Order of Instruction

Golf lessons in person are preferred. Blogs, written instruction, tv or video lessons, all are worthwhile; but the Order of Instruction is absolutely crucial!

So many times I have watched golfers helping other golfers with their swings; sometimes the self appointed instructor is correct in what he or she sees as a problem, BUT, it isn't a basic problem. If a struggling player has 3 deficiencies, let's say A, B and C, a good teacher would discern which was most basic and address that problem, often fixing the other 2 swing errors during the process!

When a student arrives for a lesson, teachers assess the pre swing and the two planes of the swing, after asking a few important pre lesson questions.

The pre swing is GASP, or Grip, Alignment, Stance and Position of the ball within that stance. The next stage is horizontal or turn, pivot, coil-uncoil, rotation and many more terms. If that is ok, the vertical plane is reviewed. If that's good, we work on coordinating the horizontal with the vertical. These are the big and incontrovertible basics. As a golfer progresses, the details of these bigger moves become our focus. DO NOT address the details if there are gaps in the GASP, horizontal or vertical! So many well intentioned golf swing helpers do not fix the basics and go right to the details, and that will not work. In fact it often makes the swing worse!