe would have spotted the overly inside-out path, but they would have prescribed a swing that was "perfect," by their theory.
I knew, and know better.
I gave him a pattern that not only would work better in very short order, but one that would "blow up" the old one.
It worked better and so completely blew up the old swing that there was zero remnants of it when he showed up.
We then upgraded from that point, with all the same ideas that I used before, just closer to the "middle of the Manzella Matrix."
Neil does not plan to take another lesson until the summer.
As I travel around the country, when I see folks who are working with me for the first time, and ask them to tell me about their games, I often here something like this:
"I used to be a 15 handicapper and a slicer, but I bought Never Slice Again and now I am an 8, and I want to get closer to scratch."
No lessons. No band-aids.
Kust know how.
That's all most folks need.
Or want.
Sure, I really enjoy working with a golfer over a long period of time. Gave my first lesson to David Toms in 1988. Gave me last one to him in May. Gave my fist lesson to Lindsay Gahm 10 years ago. Kevin Shields going on five years. Jim Markovitz, four. Tom Bartlett's first lesson with me, 1986.
So, in a long amount of time, you can move mountains and eat elephants.
But, in 1980, I gave my good pal Todd Nunez a 10 minute putting lesson.
He had no idea what he was doing.
To this day, Todd is an exceptional putter.
You see folks, that's is what is called teaching.
