"I do that"

Most golf coaches don’t have an online profile (their fault not mine) and might be somewhat envious of any exposure I get. They are also probably naive as to what I do and how I coach because they’re stuck in their traditional mindset. This is all OK and I always look forward to the challenge of meeting/playing/socialising with PGA members.

But it annoys me when they pick my brains about my coaching style and ideas and then tell me, “I do that” or “that’s what I do”.

It’s crap. Late last year a golf pro started asking the usual questions about this golf blog and The Golf Tribe.

Each time I told him about my methodologies he repeated, “that’s what I do”. Every time. He kept asking questions and it was obvious he was clueless and was digging deep to learn some more. The frustrating thing was he wasn’t honest (or brave) enough to admit he didn’t know; because I would have been more than happy to share my experiences with him.

He got to me. I tried avoiding him – but he persisted with his questions.

Enough. I was fed up with his bullshit.

So I told him. I said he didn’t understand automatic golf and he didn’t teach what I teach. I felt uncomfortable and relieved at the same time.

He tried to back pedal. He made excuses. He attempted to justify his coaching ideas and concepts are like mine.

I didn’t hold back. I finished off with:

You don’t teach Einsteining
You don’t teach your clients how to walk to the ball
You don’t understand where the eyes need to look when approaching the ball
You don’t know why visualising is the worst thing you can do when trying to play golf
You don’t teach clients to automate their swing
In fact, you don’t understand the automatic process at all because you’ve never learned about it

Things ended quite well. He apologised and we had a great discussion about golf and all things coaching. The day ended how it should have gone from the start. My little outburst was out of character but it certainly broke his stubborn mindset.

This blog post is not about bashing PGA members. Not at all. It’s about opening their minds to different ideas and getting them to admit they don’t know everything about the game (because who does?). Most importantly I’m hoping they can learn not to be intimidated by other coaches who are not PGA members or from those that have ideas that differ from the traditional mindset.

What’s the main point here?

If all coaches can be more understanding and open to new (or different) ideas golf coaching will take a leap forward. This will then allow all golfers to experience the magic of improved performance and just maybe something profound can be created.

Then everyone wins.

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7 Comments

  • Tim

    Reply Reply May 6, 2010

    Great post coach Cam,
    I think all golfers (not just tribers should read this before possibly taking another lesson)
    -Don’t get stuck with a coach who simply tries to make you think and swing in a certain way
    -Get out of your comfort zone, make mistakes and learn from these mistakes (it helps the learning process anyway)
    -Enjoy the experience and DO NOT be afraid to step away from traditional (chances are it is not working anyway)

    Cam just a quick question.
    You talk about where your eyes should look in the walk to the ball. Just wondering if you could elaborate on this a little as I believe I have a good understanding of the other points you have made, just not this one?

    Cheers

    Tim

  • Tony Lucas

    Reply Reply May 6, 2010

    Good post this one because I was speaking to a young chap the other day and we talked about an experience he had with a professional and declared to me he was too in depth and literally had him thinking about six different things in the swing,he found it all too confusing.My point to him is that too often golf professionals try to teach you to play like them or a set in concrete view of how you should play in the way they were taught.As I explained to him they have forgotten why you came to them and that is to take what you already have got and ask for fine tuning not change my swing.It was then I introduced the swing trainer(Cam’s FSP swing trainer)explained the concept behind it and just let him swing.He enjoyed the experience very much and was even trying to hit the Tiger level(too bloody hard)though not with great success.He was however getting it through the professional gate which was impressive.So as you can see I was actually teaching a different way of doing things and his experience was enjoyable,and it was auto golf.Not bad for a 18 handicapper who is 61(nearly 62) but who is totally sold on the auto process and bio swing.
    Cheers Lukey

  • Ray Crick

    Reply Reply May 6, 2010

    Hello Lukey,
    Would appreciate your thoughts on the swing trainer? I’m interested in the swing trainer,I had a chat with Cam about hopefully organizing a time to actually trying it out. Due to work commitments its a bit difficult for me to get to a driving range for some practice. I do quite often enjoy getting out in the back yard and swinging the clubs, hence the thought of looking at the trainer. If you can find a minute to give me your thoughts it would be much appreciated.

    Regards,
    RayC

  • Tony Lucas

    Reply Reply May 6, 2010

    Ray
    I have spent limited time on the swing trainer myself but I have viewed a couple of people on it and my personal opinion is that I think it is probably the simplest way to cure that slice or hook.At the moment my swing trainer is on loan (demo) but the people I showed it to have already got me to purchase one on there behalf.I really think once you try it Ray you will be like me and be totally won over.I hope this helps you in some way.
    Cheers Lukey

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