Want to improve your golf quickly? 7/365

Quite often, I will get a student coming in for a coaching session who is looking to improve quickly. They want a quick fix, an instant improvement in their game. Maybe they are struggling with a repeated fault like a snap hook off the tee, or hitting the dreaded shank with their wedges. When it's a recognisable issue that crops up all the time, yes, sometimes there is a quick solution, and a simple change in setup or swing movement can provide some relief.

But I have noticed a pattern with this style of approach, that quite often a few weeks or a few months later, the student comes back, and the same issue has reared its ugly head again. We may have addressed the symptom, but we did not really work on the underlying cause. At this point, I will often ask the student would you like to do a little work on your game, and find out if they really want to spend the time to do so. This time and dedication to improve the form and foundations of their golf swing comes at a cost. They may have to take a series of coaching sessions, and carve out some time from a busy life to work on their drills or movement patterns. They may have to spend some time thinking about their motivations for playing golf, and weigh up if they are willing to invest themselves in improving their game.

Now, if they work through these ideas, and they commit to the process, the rewards begin to happen. Not quickly, but more slowly and sedately. Patience can be very much required at this stage of self-development, and long held ideas about how to play the game challenged. But, now the student begins to get a new awareness of why the club needs to be held in a certain way, why the body needs to move just so, and gains understanding of why the golf ball moves in a certain way.

With understanding comes a reduction in frustration, as all of a sudden the player now knows what has happened, and can make minute adjustments as they go round the course. They feel empowered, and the reliance on the coach starts to reduce. They are not dependent on external help, but can access their own new knowledge and independently help themselves.

This is what I aim for as a golf coach, to help my students become able to recognise their own tendencies, know how to work out what has happened in the swing from the flight of the ball, and ultimately how to help themselves.