Less is More

Lets just suppose that there was a procedure for a new golfer to start out in the game with just a small amount of technical information but this information was pretty much all the technical knowledge you needed and it gave you the keys to learning the art of the game, would you want it?

There is a perception that there is a lot you need to be taught when you start golf; in fact there isn't. This incorrect perception is not only unique to the player, it is widely accepted by the coaching community as well. I am becoming more and more convinced by the idea that there is very little a player needs teaching at the outset. When armed with this small amount of correct information, the player can then go on to learn how to play pretty much on their own. I always tell new students that I am only going to teach you how to swing the golf club, not how to hit the ball as I cant do that. You learn how to connect with the ball and believe it or not, you are born with the tools that enable you to do this.

So in short, there is only so much you need to be taught at golf. You need coaching to discover the tools that are required in order for you to learn the process of building a game.The biggest proportion of the game you have to learn but learn with the correct tools or model as your guide.

To use an analogy, if you have the right tools, you can build anything as long as you know the purpose of the tools and how they work.

Success is determined by the quality of the initial information your are instructed in. If the initial information is not correct and specific enough, then you are on a path where you will be chasing  further information for answers but they will not come. This leads to information overload, the condition that afflicts most golfers .

It is important that the first coaching session furnishes you with the tools to learn the game or should I say learn the art of the game.

Sadly, there are too few coaches who do this and too few players who would be receptive to this approach. Put another way, too few coaches know the game in its complexity to be able to teach it simply and there are too many players nowadays who want the secret or quick fix. Players are sold the idea there is a fast track to learning. They want it now, they want the answer quick. Not for them the long journey to learning the art of the game. A quick, off the shelf, fast track fix is what the modern golfer wants and the golf industry preys on this flawed ideology.