Teaching Philosophy
Jones, Sarazen, Snead, Hogan, Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, Trevino, Lopez, Norman, Faldo, Woods
All of the above players were/ are
currently the best
players of their time. What makes them different? 
What
do they
all have
in common? These players do not swing alike, yet all of them share many
of the same characteristics. All of them have been major championship
winners, yet no two swings even resemble each other.
All of them made the ball fly properly!
I teach fundamentals of both one and two-plane golf swings based on an accurate reading of ball flight determined by impact factors of Width and Angle; Path and Face.
At the top of a players backswing, a golfers arms are either inline with their shoulder plane or they are not, the arms are on a different or a second plane in relation to their shoulders.
The two mentioned ways of swinging the golf club each have a set of fundamentals. These sets could not be more different than each other, near polar opposites. What works in one swing will quickly ruin the other and vice versa. I truly believe that golf instruction is hurting more people today because of the mixing of these fundamentals.
Everyday we hear conflicting information relative to the golf swing. One instructor says something and the very next day another instructor says nearly the opposite. Who is right? They both are if they are applying it to the appropriate type of swing.
Understanding each type of swing and using those fundamentals which apply is paramount to being a quality instructor.
You can play great golf either way, some players who would be considered 2 planers are Tom Watson, Payne Stewart, David Toms, Hale Irwin and Davis Love III.
Some golfers that swing in a one plane fashion would be Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Peter Jacobsen, Jose Marie Olazabal, Tom Pernice and Jay Haas.
ALL GOLFERS FALL INTO 1 OF THESE 2 CATAGORIES.
Each person is different in stature, mass, age, flexibility; and each person sets different goals for him/herself. Having studied thousands of videos new and old, I immersed myself into the golf swing, the short game, the management game, the mental game, and all of the latest trends of all the top teachers. Jim McLean had a few unwritten rules; one of which was “ if you can ’ t back up what you say with video then be prepared for the consequences”.
I am a firm believer that you cannot reinvent the wheel. I have studied the wheel (the great players listed above) and they all share a common fundamental, they all hit it solid.
So what will you experience during a lesson? How will you improve your golf? What is the first step?
First- Identify what it is that you are currently doing? The FLIGHT of the BALL does not lie!
Second- Identify what you would rather be doing instead.
Third- Decide how to make a change that best suits your individual goals.
People learn in four basic ways:
1) Audio- this is important even though people only retain 10% of what they hear. To hear the message in many different ways is a method of identifying with solutions.
2) Visual- seeing yourself is such a helpful way to learn. Adults need video for cognitive reassurance while children can mimic from video rather well.
3) Feel- this is an important supplement to seeing video, frequently people will feel strange when trying something different yet the video camera will reassure us that it looks better.
4) Repetition- Drills or training aids; something that can isolate a particular motion and give positive feedback toward the change we need to make.
I have enjoyed the opportunity in working with high quality tour players although I must admit it is more fun to see someone compress a ball for the first time. Working with players of different ages, genders, golfing abilities and physical abilities has been challenging but the rewards are insurmountable. The sight of the ball rising softly, the sound resonating after a perfectly struck 6- iron and the feeling that nothing was felt as the ball leaves the club face are all things that I truly enjoy.