Brian Manzella
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Very Important.
Teaching Golf in The Real World (2005) + NEW BLOG entry!
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Brian Manzella
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BLOG: Real World Golf Instruction - by Brian Manzella
Real World Golf Instruction
This May marks my 21st year of Teaching Golf for a living, and 23rd teaching golf. That's a long, long time. I have learned an awful lot during those 30,000 or so hours of instruction, and I really need to start imparting some of the things I have learned besides how to get rid of someone's slice.
Thanks to my 'semi-celebrity' status in Louisville and now on the internet, I now know what my good freind Don Villavaso used to say to me 20 years ago: "What would you teach, if you had an unlimited supply (of customers)?"
This was in reference to guys like Hank Haney and David Leadbetter (and the guys at our range that had the cashiers pieced off) who even almost 20 years ago were "Destination Instructors." Meaning that people were traveling just to work even one hour with the media appointed gurus.
What Don really was asking wasn't what I or he would teach, or anyone else for that matter. But what could someone teach without losing that 'unlimited' supply.
The answer: Next to nothing.
Believe me.
I saw a video of one of the World's most famous teachers spending one WHOLE hour on Richard Loeb's (a former New Orleans City Champ and local pro) takeaway, even though Richard had a dozen problems that sure needed to be at least addressed before he drove 10 hours back to New Orleans.
I watched a video of the World's most famous instructor spending ONE HOUR working with John Schnatter (Papa John fo Papa John's Pizza) on rhythm and tempo, even though that after that lesson and a total of $75,000 dollars of lessons later, Papa John had a D+ grip and couldn't hit down on a 20 yard pitch shot.
These guys could 'get away' with these lessons---and the almost ZERO results they produced during and after the session---becuase they were booked solid for three months after those hours. As long as they didn't say TOO MUCH of the wrong thing, how could anyone complain about what they were being taught.
Another very important detail to consider about "Destination Instructors" that I have learned first hand, is that when two guys come to see me in Louisville from New York, or a guy comes in for a week from Germany, is that they are there to hang on my each and every word. That they are probably raelly good students of the game. That they are thoughtful enough to pick ME instead of Haney or Leadbetter, because they ALREADY think I know what I am talking about.
So, the results that I, or any other "Destination Instructor," gets in the lessons with these literally hand-picked students, are NOT indictative of our overall teaching ability in the REAL WORLD.
In the REAL WORLD of teaching, you get people who still don't know your name when they arrive. Golfers who tell you, "I have been playing for 20 years without a lesson. If you can't fix me today, I am quitting this stupid game." Kids that don't what to be there. Parents that think they are gurus. Parents that think that their junior golfer is not playing well because you are not a "Leadbetter Academy" instructor. Little old ladies that have never played one sport in there life and have $98,765 worth of jewelry on. People with fused necks, one arm, 6 fingers, and all sort of maladies that I thank God I don't have. Golfers who think that flattenening their left wrist too complicated.
In the REAL WORLD of teaching, you HAVE to fix THIS student, RIGHT NOW, becuase you need the money to pay your car note.
In the REAL WORLD of teaching, you stand on a practice tee at a PGA Tour event with 5 minutes to impress a guy that hasn't worked with you in 8 years, who is now world-famous, and is struggling so bad he can't hit two good shots in a row, while David Duval is hitting balls next to you and looks glassy eyed at shots that would miss any course ever built.
When I say I think I am the best teacher in the world, THIS is the WORLD I am talking about.
At this years PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit some (supposed to be) really good teachers had their crack at a few hand-picked students. To me they were all teaching in SLOW MOTION.
Why?
Because they are used to being BOOKED solid. Maybe they are booked solid because they can teach. But maybe, they are booked solid because they once worked for a major magazine's schools department and have got $456,789 worth of free adversting. Or they teach at a place like PINEHURST, where even "Carl Spackler" would be booked solid.
The point is that EVALUATING TEACHERS is a tricky proposition, one that gets much tricker if all of the students are "Destination Instructor STUDENTS."
I deserve about 20% credit for my results with this group...
...and so does everyone else.
The best way to evaluate a teacher is to watch about a dozen RANDOM lessons, with random problems, on a random 100 degree day in the middle of the summer.
Real World Golf Instruction
This May marks my 21st year of Teaching Golf for a living, and 23rd teaching golf. That's a long, long time. I have learned an awful lot during those 30,000 or so hours of instruction, and I really need to start imparting some of the things I have learned besides how to get rid of someone's slice.
Thanks to my 'semi-celebrity' status in Louisville and now on the internet
, I now know what my good freind Don Villavaso used to say to me 20 years ago: "What would you teach, if you had an unlimited supply (of customers)?"This was in reference to guys like Hank Haney and David Leadbetter (and the guys at our range that had the cashiers pieced off) who even almost 20 years ago were "Destination Instructors." Meaning that people were traveling just to work even one hour with the media appointed gurus.
What Don really was asking wasn't what I or he would teach, or anyone else for that matter. But what could someone teach without losing that 'unlimited' supply.
The answer: Next to nothing.
Believe me.
I saw a video of one of the World's most famous teachers spending one WHOLE hour on Richard Loeb's (a former New Orleans City Champ and local pro) takeaway, even though Richard had a dozen problems that sure needed to be at least addressed before he drove 10 hours back to New Orleans.
I watched a video of the World's most famous instructor spending ONE HOUR working with John Schnatter (Papa John fo Papa John's Pizza) on rhythm and tempo, even though that after that lesson and a total of $75,000 dollars of lessons later, Papa John had a D+ grip and couldn't hit down on a 20 yard pitch shot.
These guys could 'get away' with these lessons---and the almost ZERO results they produced during and after the session---becuase they were booked solid for three months after those hours. As long as they didn't say TOO MUCH of the wrong thing, how could anyone complain about what they were being taught.
Another very important detail to consider about "Destination Instructors" that I have learned first hand, is that when two guys come to see me in Louisville from New York, or a guy comes in for a week from Germany, is that they are there to hang on my each and every word. That they are probably raelly good students of the game. That they are thoughtful enough to pick ME instead of Haney or Leadbetter, because they ALREADY think I know what I am talking about.
So, the results that I, or any other "Destination Instructor," gets in the lessons with these literally hand-picked students, are NOT indictative of our overall teaching ability in the REAL WORLD.
In the REAL WORLD of teaching, you get people who still don't know your name when they arrive. Golfers who tell you, "I have been playing for 20 years without a lesson. If you can't fix me today, I am quitting this stupid game." Kids that don't what to be there. Parents that think they are gurus. Parents that think that their junior golfer is not playing well because you are not a "Leadbetter Academy" instructor. Little old ladies that have never played one sport in there life and have $98,765 worth of jewelry on. People with fused necks, one arm, 6 fingers, and all sort of maladies that I thank God I don't have. Golfers who think that flattenening their left wrist too complicated.
In the REAL WORLD of teaching, you HAVE to fix THIS student, RIGHT NOW, becuase you need the money to pay your car note.
In the REAL WORLD of teaching, you stand on a practice tee at a PGA Tour event with 5 minutes to impress a guy that hasn't worked with you in 8 years, who is now world-famous, and is struggling so bad he can't hit two good shots in a row, while David Duval is hitting balls next to you and looks glassy eyed at shots that would miss any course ever built.
When I say I think I am the best teacher in the world, THIS is the WORLD I am talking about.
At this years PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit some (supposed to be) really good teachers had their crack at a few hand-picked students. To me they were all teaching in SLOW MOTION.
Why?
Because they are used to being BOOKED solid. Maybe they are booked solid because they can teach. But maybe, they are booked solid because they once worked for a major magazine's schools department and have got $456,789 worth of free adversting. Or they teach at a place like PINEHURST, where even "Carl Spackler" would be booked solid.
The point is that EVALUATING TEACHERS is a tricky proposition, one that gets much tricker if all of the students are "Destination Instructor STUDENTS."
I deserve about 20% credit for my results with this group...
...and so does everyone else.
The best way to evaluate a teacher is to watch about a dozen RANDOM lessons, with random problems, on a random 100 degree day in the middle of the summer.
silvercreek
New
brian,
ever thought of posting a part of a lesson? purely random, no special views or anything like that. just the interaction. don't know if it would work but just a thought....
ever thought of posting a part of a lesson? purely random, no special views or anything like that. just the interaction. don't know if it would work but just a thought....
Brian Manzella
Administrator
GREAT IDEA!!!
A+
A+
The real skill, as with any relationship, is communication. It isn't really difficult to see issues in the average person's swing. The true art is first getting to the 'root' of the issue, and then getting the student to understand both conceptually and in 'feel' what it is that needs to be changed. Visual images often work best IMO. Many people have the ability to see the issues, but far too few have the ability to either get to the root, or communicate the change. Nice post Brian.
I hear you and I applaud you, Brian. With your distinguished teaching experience you can cut through the crap and tell it like it is. For most, golf is a delusion where everybody thinks they can beat the game. Golf is the sport of last resort where most of the non-athletic crud accumulates and expects to be shown how to instantly acquire a golfswing. These dorks usually don't have the the time, the brains or the body to swing a golf club half-decently.
Teaching a tour pro to rebuild their golfswing is near impossible because they are ingrained from their childhood. Before they embark on swing changes, they must virtually rebuild their body parts before they start any changes. That's basic kinesiology and any teacher who claims to be able to do otherwise is a scam.
Adult men who think they can swing a golf club because they perceive they have a wonderful body and business-proven immense mind, are usually quite deluded but still demand results instantaneously from teachers. Best advice -- buy a new set of clubs and keep the industry alive.
The easiest to teach are children who have no preconceived whacknut ideas about the golfswing. Every teacher I have spoken to and asked this question have said that their junior programs are the most successful at teaching.
Reminds me about the story I heard about a college golf coach when asked what he looked for in golfers. "Big hands, big feet and no brains." was his response. I got relatively small feet, small hands and lot's of brains .... but I am the exception to the rule because I have a stable, efficient golfswing and wicked game.
Knowledge is always a hard sell, particularily to the golf market where 90% of all golfers worldwide can't break 100, and coincidently, all slice the ball. No surprises here ...... but show them a new super jumbo McDriver and they will shell out $$$$$$$$.
Teaching a tour pro to rebuild their golfswing is near impossible because they are ingrained from their childhood. Before they embark on swing changes, they must virtually rebuild their body parts before they start any changes. That's basic kinesiology and any teacher who claims to be able to do otherwise is a scam.
Adult men who think they can swing a golf club because they perceive they have a wonderful body and business-proven immense mind, are usually quite deluded but still demand results instantaneously from teachers. Best advice -- buy a new set of clubs and keep the industry alive.
The easiest to teach are children who have no preconceived whacknut ideas about the golfswing. Every teacher I have spoken to and asked this question have said that their junior programs are the most successful at teaching.
Reminds me about the story I heard about a college golf coach when asked what he looked for in golfers. "Big hands, big feet and no brains." was his response. I got relatively small feet, small hands and lot's of brains .... but I am the exception to the rule because I have a stable, efficient golfswing and wicked game.
Knowledge is always a hard sell, particularily to the golf market where 90% of all golfers worldwide can't break 100, and coincidently, all slice the ball. No surprises here ...... but show them a new super jumbo McDriver and they will shell out $$$$$$$$.
Jim Kobylinski
Super Moderator
Brian put up the video of our lesson with you in pants in 90* weather after you hit a driver for me ....
....Brian Manzella
Administrator
Yup.
BUT! The trick is knowing what the 'cancer' IS!
BUT! The trick is knowing what the 'cancer' IS!
Ryan Smither
Super Moderator
Great post Brian. And Horton's as well.
Speaking of "semi-celebrity status";
I was talking to a random older gentleman in the grocery yesterday about golf. I slipped Brian's name in the conversation and he said "oh yeah, that guy on the radio."
The sad thing is that he said he has been 'studying' golf instruction for 20 years, and his brief summary of his knowledge was a direct quote from this month's Golf Digest: He said he likes Haney's work because "he teaches the swing plane".
It's people living under this "golf digest bubble" that scare me the most.
The truth is that if it weren't for encountering Michael Finney and Brian, I'd probably be sitting under this bubble as well.
Speaking of "semi-celebrity status";
I was talking to a random older gentleman in the grocery yesterday about golf. I slipped Brian's name in the conversation and he said "oh yeah, that guy on the radio."
The sad thing is that he said he has been 'studying' golf instruction for 20 years, and his brief summary of his knowledge was a direct quote from this month's Golf Digest: He said he likes Haney's work because "he teaches the swing plane".
It's people living under this "golf digest bubble" that scare me the most.
The truth is that if it weren't for encountering Michael Finney and Brian, I'd probably be sitting under this bubble as well.
birdie_man
New
Hows Mr. Burns treatin' ya?
Brian Manzella
Administrator
It's funny, realy. I wrote this column with a couple things in mind....but nobody 'got it.'
drewitgolf
New
Gregg McHatton gave a presentation that year entitled "Application of Physics/Geometry of the Golf Swing.
drewitgolf
New
One of the problems in "the real world" is the student, putting down his or her hard earned money, wants instantaneous results. I tell them that if they expect a miracle, they should expect to pay for one.
Hogan didn't like to teach because he said he couldn't find student that wanted to learn.
Hogan didn't like to teach because he said he couldn't find student that wanted to learn.
Ryan Smither
Super Moderator
The only way to get ALL the students is to just give them enough information so that they keep coming back.
Ding, ding, ding????
Ding, ding, ding????
drewitgolf
New
What make one happy may not make another happy. But......as long as they (the student) leave happy you have done your job.
The professional should ask, "what are we working on today?". Then the professional will know the direction he should head to make the student happy (product meets market).
The professional should ask, "what are we working on today?". Then the professional will know the direction he should head to make the student happy (product meets market).
Yes I believe he did, and I if I recall correctly I purchased my 1982 edition of TGM from him ... it was so long ago .... {{{sigh}}} .... and nothing much has changed at the coaching level ... same old misconceptions .... !!!!
Everybody want's to know but few are willing to pay the price ....!!!
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