What do I do?

[dschultz6072]

So my teacher was showing me shot making, teaching me how to change my swing plane in order to hit different ball flights. Guess what? "We swing on this path so the ball starts this direction, and the clubface determines where the ball will spin to."

He's a very good teacher, and I was agreeing with what he was saying, but in my mind I'm just thinking "Holy cow..." What the hell do I do or how do I approach this subject? He's a great teacher AND player (+3 hcp), just misinformed. I want to keep him. Help!

 

[OLIVER1]

So my teacher was showing me shot making, teaching me how to change my swing plane in order to hit different ball flights. Guess what? "We swing on this path so the ball starts this direction, and the clubface determines where the ball will spin to."

He's a very good teacher, and I was agreeing with what he was saying, but in my mind I'm just thinking "Holy cow..." What the hell do I do or how do I approach this subject? He's a great teacher AND player (+3 hcp), just misinformed. I want to keep him. Help!

Sounds like a Dear Abby letter
If you're confident enough to filter out the rubbish, and he's been working great for you, I'd keep him.

 

[dschultz6072]

It's not a matter of whether I leave or not, because I like him. I want to get him on the right page regarding all the ball flight laws. Dude can play, but a lot like any other teacher who doesn't read the Trackman newsletters or something of that nature, he has things backwards. A while back he told me draws have top spin...oi.

It's really an issue of where do I get the nerve? Me, someone who has been playing a year and a half, and him, someone who has been playing since he was 3 and played competitive college golf and carried his team. Who tells who what? You know what I mean?

Do I just sit back and keep things to myself or do I give him the red pill? If I were to bring the subject up, how could I do it without being rude?

 

[GeoffDickson]

He needs the red pill...you have all of us and physics watching you back...you can't go wrong.

As for the method/approach...."Coach..I was keen to improve my understanding of face angle and swing path...I did some googling and discovered the new ball flight laws...this what they say...and BTW, there's this thing called Trackman....

 

[Frans@France]

Don't worry about it, just tell him. He will think you are crazy and then continue to tell you his is right and give you a long list of people that have teached him this way and how great they all are.

Ben there....( 5 times...) stopped taking lessons and stopped telling.....

 

[Socalesq]

I got fitted for clubs last month with a guy who sounded very knowledgeable and was using Trackman. I asked him what he thought about the D plane. He said he'd read about it but didn't buy into it. I wanted to leave right then, or at least tell him he needed to get up to speed, but like ds's guy he was a stick and was telling stories about measuring Kuchar and things like that so I didn't say anything. Plus I really wanted new clubs. But, jeez.

 

[bryan@nobackswing.com]

It's not a matter of whether I leave or not, because I like him. I want to get him on the right page regarding all the ball flight laws. Dude can play, but a lot like any other teacher who doesn't read the Trackman newsletters or something of that nature, he has things backwards. A while back he told me draws have top spin...oi.

It's really an issue of where do I get the nerve? Me, someone who has been playing a year and a half, and him, someone who has been playing since he was 3 and played competitive college golf and carried his team. Who tells who what? You know what I mean?

Do I just sit back and keep things to myself or do I give him the red pill? If I were to bring the subject up, how could I do it without being rude?

really good questions. i would think you'd have to find some way to share at least some of what you know, and hopefully he'd be receptive. the "read it on google" idea seems like a good one.

 

[Kevin Shields]

I'd swing to the left and make the ball start right, and then swing to the right and make the ball start left. Act dumb and say, "well, what about when this happens?"

 

[siksta]

Since he's a +3 and probably beats you regularly on a daily basis there's something there you can learn from him or else it would be the other way around. But if its hindering your progress and ballstriking show him the article on Trackmans " How to hit a straight shot" then talk to him?
The people that impress me are the ones who are capable of good ball striking and can demonstrate it and know how to do it with accurate info not the ones telling me how to do it.

 

[birly-shirly]

If you like his teaching, and you're seeing benefits, I'm not sure I'd tackle this one.

If he can teach you how to control the ball, and you know what's really going on, then surely you're all good. Some of what he's telling you might be useful at the level of swing thoughts and feels - the important thing is that you understand enough not to get sucked into thinking it's the literal truth. If your game reaches the point where his knowledge and ability to express it isn't helping you, then it's time to move on.

But take what you need in the meantime.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Yeah, don't try to act like you know more than he does. Just ask questions that put him in a position to answer. Sounds like he's helping you.

 

[DCgolf]

Kathy Whitworth, Ben Crenshaw, and Tom Kite won over 150 events between them learning "old ball flight laws". There's a good chance the greatest player who ever lived was taught, not only without Trackman, but probably without video! It's silly to believe that we have only created great players since Trackman or the the D Plane...

 

[Brian Manzella]

Show him the link to my D-Plane video and ask him what he thinks.

 

[cwdlaw223]

It's also silly to ignore the Dplane and Trackman going forward. Why in the world would you just want to guess and wing it with all that is available today? The fact that others got it right without good information doesn't mean the good information is useless. What about all of the people who could have become great if they had this technology/information?

Can you become a great player without this stuff? Sure. Just as you can walk to work without using the technology of the combustible engine. These tools are invaluable.

 

[Kevin Shields]

So my teacher was showing me shot making, teaching me how to change my swing plane in order to hit different ball flights. Guess what? "We swing on this path so the ball starts this direction, and the clubface determines where the ball will spin to."

He's a very good teacher, and I was agreeing with what he was saying, but in my mind I'm just thinking "Holy cow..." What the hell do I do or how do I approach this subject? He's a great teacher AND player (+3 hcp), just misinformed. I want to keep him. Help!

When I look at his statement again, you can make a case that he's not entirely wrong. It's not like you're going to swing left to start it right. You swing to the right to start it right and the club face at odds with the path still makes it spin. The only problem I see coming from this is the ball starts more left for a draw and more right for a fade so people who draw the ball by trying to start it to the right with their path swing away from the bodies too much instead of aim enough and eventually get under it and hit blocks. People who don't aim enough left to allow for the face to "block" it right start cutting across the bodies too much and either start trapping the ball or losing too much distance when they need to cut it.

 

[dschultz6072]

He tells me I have no problem squaring the clubface. Last lesson he gave me a drill to use on the range where I am intentionally coming too far inside out and trying to push slice the crap out of it and still hit it solid, then slowly progress leftward to the point where I am pull hooking, then go back right, etc. Eventually I find the center path where the ball just goes straight. He told me this will give me path control and teach me how to hit a variety of shots, plus give me feedback where I can do a quick self-repair if my path gets a little screwy on the course. He said it's better than setting up the same way and just feeding balls to the 150 via a soft draw (my stock shot).

I'm just wondering how the hell he manages to fix people if they can't control the face...

Stupid game.

 

[dschultz6072]

I'd swing to the left and make the ball start right, and then swing to the right and make the ball start left. Act dumb and say, "well, what about when this happens?"

I've got that swing left ball right thing no problem when I try to pull slice it. Still can't hit a legit pull slice. Maybe next time out I try to stick that shot.

The funny thing is when I was doing these drills, he was making me align my clubface to the targets as well when he saw the shots weren't coming off when I aimed it straight. Gave me a nice feeling that he really does know it, but he just doesn't...know it?