Fond Memories Found In-Of All Places –A Range Basket

Fond Memories Found In-Of All Places –A Range Basket

By Mike Stevens USGTF Contributing Writer

I love it when I stumble across something that instantly floods my brain with fond memories of youth. In my basket of range balls, I came across an old golf ball. People are always hitting their old balls on the range trying to get in a few extra shots for free. Just looking at the dimple pattern, I knew it was old, a Wonderball #4 from the Worthington Golf Ball Company of Elyria, Ohio. Now, I doubt that many players today would recognize this brand. However, to a young lad who had to scour the woods and ponds of local muni courses be-cause he was forbidden to raid his father’s golf bag for those precious white orbs, they were a blessing. But that is a whole other story. Although western Massachusetts was Spalding territory, there were plenty of inexpensive Worthingtons to be found.

It all began in 1904 when inventor George Worthington obtained the rights to produce a rubber core ball from Coburn Haskell, who had patented the concept of winding rubber strips into a ball which was covered with gutta per-cha. The ball known as the “Bounding Billie” would revolutionize the game, just as the solid gutta percha version did in 1848. Worthington wasn’t the only company to obtain the rights to produce balls, but they produced the best version at the time. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, Worthington had to be a bit creative with his product. That was because the A.G. Spalding company’s rights included a circular dimple pattern which only they could use.

That did not stop George. He made balls with diamond patterns, pimples in the dimples and a mesh matrix. He also developed his own winding ma-chine that wrapped the rubber strands around a solid core in a more even pattern than any of the other companies who were hand-winding their balls.

Over the next 50 years, the Worthington Golf Ball Company became one of the largest supplier of balls in the world. They were the first to produce a liquid-center ball, first to develop hardness and compression tests, and first to produce a white-covered ball with a one-piece dip process. In 1910, Worthington came out with the “Radio” ball, with a center containing radium particles. No one knew what it did, but because of Madam Curie’s work with radium at the time, radium was all the rage. The company was truly innovative, thanks to George. After World War I, he developed the first balata-covered version. For the interior, he would freeze the core before winding, which made the ball harder and tougher. He even x-rayed the balls for trueness.

When World War II broke out, the government sent word out to companies that no more golf balls were to be manufactured for the duration of the war. That did not stop Worthington. He began reprocessing old balls. Had it not been for his efforts, golf may have gone by the wayside. Fortunately, the Surgeon General’s Office saw the health benefits of golf and the government offered manufacturers synthetic material, and true to form, Worthington develop a synthetic golf ball that was shipped all over the world wherever servicemen were stationed. After the war, the company continued to thrive and try many new processes and materials, expending considerable research in the ball production.

Unfortunately, the Worthington brand is no longer around today except for those found in golf range baskets or on a golf collector’s trade show table. The company was absorbed in 1966 by the Victor Comptometer Company and moved to Illinois. Vic-tor brand morphed into the PGA Company, which eventually became Tommy Armour Golf that now is sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods, which acquired it from Sports Authority. Gone but not forgotten by a young lad who came to love a game that required a precious pearl called “Wonderball.”

Mike Stevens is the Southeast Region director of the USGTF and golf teaching pro at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. He is the 2005, 2010 and2012 National Hickory champion and the 2004U.S. Golf Teachers Senior champion. He also owns and operates the Mike Stevens on Target Golf School in Tampa.
A Closer Look At The Three Main Grips

A Closer Look At The Three Main Grips

Before we go any further, let’s acknowledge the obvious: You’re probably wondering why an article on the grip is appearing in Golf Teaching Pro. After all, it’s the first thing taught at USGTF certification schools, and besides, all golf teaching pros should know how to teach the grip.

Actually, you may be surprised to learn that a number of golf teaching professionals (mainly non-USGTF members) do not know how to properly teach the grip, nor do they have a firm understanding of the cause and effect associated with the three grips. Our USGTF examining staff has found more than one teaching professional who has been teaching without certification or who belongs to another organization who doesn’t know as much as they should about teaching the grip. So if you’re comfortable in your knowledge and abilities in teaching the grip and knowing its nuances, please consider this article as a refresher or confirmation. But even then, hopefully there is a nugget or two which you may take away.

Overlapping grip

This is the most commonly used and taught grip by playing and teaching professionals. This likely came about due to the influence of Harry Vardon, who popularized the grip as a way of taking some of the right-hand action out of the swing and therefore lessen the possibility of a hook. Because traditions and long-held schools of thought die hard in golf, it’s likely most teaching pros simply passed along the overlap grip as the preferred grip due to tradition. But is it really the “best” grip?

The best grip is the one which allows the golfer to return the club square the most consistently. It’s been said that every good golfer has fought a hook some-time in his or her career, so the anti-hooking features of the overlapping (or Vardon) grip are very useful to the majority of such golfers. In fact, Jim Furyk uses a double-overlap grip because of his propensity to use a lot of hand action through impact, which further promotes a hook. But that brings us to an obvious question: If the overlapping grip is an anti-hooking grip, why should we teach slicers this grip?

Hopefully our instruction will result in slicers no longer being slicers, and due to the relatively small grip a golf club possesses (in relation to others sports like baseball and tennis), it’s easy for excessive hand action to become an issue for more competent players. Thus, the overlapping grip is a good choice for these players. It also seems to allow the player to more easily put the club in the correct position in the trail hand as compared to the other grips, al-though obviously this doesn’t necessarily hold true for everyone.

Interlocking grip

The most famous practitioners of the interlocking grip include Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Nicklaus touted the grip as being more appropriate for golfers with shorter fingers, but a number of players who don’t have shorter fingers also use the grip…and a number of players with shorter fingers also use the overlapping, so this rule of thumb doesn’t seem to be very hard and fast. (Remember, traditional thought in golf instruction tends to stick around, regardless of whether it’s accurate or not.)

Dr. Ralph Mann, a biomechanics expert who has researched golf technique to a greater degree than most, believes the interlocking grip is problematic because it allows the golfer to grip the club too much in the right palm(for right-handed players) if the golfer is not careful to avoid this.

The practical differences between the overlapping and the interlocking grip are negligible, to the point that one or the other is fine for players who choose not to use a 10-finger grip.

10-finger grip

This also known as the “baseball” grip due to its similarity to holding a bat, with no overlapping of the fingers. Major champions such as Art Wall and Bob Rosburg used the grip on their way to victory, so it has stood the test at the highest level of the game. Moe Norman, renowned for being the greatest ball striker ever, switched to the grip later in his career.

Earlier, we asked the question of why we would want our students who slice to use an anti-hook grip such as the overlap. It’s a good question, and if we have students whose tendency is to hit slices, the10-finger grip may be the best option to eliminate or mitigate the problem. Even a slight separation of the hands may be necessary to reduce slicing in some students.

Some teachers like to advocate that junior players use the 10-finger grip, with the goal of switching to the overlap or interlock later. This is feasible, as kids usually adapt swing and setup changes fairly easily as compared to adults. People with weaker hands and forearms may also benefit from the 10-finger grip. Finally, golfers who use larger arthritic grips may experience that the overlap or interlock is difficult to incorporate with such grips, finding that the 10-fingergrip offers a greater ease of use.

The USGTF Technical Committee’s official position on which grip to use is that it is up to the player and their judgment of comfort and playability. The committee has found, through its own teaching experience, that the interlocking grip seems to be a more natural grip for most people to use as compared to the overlapping, but this may be due to the factor that Dr. Mann described, which is it allows the player to hold the dominant hand grip more in the palm. This feeling is undoubtedly more secure for many players, but it represents a false security as it restricts the proper movement of the club throughout the swing.

Golf teaching professionals usually have little reason to change the type of grip their students are using, but in some cases a change may be for the better. Knowing the pros and cons of each grip can help the teacher make the correct call.
New Times, New Terms

New Times, New Terms

The past two editions of Golf Teaching Pro have featured articles on whether golf instruction is getting too complicated. The consensus by the authors was a “yes,” but that doesn’t mean that we should shut out all new learning and technology in favor of sticking only with what we first learned. As golf teaching professionals, we have an obligation to keep up with the latest trends and methodologies so that we’re not left behind. The trick, of course, is to impart this information in a way that our students understand. Many of them just want to hit the ball better and aren’t interested in the latest theories or arguments on the minutiae of every little bit of the golf swing.

With the advent of high-tech gadgets and increased knowledge, different terms have come onto the teaching scene. While they may not be new, there may be a new understanding of how they work or what they are.

TrackMan® and FlightScope®. These are Doppler-radar based launch monitors that mea-sure every relevant aspect of ball flight. They have “launched” (pun intended) a whole new slew of terms in recent years. Among them:

Launch angle. This is the angle the ball takes off compared to the horizontal ground, measured in degrees. For drivers, anywhere from 10°for higher swing speeds to upwards of 16° for lower swing speeds are what club fitters and teachers are looking for.

Spin axis. A ball that has backspin around a perfectly horizontal axis will have no curvature. The amount that the actual axis varies from horizontal is called “spin axis” and is measured in degrees. If the axis tilts to the left of horizontal (as seen behind the target line), the ball will have draw spin for a right-hander, and if it tilts to the right of horizontal, the ball will have fade spin.

Example of spin axis of a draw (right-hander)

Zero out. This is launch monitor parlance for having a club head path at impact that is towards the intended target with a square clubface.

Positive/negative angle of approach. In the old days we would say ascending (positive) or descending (negative), but since launch monitors use positive or negative numbers, the terminology is going in the numerical direction.

Smash factor. This is the ratio of ball speed to club head speed. With the driver, most clubfitters believe that a smash factor of at least 1.45 is necessary to call a driver a good fit for that particular person.

RPMs. This is the number of revolutions per minute of the ball’s backspin. For drivers, RPMs that vary from 2,200 to 2,800, depending on ball speed and launch angle, are desirable. With the increased technology in drivers available to manufacturers, they are able to do more to make this happen. It has been said that the holy grail for driver launch is 17° of launch angle with 1,700RPMs of spin. Time will tell if a driver can be made to make this feasible.

Teaching and coaching. New terms, and older terms that are now more commonly in use, have made their way onto the stage.

Covering the ball. This term is not new but has been used extensively in recent years. It means not tilting the chest backwards coming into impact and letting it rotate so that the player does not swing too far inside-to-outside. This is mainly a good player’s feel as it is one to help a player from hooking the ball.

Save the shot. Again, mainly a good player’s fault. This results from a swing path that is in-side-to-outside during impact, resulting in a push unless the player “saves” the shot by precise timing of the release of the hands.

Fall line. This term has been made popular by Johnny Miller on television. It refers to the putting green. A ball rolling on the fall line towards the hole will go dead straight. Determining if the ball lies to the left or right of the fall line is helpful in figuring which way the putt will break, and seems to be the preferred greens-reading method for many tour players today, rather than just looking at the slope of the green between the ball and the hole.

Center of mass vs. swing pressure. Some teachers employ foot pressure plates, which measure how much each foot is pressing into the ground at any given time. This is different than the center of mass, a completely different subject. It is possible to have most of the pressure on the rear foot, for example, at the top of the backswing while having the center of mass more forward. One of the trends in teaching today is to have the center of mass stay relatively stationary throughout the swing (at least through impact).

Use the bounce. This has been known for years with bunkers shots, but now it is becoming more common for pitch shots. More wrist action through impact and/or a shallower angle of attack make this happen. Many teachers feel this lessens the chance of a mishit, especially hitting fat shots.

Golf terms continually evolve, and it is certain that terms that will be used in the years to come have not even be invented today. Although the game continues to change, it holds deep to its traditional roots, and this combination means the game will appeal to people of all types for the indefinite future.
The Language Of Teaching

The Language Of Teaching

By Norm Crerar USGTF Contributing Writer Vernon, British Columbia

I have been teaching skiing for 50-some years. I have been playing the bagpipes for 10 years and have just started teaching beginners. I take golf lessons. I speak English, of the Canadian variety, but have to admit that I become stumped and agitated with the language of teaching.

It was traditional to teach bagpipes through canntaireachd (pronounced can-ter-act). This is a Gallic word meaning “chanting.” Before music was written as it is today on paper, with lines and notes, the instructor would sing the notes using distinct sounds for the different notes, grace notes and embellishments. Master and pupils would spend hours sitting together singing tunes to each other. Nowadays, people learn with sheet music, and canntaireachd is still used by some gifted and experienced instructors to support the acquisition of lyrical flow.

When I started teaching skiing, the manual was6” by 8” by ¼” thick, and half was in French and half in English (Canada’s two official languages). The manuals of a few years ago were three-ring binders two inches thick and needed a set of wheels to haul them around. Happily, today you can log on to the instructor website and find the latest digital copy. The old thick manuals were updated every two or three years due to the simple fact of the time lag brought about by writing, editing, picture editing and then printing. Today, the digital copy can be changed very quickly, but this brings on the language of teaching, as the amount of material is never-ending and quite often the “subject-matter expert” (SME) is a Ph.D. who can’t use 10 words where he/she thinks 100will fit better. Skiing is simple: stance and balance, left turns and right turns!

Where we live, golf ends in October and doesn’t start again until the end of April. We have a lot of time to watch the Golf Channel, professional tournaments, and the constant barrage of free lessons that pop up on our computers. With the tournaments and lessons come the “subject-matter experts” and their confusing language! Why is it that the broadcasters from the European Tour, and there are usually two, speak quietly and from time to time, while the PGA broadcasts seem to have 20 people online and some-one is talking all the time?

Don’t they realize they are on television and we can see what is going on and not radio, where constant chatter is needed to fill the void? Constant analysis and over-analysis. “His stance was closed and he was 50 percent on his back foot, therefore changing the swing plane from single plane to double plane; he came over the top, the swing was outside-to-in, his grip was strong but swing was weak, his hip wasn’t cleared in time for his head to stay steady and all was caught on the Konica Minolta Biz Hub Swing Analyzer at 38,000 frames per second!”

I am trying to learn this language of “Golfinese.”Perhaps I will just start the day by putting a few balls into the hole on the practice green, then a few chips, a few pitches, then back up a bit and hit a few longer shots.

Stance and balance swing easy, put the ball in the hole. Who really needs an SME or a Konica Minolta Biz Hub Swing Analyzer anyway!
What Are Your Teaching Ambitions?

What Are Your Teaching Ambitions?

At a USGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional certification course last year, one candidate posed an interesting question to his fellow classmates, along the lines of this: “Don’t you want to teach the best players in the world?”He asked this because he was teaching and coaching some professional players, including those on the LPGA Tour, and found his calling in teaching these high-level players.

The question posed is a valid one, because it brings to light the subject of ambition in the golf teaching profession. It’s a subject that is often overlooked, but one that is important to those of us in the teaching and coaching profession.

Motivational speakers and sports psychologists often refer to goal-setting as a critical tool to accomplishment. An article in Success magazine in 2015 stated, “The most important benefit of setting goals isn’t achieving your goal; it’s what you do and the person you become in order to achieve your goal that’s the real benefit.” Setting a goal and striving towards it gives us an action plan to follow, and also a way to plot a path to get us there. Industry professionals –regardless of which industry – who do not set goals are willing to let the whims of outside influences take them in all sorts of random directions.

Some of those random directions may lead to success, but for those who find success in this manner it is, by definition, nothing but a fluke. In other words, the person succeeded in spite of himself or herself. So setting realistic but ambitious goals, along with executing a well-thought-out plan, is a much more sure way of finding success. Even then, nothing is guaranteed. The history of business is filled with stories of failures that, on paper, should have been successes. There are some things that are just out of our control, and they may have been unforeseeable by even the most learned and experienced of experts.

But as the statement from Success magazine says, goal setting is one part of the equation; ambition is the other, and perhaps a more important part. A goal is a tangible destination while ambition is the desire to reach that destination. Merriam-Webster defines ambition as “an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power; desire to achieve a particular end.”

What are your teaching ambitions?

It may be to become a famous guru, although certainly most who are did not start out with that desire. Virtually anyone who is successful will tell you that they got into the profession due to their love of the game and of helping others with their games.

Butch Harmon is one such teacher. Although he is widely recognized for his acumen in helping major championship winners, that’s not what drives him. “I get as much satisfaction or more from someone who’s never broken 90 who shoots 87 for the first time, “he has been quoted as saying. Harmon finds that his passion results from wanting to help all players, regardless of level.

Some teachers find their true enjoyment in helping beginners learn the game. The late Julius Richard-son, the USGTF’s Teacher of the 20th Century, played golf at an extremely high level, winning multiple military and other championships. He also taught touring professionals, most notably Eric Booker, who compared him to Ken Venturi and David Leadbetter. Yet, Richardson’s true teaching ambitions revolved around beginners, introducing them to the game and helping them get enjoyment out of learning and improving. His book, Better Golf – A Skill Building Approach, was based upon the learning principles he was exposed to while a member of the U.S. Army. The book outlines how beginners, and those who need a refresher in the fundamentals, can build sol-id golf skills that will last for a lifetime. Richardson could have chosen to write a book geared towards advanced golfers, but he didn’t. His passion and ambition in helping beginning golfers were the reason she wrote the book he did.

All teaching ambitions are worthy, from wanting to teach touring professionals to helping beginners, as long as they benefit the game in general and reflect the teacher’s true desires and goals. To paraphrase John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech from 1961,“Ask not what the golf teaching profession can do for you; ask what you can do for the golf teaching profession.”

Ambition: “An ardent desire for rank, fame, or power; desire to achieve a particular end.” as defined by…Merriam-Webster
USGA, R&A Blow Up The Rules

USGA, R&A Blow Up The Rules

WOW. Double wow. In a move that can literally be described as a game-changer, the USGA and R&A decided this past March 1 that many of the rules by which we play are to be jettisoned, sent to the scrapbook of history. The proposed new rules are to take effect January 1, 2019. Knowledgeable observers say this is the most drastic rules development since the original 13 rules were drawn up in 1744 by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, now the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, at Muirfield in Scotland.

To be sure, the gist of the game will be the same: to play the course as you find it and play the ball as it lies, and if you can’t do either, do what’s fair. But what constitutes “fair” is the reason we currently have 34 rules and a Decisions book that is several hundred pages long (to be replaced by 24 rules and a “Handbook,” respectively). Too many golfers today simply don’t understand the intricacies of the rules necessary to compete in formal competition, and that includes professional golfers. Even some rules officials don’t get it right at times, and they’re paid to not make these types of mistakes.

The proposed changes the USGA and R&A are considering are just that, proposed. They have not been formally adopted, and there is a good chance that not all of them will be implemented. Both organizations are seeking feedback from the golfing public during a six-month comment period, and they have said this feedback will have some influence in deter-mining what gets changed and what stays the same.

To list all of the proposed changes would take literally several pages of the magazine, so this article will not do that. However, some will directly affect everyday play more so than others, so here they are, along with commentary:

NO PENALTY FOR MOVING THE BALLDURING A SEARCH.

Previously, only fellow competitors and opponents were exempt from penalty for moving a player’s ball while searching. Now the player himself is exempt if he or his caddie moves it. This is only fair, as by definition the player has no idea exactly where the ball is.

LOST BALL SEARCH REDUCED FROM FIVEMINUTES TO THREE.

For tournaments that have no spectators, this will have a totally different effect than for one which has thousands. Instead, a local rule option allowing searches to be limited to three minutes might be a better course of action and can be implemented by the major tours.

NO PENALTY FOR ACCIDENTALLY MOVINGBALL ON PUTTING GREEN.

Everyone remembers the rules fiasco during the2016 U.S. Open when it was determined that Dustin Johnson caused his ball to move on the putting green, despite the fact he never touched the ball. This new standard goes even further. The problem with this proposed rule is it violates the longstanding principle that the player is not allowed to move the ball except only in accordance with the rules. The USGA and R&A might want to re-think this one, because…

NEW STANDARD FOR DECIDING WHENA PLAYER MOVED HIS BALL.

After the Johnson situation, the USGTF took a position that the rule for what constituted a player moving his ball should be changed from a preponderance of the evidence to it has to be known or virtually certain the player caused the ball to move. The USGA and R&A must have been listening, be-cause that’s the proposed new standard. So instead of imposing no penalty for accidentally causing a ball to move on the putting green, this new standard of what constitutes a player moving his ball is more than sufficient to take care of the problem, and would have applied to Johnson.

NO PENALTY FOR BALL HITTING PLAYER, CADDIE, OR EQUIPMENT AFTER MAKINGA STROKE.

The old rule only added injury to insult.

A BALL TO BE DROPPED MAY BE DROPPEDFROM AS LITTLE AS 1” (2.5 CM) ABOVETHE GROUND.

Those of us who are older remember when a player had to face the hole and drop the ball behind us over our shoulder. This was changed several decades ago to dropping from shoulder height and arm’s length. Now, all of this has been changed so a player can drop from at least one inch above the vegetation. This change is proposed to lessen the chance a ball bounces and rolls too far, necessitating a re-drop. This is fine, but why one inch? It makes more sense to use the diameter of the ball, 1.68inches (4 ¼ cm), since that can easily be measured more accurately.

DROPS ARE TO BE WITHIN A SPECIFIEDDISTANCE, EITHER 20” OR 80” INSTEADOF CLUBLENGTHS.

According to the USGA website, “Using a fixed measure would be a simple process, with 20 inch and40 inch markings on the shaft of clubs likely to be the primary tool used by players for measuring.” If officials at the USGA really believe players are going to put 20-inch and 40-inch markings on their clubs, they need a serious reality check. One club length and two club length drops have worked fine for years. There’s no reason to change this.

BALLS DROPPED IN ACCORDANCE WITHTHE RULES MUST REMAIN WITHIN THEDROPPING AREA.

Instead of the old standard of the ball rolling more than two club lengths away, necessitating a re-drop, the ball must now remain within the 20-inchor 80-inch zone. And there is no longer a two-drop maximum; the player can drop as many times as needed unless it becomes obvious the ball will not remain in the zone.

REPAIRING ALMOST ANY DAMAGE ONPUTTING GREEN.

Presently, the player is allowed to only repair ball marks and old hole plugs. Now the player can repair spike marks, etc. This is a good change and long overdue.

BALL HITTING FLAGSTICK AFTER STROKEFROM PUTTING GREEN.

This may be the most drastic visible example of the proposed rules changes. A ball hitting the flagstick while putting will no longer be a penalty, meaning players can putt with the flagstick in the hole from any distance. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. Dave Pelz’s research from years ago suggested the flagstick almost always helps the ball go into the hole. With today’s analytics, it may become commonplace for tour players to no longer remove the flagstick while putting.

ELIMINATING WATER HAZARDS; TO BEKNOWN AS “PENALTY AREAS.”

Under the current rules, technically only areas that contain water can be marked as water hazards. Now, any area of the course may be marked as such. Although it has always been commonplace for wooded and brush areas to be marked as water hazards, such marking of the course is actually prohibited by the current rules.

TOUCHING AND REMOVAL OF LOOSEIMPEDIMENTS IN PENALTY AREAS ANDBUNKERS NOW ALLOWED.

This is another drastic change from what golfers for centuries have known. In a penalty area, players can now ground their clubs and take practice swings while hitting the ground, although this is still prohibited in bunkers. This is another good rules change and one that will lessen controversy and make things more fair.

For a complete look at all of the proposed rules changes, go to www.USGA.org orwww.RandA.org and click on the rules links. You can also have your say on the proposed changes until the comment period ends August 31, 2017.
An Organized Pro Equals Happy Students

An Organized Pro Equals Happy Students

Hap Hazard is a golf teaching pro at Bucket O’ Balls Driving Range. He’s normally on time for his first lesson of the day, but as the morning wears on and morphs into afternoon, Hap is far behind on his lesson schedule. Mr. Smith arrives for his noon appointment, only to find that Hap can’t see him until 12:20. Mr. Smith decides to cancel the lesson and leaves. Hap is actually happy to see this, because he can now get to his 12:30 lesson on time. The client, Mr. Jones, is someone to whom Hap gave a lesson two months ago. Mr. Jones keeps referring back to what Hap told him at that time, but Hap has no idea what Mr. Jones is talking about. At the end of the week, Hap, an independent contractor who depends upon the range to collect his lesson fees, receives his check, but it doesn’t seem nearly enough for what he did. However, he has no way of disproving the check is wrong, so he has no choice but to accept the amount. Hap Hazard is an example of a teaching professional who is highly disorganized. What are the mistakes Hap makes? •He books 30-minute lessons 30 minutes apart, which makes him late for each subsequent lesson; •He doesn’t keep records of the lessons he gives, so he doesn’t know what instruction he gave to past students; •He doesn’t keep financial records, so the range kept money that rightfully belonged to him. While this is a worst-case scenario, there are times where even the best among us may fall short occasionally. It takes great effort to keep an organized teaching operation. If a teaching professional is busy enough to the point that he or she has to book back-to-back lessons all day, it doesn’t make much sense to schedule the start of a lesson at the same time the previous lesson concludes. Someone is going to get short changed. A 5- or 10-minute buffer between lessons is helpful, and if the teacher is extremely busy, it makes sense to occasionally build in a 15- or even 30-minute break to recharge and make sure things are organized. A teaching professional should also take notes regarding each lesson. Nothing is worse than a student returning after a long absence and the teacher having no clue what instruction was given the last time. The instruction might be so far removed from the previous teachings that the student will be confused. And asking the student to remind us what was worked on can make us look a little less competent in the eyes of that student. It also goes without saying that a financial record of each lesson should be kept. Hap’s arrangement is not uncommon, and it also makes sense to go over the day’s lesson receipts at the end of the day. Other ways to be organized include having complete information about each student, including contact info, for future marketing purposes. It also doesn’t hurt to send birthday wishes or an occasional free golf tip. It should go without saying that a golf teaching professional should be prepared for each lesson. If training aids are among a teacher’s arsenal, they should be readily available. Nothing is worse for the teacher to figure out that a certain training aid needs to be used, only to find it’s been left in the car or someplace in the cart barn. Since video is becoming more frequent (al-though we find in 2017 that most teachers still don’t use it routinely, interestingly), making sure the equipment is in good working order, complete with charged batteries, is important. Much of the advice given in this article seems like common sense, but you might be surprised how many times, or how many professionals, fall short in these departments, even if only occasion-ally. An organized pro equals happy students, and if they’re happy, they’re certain to return – and they might even tell their friends.
Common Sense Teaching vs Modern Technology

Common Sense Teaching vs Modern Technology

By Douglas Gray- USGTF Certified Golf Teaching Professional, Fife, Scotland

Whilst playing the Eden Course at St. Andrew son a fine spring day in Scotland, I was introduced to a prominent R&A member of some more years senior to me. He was in our four-ball, and his good friend informed me that George had been to every golf teacher under the sun, except Mr Leadbetter. A slight exaggeration, until I learnt more as our game progressed.

During an enjoyable nine holes, I listened to talk of ‘Trackman’, ‘Hogan Fundamentals’ and lots of teaching theories, as George had been trying to find the theory for many years. I distanced myself from this chat as I only ‘input’ when asked. Eventually, George asked, “Could you do anything for me, Douglas?” I replied very calmly, “I could sort you in ten minutes, George.” I had planted the seed, and as we shook hands, George asked for my business card.

George was lacking some setup fundamentals, and one major swing improvement would help his progress. I was not overly confident of receiving a phone call, but my intuition proved me wrong. A few days later and George wanted to see me ‘asap’.

As with all lessons, I establish the pupils’ physical capabilities and any ailments that may be restrictive to what we want to achieve. Apart from two new hips, George was capable of working on what I had observed from our nine holes and the initial warm-up exercises that I had introduced. I never allow a pupil to hit too many balls in the warm-up. We want to groove the new stuff as soon as possible and not dwell on the problem. My prior knowledge of George’s swing allowed me to explain what we had to work on from the outset.

George had very good shape at address, a good foundation base, but a little low from the sternum up. This indicated a low head position. George informed me that a recent teacher had told him to ‘lift your chin’. I explained this would not help, as there was still no room to turn and that he should lift from his sternum, or as I say some-times and demonstrate, ‘stand proud’. I also noticed during our nine holes and the warm-up that George had about a 10-degree shoulder turn, but my warm-up exercises showed that George had the capability and flexibility for a lot more.

Now, we all know for a right-hander we must ‘turn our right side out of the way’ on the back-swing, which allows the body to unwind on the forward swing. I explained to George that because of his lack of turn on the backswing, when he came to impact, he was replicating his address position. Invariably, George’s club would ‘bottom out’ 2-3 inches in front of the ball, and the ones he connected with flew well to the right of the target.

A good demonstration paints a thousand words, and once George had watched me copy his swing and the resultant effect, it was easy for him to understand how we could progress. A few rehearsals and a few strikes and we were on our way.

At 90 years of age, maybe I forgot to mention that, but yes, George is 90 years young, but still has the desire to practice and improve. George’s eyesight is not the best, but a couple of times he commented that some of his shots were starting right of the target and coming back to the centre. Need I say more? We were on the right track, without ‘Trackman’. George also informed me that a recent teacher had discussed ‘one plane v. two plane’ and the options for him! I was flabbergasted.

George now had a good feeling of ball/turf contact and a better clubface strike, even although he could not see the end result. I explained that we would see the bigger picture when we collected the balls at the end. This is an invaluable part of the lesson, as we saw excellent grouping and a consistent distance with the lesson balls. I use clean, quality balls for every lesson, and they are all marked with a Sharpie pen (lots of markings, Duffy Waldorf-style). During the lesson, George looked at his clubface and noticed that he was contacting the centre of the clubface, the Sharpie markings being clearly visible.

I pride myself with results, and George had progressed well with consistency of strike, which was paramount, and the resulting direction of his shots. All this was achieved without ‘Trackman’, ‘Hogan’s Fundamentals’, or the need for ‘one-plane v. two-plane swing analysis’. It frustrates me that fellow coaches fail to teach what is in front of them, and apply technology where it is not applicable.

Over the years, I have applied my knowledge of the swing, having an open mind, a willingness to learn, and am constantly working on my communication skills, all enabling me to give my best lesson ever, each time. That is why the WGTF will be the leader in golf instruction for a long time to come.

George enjoyed the lesson very much and we both saw tremendous improvement. “What’s next, Douglas?” asked George, who is a retired doctor. My comparison was simple. I replied, “If I came into your surgery with an ailment, after a preliminary examination and subsequent diagnosis, you may prescribe some medication and schedule another appointment to ensure it was working. I have given you some of the medicine you need. Keep taking it and I will see you in two weeks.”

Editor’s note to American readers: As the author is from Scotland, the punctuation, spelling and grammar rules from that country were kept in the editing process.
No Trackman? No Problem!

No Trackman? No Problem!

One of the perks of living in the 21st century is that improved technology has made many aspects of our lives more convenient. From using your smart phone to lock your car doors to computers that give us the entire body of accumulated knowledge at our fingertips, technology has made things easier in ways unheard of just 20 years ago.

Golf instruction has benefitted from the technology explosion, too, as teachers invest in the latest video, launch monitors and training aids, all in an effort to provide their students with the best possible learning environment. These devices also give the teacher information that may not have been possible to glean without their use. Yet, if we go to any typical driving range and golf course and observe teaching professionals in action there, we see that the vast majority are still working the old-fashioned way, watching their students perform and then dispensing advice and drills to administer improvement. How can these teachers still be effective in our modern computer-driven world?

No matter how much technology may advance, the teacher’s knowledge and acumen are responsible for the vast majority of the effectiveness of the learning process. USGTF professional Bob Toski has spent a lifetime teaching without any fancy technology aids, and it’s a likely bet that if given the choice to go see Toski or an unknown teacher down the road with all the latest computer gadgets, we would venture to guess that the typical golf student would go see Toski. The teacher’s knowledge is that important.

Ball flight laws and their correct application have been known to scientists for years, but it was only a relative short time ago that the old model of swing path dictating initial starting direction was discarded. We know now that the clubface angle is responsible for approximately 85 percent of the ball’s starting direction, and that the differential between the clubhead path and clubface angle provides the curvature. If you don’t have a TrackMan or FlightScope, how are we to accurately diagnose a student’s ball flight? Here is a primer on all nine ball flights. For simplicity purposes, we will assume that centered clubface contact occurs and that the student is a right-hander.

A – PULL DRAW

This can be tricky under the new understanding of ball flight laws. Since the clubface angle is left of the target line and the ball curves farther left, the clubhead path through impact could be left, towards, or right of the target line, although in all instances it is still to the right of the clubface angle. The teacher needs to carefully monitor the divot if an iron is used, or closely observe the swing path through impact if a driver is used. Also, since almost everyone has a smart phone with high-definition slow-motion capabilities, video can be taken of impact to see more accurately what the clubhead path is doing.

B – PULL

Clubface angle is square to a clubhead path going left of target.

C – PULL FADE

This may also be a pull-slice. The clubface is actually left of the target line at impact! However, since the clubhead path is even farther left, a fade or slice results.

D – STRAIGHT DRAW

Under the old ball flight laws, we would have said the clubhead path is down the target line while the clubface is closed. We now know that the clubface angle is somewhat square to the target line while the clubhead path is actually to the right. This is a major change in our understanding of the ball flight laws from the old to the new.

E – STRAIGHT

The holy grail of pure ball striking, and one that is difficult to obtain consistently, even for the most skilled professionals. Notable for their accomplished use of this ball flight are Byron Nelson, Moe Norman and Annika Sorenstam.

F – STRAIGHT FADE

Like the straight draw, the clubface angle is somewhat towards the target line at impact, but the clubhead path is to the left. Again, a major change in our understanding of this ball flight from what we used to believe.

G – PUSH DRAW

This is a problem that tends to plague better players, as their initial use of the lower body may be too quick or too lateral, bringing the clubhead too far inside on the downswing and causing an in-to-out motion through impact. The better player may also be plagued from a ball position too far back from ideal.

H – PUSH

Clubface angle is square to a clubhead path going right of target.

I – PUSH FADE

As with the pull draw, the clubhead path can be left, towards, or right of the target line through impact. Close observation or video is again needed for accurate analysis.

We simplified the above scenarios by saying that centered clubface contact is assumed. What if it’s not achieved? Balls hit towards the toe tend to put draw spin on the ball due to the gear effect, and balls hit towards the heel tend to impart fade spin. If your student is not making centered contact, it introduces a whole new dynamic that must be taken into account. Fortunately, most students will make enough centered contact that the model presented here can be used effectively. No Problem! No Problem!
Recalling Long Jim,The First PGA Champion

Recalling Long Jim,The First PGA Champion

By Mike Stevens USGTF Certified Golf Teaching Professional® Tampa, Florida

One hundred years ago, the PGA Championship was inaugurated at Siwonoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York. Thirty-two players qualified for the tournament at sites around the country. One qualifier, Jack Pirie, failed to arrive, so a blind draw was set up, allowing one player to get a first-round bye.

The PGA Championship began as a match-play tournament. It wasn’t until 1958 that it became a stroke-play event. It was quite grueling, requiring 36-hole matches over a five-day period. Jim Barnes, a native of England, defeated Jock Hutchinson on the 36th hole to win the title.

Barnes, known as Long Jim because of his long, booming tee shots, was born in Cornwall, England, on March 8, 1886. Jim was also a very tall six-foot-three, which probably accounted for his length off the tee. He started in golf, as many professionals of the time did, as a caddie. Apparently he was very good, and eventually became an apprentice to professional Fred Whiting at the West Cornwall Golf Club. Like many of the Scottish and English professionals, the expanding golf scene in America resulted in several emigrating to the former colony. Barnes accepted an offer from the Claremont Golf Club in San Francisco in 1906. He remained there for two years before he was lured away to a course in Canada.

During these early years in America, Barnes showed his skill as a player, winning several Northwest Opens. In 1912, he entered his first U.S. Open, coming in 18th. The next year, he came in fourth in the Open won by Francis Quimet that put American golfers on the map as players to be reckoned with. Barnes’ popularity began to grow, and he became sought after by several clubs in 1914. He settled at Whitemarsh Country Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

During the winter months, he toured with Walter Hagen, playing several exhibitions and challenge matches. By 1916, Jim was coming into his own. He won the North and South Open at Pinehurst and the New York Newspaper Open.

He then qualified for the U.S. Open, where he finished third, and then won the Connecticut Open, following that up by easily qualifying for the first PGA Championship sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, a department store magnate for whom the PGA Championship trophy is named. In the final match, as both players (Barnes and Hutchinson) surveyed their putts, there occurred a dispute over who was away. Hutchinson argued that Barnes should putt first, but Jim disagreed. The match referee was called in to resolve the situation, and after a measurement, Hutchinson was deemed to be first to putt. He missed and Barnes made his for the win.

Barnes moved to different clubs, up north in the summer and in Florida in the winter, while continuing to play some great golf. He would go on to win four major championships: two PGAs, a U.S. Open and the Open Championships, from 1916 to 1925. Jim became the pro at Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club in 1923 and hosted the Florida Open in 1925, which had a sizable purse at the time of $5,000. More than 100 pros from around the country participated in the event won by Leo Diegel. The tournament is commemorated today as the United States Professional Hickory Golf Championship, sponsored by the United States Golf Teachers Federation, and played each February, as was the original event.

Jim Barnes was considered to be a true gentleman golfer. He continued to serve as professional at various clubs in America until 1955, his last stop at North Hempstead CC on Long Island, New York. He was inducted into the PGA Professional Hall of Fame in 1940. He lived to be 80 years old, dying of a heart attack in 1966. He was greatly respected by his peers throughout the professional world.

* Thanks to Peter Gompertz, whose article in Through the Green magazine provided background information on Barnes’ career.