Good Golf Coach v Good Player
The first point of this discussion needs to make sure you trust your golf coach. This should be done in the interview process when
selecting your golf coach. You have probably heard me discuss in nearly all of my golf writings, that you need to make sure you have a qualified golf coach that is knowledgable in many different golf techniques to find the best game plan for you specifically!
Do your background checks, make sure they have had success playing and coaching other top golfers. What teaching education do they have? A good golf coach does not have to be a good player, but if he/she was, that sure helps! Being a good player definitely helps you develop into a good coach.
Here are a acouple reasons why:
- By being a good player – you have been in the golfers shoes. You know what golfers go through mentally and physically. This helps you relate and understand your player.
- The second reason being a good player helps you is because most likely you have been around other good players that do things differently than you did. For example, while playing in the USC college golf event, I noticed one of my playing partners doing some visualization and breathing techniques before each shot. I eventually asked him what he was doing and this led me to contacting Performance Coach Neale Smith and developing an interest in sport psychology. Another example was when I struggled with short putts. My coach at Pepperdine gave me a few different techniques he learned from Lee Trevino and Chi Chi Rodriguez while caddying on tour for his father.
- You will find that the best players in the world do things you will never read in a book or learn from the average golf coach. Great players think outside the box and create methods that work for them. These methods are worth a shot for you if you are struggling with your golf game. But always remember, just because a great player does it, doesn’t mean it is the only way to do it!
Personally, I never liked to listen to a coach that had never played at my level. This is partially due to my hard headedness, but how could an assistant golf professional that never played college golf, help me get to play NCAA division one golf if he had not been there? This is just my personally bias, but I prefer to learn from people that know how to do it better than I do.
Most importantly, do your research so you can develop a level of trust and know they can take you to that next level!