Ok, you're the teacher

[bobmac]

Ok, you're the pro and this guy comes to you for a lesson.

You ask him to hit a few balls aiming for a target you have given him.
He aims to far right with his feet but his shoulders are square.
He has difficulty making a crisp contact with the ball consistantly.
His downswingswing is out to in
Finally, he hits it left alot when he does make contact.

He's 40, plays once week off 15 and doesn't have time to practice.
How would you help him in a 30 minute lesson?

 

[CliveW]

Tell him to cut 10" off the shaft of each club.

 

[CrapHacker]

First thing, you ask him what he wants to achieve with his game.

Then you ask out how much time and money he is willing to invest.

Then you ask out what his target handicap is.

After that you look at his swing.

So with incomplete information, we have to make some assumptions.

I'm assuming the guy is just looking to get a more consistant contact.

So it's finding the minimum change that will achieve that.

First guess would be to give him a different swing thought at the transistion to see if he can avoid casting from the top.

Or maybe a small change to his grip.

Or maybe adjust the backswing a tad.

It's difficult to say having not seen his swing, but after many years of swing failures, I think the thing is to look for only one thing that he can work at in his bedroom, or in the back garden.

HTH

 

[CrapHacker]

Or ....

Sell him some new shinies, and a new electric trolley.






Oh, and a Mars bar.

 

[Crow]

Sell him a V-Easy.

 

[richart]

Get him to align his feet properly. Not sure what you do in the other 29 minutes of the lesson though. Discuss the weather, price of petrol, or even putting aids.

 

[Piece]

Get the alignment right. Then flog him some blades

 

[Philm]

tell him that everything looks about right for his handicap, and that he could be playing off 13 if he would just follow you to the short game practice area.

Phil

 

[RGDave]

No idea. But if see one more dire golfer aiming so far right it's criminal and then complaining when he's on the next fairway, I'm going to start the world's biggest rant.

I personally can't see much point in anyone taking lessons if they haven't got the time to practise.

 

[Andy]

In your position Bob I couldn't be arsed with giving lessons if somebody isnt willing to practice. Are they gonna learn from your teachings if they dont practice?

Andy

 

[bobmac]

As he doesn't have time to practice, I wouldn't change anything major like his swing path or his aim.
I would check to see if he is swaying and if so, get him to stay more centred over the ball. That would improve his ball striking. Then check his grip. If it is strong, I'd suggest he weakened it a touch to stop the shot that starts left and stays there. That would help him hit more fairways.
So at address, he'd check his new grip and during the swing, stay centred over the ball.
I would feel that's achievable without too much disruption to his game.

 

[CrapHacker]

Sod

You never mentioned the sway.



In that case I'd suggest a few practise swings at home and before every round with his feet together to work on keeping his body still.

 

[drawboy]

I feel just improving his alignment would be enough in 1/2 hr. Most of us cannot take too much in when we only have 1/2 an hour. So straighten him up give him something to practice in the garden with the aid of a couple of clubs, then ask him his goal given his limited time and suggest a lesson a month for 6 months followed by an on course assessment of his progress.

 

[0]

As he doesn't have time to practice, I wouldn't change anything major like his swing path or his aim

That surprises me as the best swing in the world won't be consistent if he can't even aim correctly, his body is working against himself.

I see guys on the range checking their takeaway, position at top and halfway down which is all fine but if your pointing 40degrees to the right that will domino so many other issues, surely a line adjustment is basic and if the rest is fine as you say he will get better strikes almost immediately.

 

[thecraw]

I'd tell him to join Homer and take up lawn bowling.

 

[bobmac]

As he doesn't have time to practice, I wouldn't change anything major like his swing path or his aim

That surprises me as the best swing in the world won't be consistent if he can't even aim correctly, his body is working against himself.

I see guys on the range checking their takeaway, position at top and halfway down which is all fine but if your pointing 40degrees to the right that will domino so many other issues, surely a line adjustment is basic and if the rest is fine as you say he will get better strikes almost immediately.

He has two complaints
1. his swing is out to in so he hits it left.
If he weakens his grip, his clubface will be open at impact so although the ball starts left, it will fade back into play.

2.Poor contact is helped by staying more centred over the ball.

That then helps him hit the ball better and straighter which is what he wants without having to spend hours practicing.

If you change his aim so his feet arent aiming right any more, where is he going to hit it.....even further left.
Is improving his aim going to stop his sway?
Is improving his aim going to improve his grip?

As long as his shoulders are pointing fairly straight, I wouldn't change it.

If he was 12 and lived on the golf course then I would have a completely different approach

 

[Imurg]

Ok, you're the pro
How would you help him in a 30 minute lesson?

No idea because I'm not a PGA Qualified Professional.....

 

[bobmac]

Ok, you're the pro
How would you help him in a 30 minute lesson?

No idea because I'm not a PGA Qualified Professional.....

It's never stopped you in the past

 

[0]

As he doesn't have time to practice, I wouldn't change anything major like his swing path or his aim

That surprises me as the best swing in the world won't be consistent if he can't even aim correctly, his body is working against himself.

I see guys on the range checking their takeaway, position at top and halfway down which is all fine but if your pointing 40degrees to the right that will domino so many other issues, surely a line adjustment is basic and if the rest is fine as you say he will get better strikes almost immediately.

He has two complaints
1. his swing is out to in so he hits it left.
If he weakens his grip, his clubface will be open at impact so although the ball starts left, it will fade back into play.

2.Poor contact is helped by staying more centred over the ball.

That then helps him hit the ball better and straighter which is what he wants without having to spend hours practicing.

If you change his aim so his feet arent aiming right any more, where is he going to hit it.....even further left.
Is improving his aim going to stop his sway?
Is improving his aim going to improve his grip?

As long as his shoulders are pointing fairly straight, I wouldn't change it.

If he was 12 and lived on the golf course then I would have a completely different approach

You've now come up with a sway and a grip problem, neither were in the OP, this is always difficult to comment on when we can't see it, however, I see what you are trying to do with him and no doubt he will be happy with that which is what you want ie a satisfied pupil.

I've never been a fan of sticking plaster fixes as they don't ......erm.....stick but for guys like that that don't or won't practice then what are you to do.

I've had many lessons like that since taking up golf but it was only when I went to a tour coach did the real lessons start, I might add he does the same with everyone and I have to book 6 weeks in advance. I'm still using his advice and swing thoughts from my 3 lessons 2 years ago.

 

[bobmac]

You've now come up with a sway and a grip problem, neither were in the OP

The clues were there.
Poor contact normally caused by the golfer moving off the ball either standing up, swaying or normally both.
And as far as the grip is concerned, by swinging out to in, the ball should move left to right. If it goes left, then the grip is probably on the strong side.

As you say it is a quick fix which is what he wanted as he had told me he doesn't have the time to practice.
If I was to try and change his grip, his sway, his swing path and his aim, it was ruin his game.