NYTIMES article on the perils of contemporary golf teaching

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hp12c

hp12c

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Funny indeed, I have a fellow golfer who is lets say mature and he kept thinkning he had a long backswing, I kept telling him no its very short, he wanted a longer backswing so I finally recorded is swing and showed it to him, wow was he shocked all this time he thought he had a long back swing and in reality it barely made it past hip high.
 
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DCgolf

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article

I heard Jerry Seinfeld discuss the art of comedy one time. He said: "comedy is not a having show on TV or acting in a movie; it is standing in front of a live audience and making them roar with laughter." That is a comedian. Same thing with teaching golf. It is not spouting theories on a DVD or in a book; It is standing behind someone for an hour and getting them to hit better golf shots. Period. Fix the problem, develop the player and you're a good teacher. Thats where the rubber meets the road. There are teachers making tapes/writing articles and books, and giving tips who are GREAT teachers, but not for that reason. Their reputation develops because they help golfers hit better shots live and in person on the lesson tee. DC
 
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holeout

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Lindsey Newman said:
Oh I know, how 'bout those people that are always posting on forums, what bunch of losers...
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Honestly, most forums are covered with really annoying comments too. This one has been a safe haven from that so far. VERY thankful for the Academy members and Moderators keeping it free from junk.
 
Todd Dugan

Todd Dugan

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The writer tells us that he has "studied" Hogan's "5 Lessons", only to find out years later that the Hogan swing, with its emphasis on "pronation", which he admitedly does not know the meaning of, "only makes sense if you're Ben Hogan". But Hogan does not advise "pronating" in "5 Lessons". And a quick check of a dictionary would reveal the definition of the word. So while the writer makes a valiant effort to humorously point out the seemingly contradictory nature of golf instruction, albeit while taking liberties with the truth, the other side of the story is that some people don't learn so well.
 
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DCgolf

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Todd Dugan said:
The writer tells us that he has "studied" Hogan's "5 Lessons", only to find out years later that the Hogan swing, with its emphasis on "pronation", which he admitedly does not know the meaning of, "only makes sense if you're Ben Hogan". But Hogan does not advise "pronating" in "5 Lessons". And a quick check of a dictionary would reveal the definition of the word. So while the writer makes a valiant effort to humorously point out the seemingly contradictory nature of golf instruction, albeit while taking liberties with the truth, the other side of the story is that some people don't learn so well.
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Agreed. And the thing is the people we teach buy into this bull lock, stock...they have no clue what applies to their problem and what does not! They try to incorporate these generic, misleading tips into their program and get worse!
 
johnnymarlboro

johnnymarlboro

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Sort of the opposite. Pronating would refer to rotating the left arm flying wedge flatter in the backswing. Supination is the opposite, rotating the left arm counter clockwise (for a righty) in the through swing.
 
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DCgolf

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Well in golf there are two arms on the club; if one is pronating, one is supinating. Physically impossible not to.
 
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DCgolf

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johnnymarlboro said:
Quite true, but I think when refering to pronation/supination in golf most people are thinking of the left arm.
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Of course, but thats why I think it's misleading to our students very often. I've never used those terms in 30 years of teaching. The language of golf instruction and all the attendant prepositional phrases are confusing at best. If the body is aimed right, it's "closed" if the club does, it's "open"? If the club is aimed left it's closed, if the body is it's open. And so on. I find pronation and supination in this class personally?
 
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