Traditional golf coaching

[bobmac]

This has been mentioned a few times on here recently and I wondered what people think it is.
Thoughts?

 

[Voyager EMH]

"Keep yer 'ed down and don't try to hit it so hard."

 

[Maninblack4612]

No using video, determining the swing path & face angle by observing the flight of the ball rather than using Trackman or suchlike to point out what is obvious to a competent instructor.

I was lucky enough to have a lesson from my friend, who coaches the Duke of York. He's an old school, Master Professional & just stood beside me, watching me trying to do what other pros have told me to do. No video, no Trackman but he had me hitting it better within a few minutes.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

…actually when I myself have mentioned ‘traditional’, I think that I really mean ‘modern conventional’…with that embracing the vast majority of the ‘body mechanical’ stuff we see and hear on Youtube videos and that has previously been captured pictorially in great detail in books.

Because in my early 1950s Tommy Armour book there is hardly anything of the stuff we see and hear so much about these days. He seemed to keep instruction very simple in order to make a golfers thinking very uncluttered when going to hit the ball. For the simple reason that, in golf, all we are doing is hitting a ball - and then looking to hit it in a way to make it do what we want it to do to produce the ball-flight we desire.

 

[Junior]

I think a good pro like this is amazing. I love having a lesson in summer off a grass range with the pro stood behind you watching the ball flight and checking the fundamentals.

Ordinarily these guys don't cost you £50+ per hour as they don't have to buy trackman, rent a studio etc.

A valuable and underused resource are my thoughts @bobmac

 

[clubchamp98]

Modern teaching is all about length, then about control.
Old school was about control of your ball , when you have that you naturally had length.
I was taught to control my ball flight ( balata ball) I think some of the things I ingrained in my swing stop me changing anything the modern pros teach,( I.E. hitting up on driver )
I just can’t seem to do it. Age and lack of practice now as well.

 

[jim8flog]

You do not need to change your swing you just need to buy a different club.

 

[jim8flog]

Oops - sorry that may be modern coaching.

 

[Maninblack4612]

Tell us what you think, then @bobmac

 

[clubchamp98]

You do not need to change your swing you just need to buy a different club.

I am sure that was the answer in the old days as well.

 

[2blue]

We have one of Mongomery's old coaches at our place.... Bill Ferguson. On the Club's website Coaching Profile for him it simply says..."Does not use Swing Studio". Well in his 80's & still one of the best short-game coaches around.

 

[bobmac]

Tell us what you think, then @bobmac

Very briefly.....
Well, for starters, there is not one PGA swing that all PGA Pros teach. Myth.
Secondly, there is no set method of teaching and all pros are taught to vary their technique to suit each type of golfer (audio, video, feel)
Lastly, instruction is based on the ball flight and the 5 golf laws....''if the ball is doing 'this', then this must be happening''.

On the whole, it's a very scientific approach, refined over the years using modern technology such as high speed cameras to help understand what's going on.

 

[chico]

The last few lessons I've had I think are traditional. No technology me, the pro and him watching me hit balls. Then telling me what will improve my results.
It has worked for me but I think some people don't feel they're getting their monies worth unless there's loads of data.

 

[D-S]

The last few lessons I've had I think are traditional. No technology me, the pro and him watching me hit balls. Then telling me what will improve my results.
It has worked for me but I think some people don't feel they're getting their monies worth unless there's loads of data.

The thing with data is that it enables you to track progress empirically. Are you now hitting it straighter, further, higher or whatever you are seeking? Difficult to tell from behind, especially when the person telling you has a vested interest in claiming improvement.

 

[chico]

The thing with data is that it enables you to track progress. Are you now hitting it straighter, further, higher or whatever you are seeking? Difficult to tell from behind, especially when the person telling you has a vested interest in claiming improvement.

I gauge improvement from hitting it better and fixing the problems I knew I had. He also explained the reasons why I was making the bad shots so as I knew how to fix them.
Ultimately improvement is measured in better scoring.

 

[D-S]

I gauge improvement from hitting it better and fixing the problems I knew I had. He also explained the reasons why I was making the bad shots so as I knew how to fix them.
Ultimately improvement is measured in better scoring.

If only the sole reason for scoring better was just hitting it better.

 

[chico]

If only the sole reason for scoring better was just hitting it better.

It's not the only reason but it's a big reason. Just need a putting lesson, then a short game lesson, bunker shots...

 

[Doon frae Troon]

…actually when I myself have mentioned ‘traditional’, I think that I really mean ‘modern conventional’…with that embracing the vast majority of the ‘body mechanical’ stuff we see and hear on Youtube videos and that has previously been captured pictorially in great detail in books.

Because in my early 1950s Tommy Armour book there is hardly anything of the stuff we see and hear so much about these days. He seemed to keep instruction very simple in order to make a golfers thinking very uncluttered when going to hit the ball. For the simple reason that, in golf, all we are doing is hitting a ball - and then looking to hit it in a way to make it do what we want it to do to produce the ball-flight we desire.

In the 1960/70's to my uncle was an SGU coach with an impressive list of players.
He was approached by a publisher to write an instruction book.
He replied that it would not sell many copies as it would only be 4 or 5 pages long.
Traditional instruction in the Armour/Thompson/Hogan era.

 

[clubchamp98]

I think tech has its place.
To show players as well as explaining.
But the main thing you need to learn is to control your ball flight.
It’s why indoor coaching is very limited imo.

 

[Deleted member 25575]

I think tech has its place, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want to avail yourself of what it has to offer.
Can teaching be done effectively without tech, absolutely, has been that way for many a year, but now tech is available, it can add to what has worked for years