Choosing the Right Golf Teacher

[Linda Long]

From time to time you may need to go see a golf professional to really
sort out any problems in your game. If you're thinking of taking golf
lessons, one of the first things you'll need to do is choose an
instructor. The right instructor makes learning the game fun,
enjoyable, and interesting. The wrong instructor makes it difficult
and unpleasant. Choosing the right golf teach means finding one that
inspires confidence in his teaching abilities. He/she needs to know
the game well, must communicate well during golf instruction sessions,
and needs to provide golf tips that generate results.
Golf teachers come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Some are good
communicators. Others are a wealth of technical knowledge. Some are
great working with beginners. Others are better working with more
experienced players. Many are highly personable, while others are not.
The key is finding an instructor that you're comfortable with, not one
that has a great reputation or charges the least. After all, you may
be taking a number of golf lessons from him so you need to fell
comfortable with his teaching style and personality.
Key Traits of a Good Instructor
While every golf instructor is different, the good ones all seem to
share some of the same traits. Below are traits to look for in a golf
instructor:
-Passion for the game-Experienced-Highly Knowledgeable-Good Training-
Excellent Communicator
The first thing you want to look for in a teacher is how he/she feels
about the game. Does he/she have a passion for it? Does he/she have a
passion for teaching it? It's easy to find a teacher who's giving golf
lessons just to make a few extra dollars. If that's what you're
looking for, that's fine them. But if you're serious about improving
your game, you want someone who is dedicated to what they're doing and
has a passion for helping others learn how to play it.
You also want someone who is highly knowledgeable about golf and has
experience teaching at your level. That doesn't mean that you
shouldn't use someone who is new to teaching golf. He or she may be an
excellent teacher. And you may have every confidence in that person.
However, chances are that you'll get better results from an
experienced teacher who knows the game well and knows how to teach
someone at your level.
You also want someone who's been trained to teach. You're local pro
maybe a nice guy and a friend, but be wary of taking golf lessons from
him. If he hasn't been fortunate enough to have attended a teaching
school, you may not enjoy taking golf lessons from him. Those
instructors who have enjoyed success in the field haven't achieved it
accidentally. They've work with others to help them improve their
teaching abilities and their expertise. Take advantage of that if your
can.
In addition, you want a teacher who is an excellent communicator. This
is critical. Some teachers have a lot of technical knowledge stored
inside them, but they're not able to communicate during a golf
instruction session in a way that a person can understand. If he or
she can't communicate well, it doesn't matter how man golf tips he
knows. Look for a teacher who can help you understand what you're
attempting to do. A good golf instructor understands this. He also has
the patience to enable you to lean at your own pace.
Doing Your Part
Achieving tangible results from taking golf lessons, however,
ultimately depends on you, not the instructor. In other words, you
need to do your part, too. An effective golf instructor can only do so
much. He or she is only as good as you allow him or her to be. So you
need to do things right to facilitate the learning process.
One of the most common mistakes a student makes is not doing enough
between lessons to make a golf instruction session payoff. Golf
lessons are supposed to help you improve your game. All the lessons in
the world won't help you improve, if you don't put enough time in on
the course.
Another mistake includes arriving to the lesson late. Then you jump
out of your car, pull out your driver, and start taking full swings
without having warmed up properly. Or maybe you're stressed out from
work and the traffic getting to the lesson didn't help. During the
lesson, you give the instructor a hard time. To get the most out of a
golf lesson you must approach the session with the attitude.
If you combine the right attitude with the right golf instructor, one
whom you're comfortable with and is a good communicator, you'll enjoy
taking lessons and learning about golf. What's more your game will
improve and you're golf handicap will start dropping and that's what
taking lessons is all about.
Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse