It's the Son of a Butcher podcast. You guys know the drill. We come to you every Wednesday. UH. This week. UM talked in the past a little bit about kind of how I teach and how I give golf lessons. But UM, one of the things I mean, as someone who has been teaching for you know, well over two decades and give golf lessons on a regular basis, wanted to talk today about, UM taking a golf lesson. If you're looking at taking instruction, UM, what what you should be looking for in an instructor, UM, and you as the lesson taker, UM, what is kind of your roles and your responsibilities? UM. First of all, I think, UM, you were, as as golf instructors, were incredibly lucky to have people take time, you know, out of their out of their lives to come take golf lessons from ructors. And certainly it's something that that I take really really seriously. UM. I've talked about some of the things that I like to do and and the way I give golf lessons. UM. So if you're someone that is going to take lessons and you're going to, UM look at investing in instruction, I mean, first of all, I think it's it's really important that if you are going to try UM and get better at golf. If if getting better and improving your golf is something that is important to you, I do think that that taking golf lessons obviously can help that. UM. Having said that, I think, UM, if you're looking for an instructor, I think it's really important that that you as the student, UM, that that you do a little bit of homework, a little bit of of due diligence. UM. You can find golf lessons, you know, from any any range of price. UM. You know you can you can find really really cheap golf lessons, and then you can go to people and and spend a lot of money. And I'm of the belief that that you get what you pay for UM. So if you are someone that is going to take UM lessons and and and kind of go down the route of trying to improve your your golf game, UM, I think it's really important for for you as the player to have a pretty good idea and understanding as to what the problems are and what are the areas that you feel like you can you can make some gains UM, and that you need to improve a lot of times I'll have people come and take golf lessons and you're asking questions and it's it's a little bit like, uh, it's a little bit like pulling teeth. It's a little bit like, Okay, let me try and get as much information out of this player as I can. And I think a lot of times golfers struggle. Um. And I've said this before on the pod UM. I think a lot of golfers struggle because they've they've played golf for a fairly long period of time, and they don't really kind of have a good idea of what they're trying to do, um and what they need to do to hit really good, consistent quality golf shots. UM. So, if I'm going to go take a golf lesson, the big thing I would want to do is figure out, first of all, what what is my price range? How much do I want to pay per lesson? Do I wanna take something that's you know, kind of quick thirty minute lessons? Do I want to take you know, a little bit longer an hour lesson, or do I want to take um, you know, a more kind of extended to three hours. Do I want to take um just one lesson and go work on it. Or do I want to find an instructor that has um lesson packages. You know, most golf in structures now I think do six lessons um. And that is where I think a lot of UM significant gains can be made in getting a series or a package of lessons, because one it's it's it's saying to the instructor if you're going to come in and buy, let's say, a six lesson package from an instructor, I think what it says to the instructor as someone that is an instructor is okay, this person is somewhat serious about wanting to get better, regardless of what the handicap level is. Obviously, if you're a beginning golfer and you're completely new to golf, I do think taking a series of golf lessons can help you know so that you're you're you're working on on things, and you're working on things over a specific period of time. So anytime someone wants to come and invest um a lot of time with me as an instructor, I kind of put them in the bucket of being, you know, serious about what they want to try and accomplish and what they're trying to do with their golf game. UM. So if you're someone that is UM going to to take lessons, I think it's important to do your homework. I think it's important to look at, uh, the instructor that you're going to go take lessons from, UM, what type of of presence do they have on social media. The reason I say that is it's going to give you a good idea. I think now social media allows a lot of instructors to kind of tell their story, to tell UM, what they like, what they don't like, what they believe in the golf swing. And I think that's really really important that as a student, you're going to someone UM that you have sought out, that that there's a reason you've sought them out. Maybe UM, you're you're struggling with you're putting, and you're going to work with someone that is a putting specific instructor UM and they're they're specifically working on putting. Maybe you're going to go to kind of a short game guy UM that is big into short game, that that has a reputation for that, and then you can go to people and work on full swing. But I think it's important that as the As the student, you have a good idea of what the instructor you're choosing does, believes and is going to try and get you to to to work on UM. There are a lot of players UH that want to work with with instructors that UM create power, that creates speed. UM. There are instructors UM that players want to work with that have UM a system, have a kind of specific swing theory, and he's going to try and get all of the players that they're working with UM to kind of swing the golf club a specific way. So, if you have a a style of golf swing that you like, if you have positions in the golf swing that you're like that you like, I think it's important to find an instructor that kind of shares those same ideas, beliefs, values in in the golf swing. UM. I think you can get a little bit sideways UM if you've got specific things that you want to work on in your golf swing and you go to an instructor that really doesn't kind of believe in those things and and really isn't going to help you kind of work on those things. There are a lot of instructors that have very very specific UM ideas models positions that they believe very very strongly UM in the golf swing. UM. They believe that putting players in these positions, putting the players into a system of swinging the golf club a specific way. The instructors do that because they believe that that's going to help you as a player get better. So as the player, as the student, I think it's really important that you kind of get a good overall idea of Okay, what is it that I want to accomplish in in in taking golf lessons and taking instruction and then finding a coach and instructor that fits along with the things that that you're trying to work on in the golf swing. UM. If you're I think as the as the student, you want to take a look UM at what kind of players? Uh this instructor that you're working with works with? Um? Do they work with a lot If you're a beginner, do they work with a lot of beginning golfers? Um? If you're an intermediate you know player, If you're a mid handicap player, UM, what type of mid handicap players is this person work with? If you're trying to play competitively? UM? If you're really really serious about your golf and you're trying to take your golf game and put it on the competitive level, whether that's being a competitive junior, competitive amateur, competitive college player, UH, a player that's trying to play competitively at the professional level. I think you need to then be looking at players if you're trying to compete UM. In my opinion, I think you need to be looking at players. Are looking at coaches and saying, Okay, what is their body of work, what are the type of players that they're working with, What are the type of players they're working with? Where do those up the players play? Do you know if you're if you're an amateur, if you're a junior, if you're a junior high school golfer, and you want to try and get to the next level, and you want to try and get to to play Division one division to play some sort of college golf, then I think it's incumbent upon you as a as a student to find an instructor that works with players that are where you want to be. UM, that is working with competitive juniors and and and ranked juniors either locally or state or nationally UM or internationally. UM. I think if you're trying to play competitively UM, whatever tour you're trying to play on, I think it would be helpful to work and seek out an instructor that has worked with players on that tour that you want to go to. UM. That's certainly UM one of the reasons why a lot of players that play competitively UM seek me out because you know, I've spent you know, over two decades working you know, on tour all over the world, on the European Tour, on the PGA Tour, on the LPGA Tour, on the PGA Tour, champions UM Asia Live. I've worked with players. One of the things I'm really proud of is UM. The players that I've worked with over my career from a competitive level has have pretty much one UM at every single level and one UM, if if my memory is correct, pretty much on every tour. So UM. If you're a competitive player and are looking to compete, I think it's important that you find an instructor that matches kind of where you want to go UM. I think it's really important for you as as the student to let the instructor kind of know what your UM, what your goals are, what UM what the end game is? UM? And that's one of the first questions I always ask a student is listen, what can I help with? And what what is? What is your end game? What is the reason why you are coming to to take a golf lesson today? UM? What are your goals? UM? One of the questions if you're trying to play competitively, UM, regardless of what the level is junior golfer, amateur, college, you know, the professional level. UH. One of the questions I'm always gonna ask is, UM, what's the lowest score you've shot in competition this year? And what's the highest score you've shot in competition this year? And that can sometimes be a fairly significant end and big gap. It can be maybe in the sixties on the low end and in the high seventies, mid eighties on the high end. UM. So I'm always trying to figure out what kind of range you have, UM with regards to scoring. Let's take a moment to thank for Wellness for supporting the show. You guys hear me talk about them every week, and that the reason I do that is because I drink their coffee every week. I know lots of people are focusing on health and Wellness as we start the new year. But what I love most about their coffee is that there isn't anything artificial and no artificial ingredients sweeteners, creamers and all the junk that isn't good for you. It's only the good stuff giving you more energy without typical crashes you get when a lot of your coffee and if you have a lot of sugar in your coffee. Give it a try and use the special code c H three. That code will get you off your order plus free shipping and a free starter kit worth thirty dollars when you visit for Wellness dot com slash podcast. Again, that's the code c H three at for Wellness dot com slash podcast. I think it's important to to explain to the instructor. Listen, these are um, these are the issues that I'm having. Um, when I play well, I hit this type of shot. When I play my best, I do these things. I'm always asking players students, um that I'm that I'm working with. What what is the shape that you're trying to hit? Um? Where is the miss? What type of miss do you have? Do you have a directional miss meaning the ball is curving too much? Do you have a contact miss. Uh, it's the quality of stripe between the club and and the ball. Um, do you hit the ball thin? Do you hit the ball heavy? All of those things, And a lot of times when I'm asking those questions to a student, I get that kind of you know, dumbfounded look, and and it's it's it's almost like the player doesn't know what it is they do. So I think it's really important that if you're going to take golf lessons, you're able to come and say to the instructor, listen, these are my goals from a golf standpoint, this is what I want to do. I want to try I want to break a hundred for the first time, eighty great par for the first time. And that's my goal. You know, I'm a I'm a twenty handicap. I want to try and get down to a team. I want to try and get into the teens. I want to become a single digit and um, these are also my goals incoming and taking a golf lesson from you as the instructor. My goal is to try and change this about my game, to try and improve this about my game. UM. I also think a lot of times, um, instructors get sideways with with with students because I think sometimes UM students can have unrealistic expectations of of coming and taking a golf lesson. UM. I feel like I'm pretty good at giving golf lessons. I feel like I'm pretty good UM at instruction. UM. But based off of what I'm working with as as an instructor, UM, you know, largely you're working around what a player is doing, UM, what a player can do, what a player is physically able to do. That's another UM part that I think is really important for UM people getting lessons to to convey to instructors. Listen, this is my health history. UM, I've had these injuries. UM, I currently have these injuries. UM. Anytime a player comes to me and says that they've got any sort of injuries, they've had injuries and past or they've had recent injuries, the number one thing I ask is, listen, have you been cleared to hit golf balls? Have you been cleared by your medical professional, by your doctor, by your physiotherapist, whoever is in charge of of your rehab if you're if you've been injured, UM, who's in charge of that? And UM, are you able and have you been given clearance to hit golf balls? Um, you should not anyone listening to this this podcast if you're hitting golf balls and you're going to the driving range and you're hitting off balls for an hour, UM, you should not be in pain hitting golf balls. UM. Golf is not a contact sport. UM. I was working with the junior the other day. UH eleven, twelve year old Jr. UM had made that jump from UM playing US kids golf to playing regular length UM golf clubs. This this young UM kid UM I think he was. He was probably under five ft tall UM, and he was playing and had been fitted with golf clubs UM that were about a half inch longer than the golf clubs that maybe an inch to a half inch longer than the golf clubs I play with. Yes, they had graphite shafts, UM. But the kid was making a golf swing based off of the golf club that he was playing. Um. It was too long, it was too heavy. Even though he was professionally fitted for these clubs, he was playing with effectively kids clubs. And he and his and his parents decided to get him into regular golf clubs, which is something that every young kid wants to do right. Every young player doesn't want to play with kids clubs. They want to play with real golf clubs. Um. But I was watching this kid hit golf balls, and you know, in asking him questions, UM, the quality of the strike tended to be a bigger issue for him than the direction the golf ball was going. So we looked at him on video and we could just see that he was putting the golf club in a position at the top of the back swing. Um, that was very very difficult for him to control. The back swing was very very long. Um. He had a lot of you know, extending backwards, a lot of curvature, UM in his spine, he had a lot of you know, his leaning left at the top of the back swing. And UM, I looked at his golf swing and I and I said to his dad, I said, listen, um, we we need to make some serious changes here so your son doesn't get hurt. And the father said, well, what do you mean. So I said to the to the to the junior, I said, listen, you're not gonna get in trouble for for saying this, but be honest with me when you go practice golf balls. Does your back hurt? And you could see the kid, you know, made the nervous look to the dad. The dad's kind of looking at the kid going, you know, you never tell me you're hurt. Um, you never tell me you're in pain. Um. And so the father said to the son, listen, be honest, or are you in pain when you hit golf balls? And the kid shook his head and was like, yeah, I'm I'm I'm in pain a lot of time. And he showed me exactly where the pain is in his in his low back and his mid back, and and he said, sometimes, you know, if he has a day where he hits a lot of golf balls on the weekend, goes and plays golf for eighteen holes, Um, he struggles to sleep at night because it's back hurt. And the kid's eleven years old, and you know, golf should not be hurting his back. So I think it's important that, um, you are honest with the instructors that you're you're working with and say, listen to my it's my injury history. That's what I've been dealing with now. And then I think it's important to to explain to the instructor. Listen, I've had some lessons before. These are the things that I've done. If you have had lessons before, Um, these are the things I've worked on. Um, they worked, they didn't work. They worked for a little while, then they didn't work. And these are the reasons why they didn't work. And I was unable to stick with him. I think a lot of times, UM, students are looking, um, for golfers to for instructors to somewhat have a magic bullet, uh, to be able to come in take one golf lesson. Boom, You're cured and everything's fine. Um, you as the player are going to have a d n A, a signature. Everybody swinging a golf club kind of has their own d n A, their own kind of signature of what their swing does. And and so I think students are looking at instructors to kind of change these signatures and change these patterns. But a lot of times, Um, these are very ingrained patterns. They're very ingrained motions. You know, sometimes you've been playing golf, you know, ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty years, and you're you're working on a lot of the same movements, and you're doing a lot of the same things. You know. They say that there's the cliche that practice makes perfect, but practice can also make permanent. So if you do the same thing over and over and over again when you do come for a golf lesson UM, that might not be a quick fix. It might be a situation to where you might need to say, Okay, as the instructor, listen, this is what you do. UM, we're going to try and change some of this. But UM, you know what you do is is is is a difficult move, and we're going to try and make some changes to help you offset that. But I do think at times it's it's it's unrealistic to think that you can come in UM and make massive change, just really really quick. Now, if you're playing a lot of golf, if you're playing UM competitive golf, UM, if you're practicing you know, three four or five, six, seven days a week, if you're playing two, three, four or five times a week, then I think change can be made quicker because you're getting in more reps. But you've also got to remember that going to a golf lesson UM for the first time with a brand new instructor is very much like going to a personal trainer and saying, listen, I'm out of shape. It's January one. Uh, you know, I'm twenty pounds overweight. UM, I want to try and get in shape, and I really want to try and lose some weight. What they're going to do is they're going to create a plan for you. UM. They're going to create a series of workouts and things that you can do over an extended period of time. Because if you say to a physical trainer on January one, January second, listen, i'mds overweight. UM. I want to spend you know, basically all day with you today, you know, three or four or five six hours in the gym working out, doing all this stuff, and hopefully I'm gonna be UM, I'm gonna lose weight tomorrow and be in shape. Unfortunately, UM, it doesn't work like that. So our job as instructors are to try and say, two players, listen, Okay, let's figure out a way that we could build a better pattern for you and try and eliminate some of the things that that you do. UM. Not specifically the way I teach. I don't basically teach by UM numbers or by systems or theory. I I look at what a player does individually, and I say, Okay, what can I do to help this player? UM swing the golf club better? And so that's where I think, as the student, you've got to look um at what your problems are. UM. One of my favorite sports to play A UM, I play tennis. UM. I love playing tennis. UM. I I read a lot, I follow a lot about tennis. UM, I take tennis lessons, and UM you know when I look for tennis instructors, UM, you know, I do my homework, I look at you know what type of players they work with, what type of theories they have. UM. You know my back hand is not great. My four hands okay, but my back hand isn't great. And UM I've been working with with the tennis instructor that UM we've done a lot of work on on my footwork. UM it has helped me improve a lot of my strokes. But UM, I looked at a tennis instructor and I kind of knew some of the things that that he he did, and that's one of the reasons why I chose him. UM. My tennis game is a work in progress. Right. I don't feel like when I go, UM take a one tennis lessons on my ground strokes are immediately going to improve. UM, because I do like tennis. I've I've bought a ball machine, and so now I go take tennis lessons. Um, I go have people that I hit with, but I also go and get on the ball machine and work on these kind of drills and and footworks um. So UM. And I think that always really helps me as as a golf instructor to go take, um a lesson in another sport from someone else. UM. And it's a sport that that I'm interested in. So let's take a short break and we will be back right after this. All right, let's get back to the interview. I think you have to be patient. I think you have to have realistic goals. UM. I think you want to try and look at your golf swing and changing your golf swing and improving your golf swing a little bit like trying to climb Mount Everest. Um, You're at the bottom and you're going to try and get to the top of a and the highest mountain in the world. UM, You're not going to make it by starting at the bottom and trying to climb to the top. Um, you will fail every single time you do that, what you've got to do is you've got to get up, get to base camp, get acclimated. Then you go to Camp one. Then you can go to camp to get acclimated, get comfortable. Then you can go to Camp three, get out, then you can go to Camp four. So all along the line, you're you're doing things in stages. You're doing things to where you can you can climb in my mountain, you're trying to get up the mountain safely, and you're trying to get up the mountain with all of the UM supplies that you need, and it's just impossible to do that all in one go to just start at the bottom and try and climb to the top. So I think it's important that as as a student you look at okay, UM, there might be some short term issues UM. And I think one of the issues that that golfers have is they go take golf lessons and UM and then they try and take what they're working on in their golf lesson straight out onto the golf course. UM. In an ideal world, you would have some time time to work on on on the changes, work on the things that you're going to try and make um, you know, permanent in your golf swing. But also you have to also then do two separate things. You have to practice golf, which we do on the driving range, and then when you go play golf, you have to go play golf. You can't go out and play golf swing. And I think a lot of students that that that that struggle is they go they take golf lessons and then what they try and do is they try and go out on the golf course and they're working on their golf swing. You should be doing two things. Should be practicing and when, and you should be playing. When you play, you should be playing with whatever swing you've got. And if it's a work in progress, it's a work in progress. But you've still got to be able to go to the golf course and try and score and try and play. And that is the art of playing and executing. And then there is the technical part, the technique, the swing thing. You've heard me talk a lot about that if you're a regular listen to the pod. The difference between technique and execution. Um. And I think a lot of golfers as well, UM, they try and do everything. Specifically players that are going to compete. They're trying to do everything in a vacuum right there, trying to make changes without playing. And I always say to players that are trying to compete, you know, they come in and they say, hey, I'm gonna try and make some changes. You know, I'm you know, trying to get the first stage of of corn Ferry. I'm trying to, you know, go to Asian Tour qualifying school, so I want to try and make some changes to become a better ball striker whatever. And a player will come and then they'll say, you know what, I'm just now going to shut everything down and work on my game. And I'm always like, listen, I think it's important for you to work on your game, but I think you have to work on your game while you're playing golf. You have to be able to do and you have to do both. You can't just shut everything down practice only and then hope that you're going to go play and it's going to be fine. There's a difference between playing golf and practicing golf, and I think playing golf off is hugely, hugely important, and I think you want to try and if you are going through some swing changes, if you are going through some some lessons. Um. I think it's important that you're able to take a lesson, go practice, you know, to three a couple of times, maybe go play nine holes, then come back and say to the instructor that you're working with, Okay, I came for this lesson. These are the things that we worked on. I went ahead and did these things and worked on these drills and felt like, you know, I was making some progress. And then I went and played, and when I played, this is what I saw. I saw this contact, I saw this shape, I saw this miss. That then allows you to to share that with the instructor that you're working with, so that they can then say, okay, based off of the stuff that we're trying to work on in your golf swing, based off of what you say is happening in practice, and based off of what you tell me is happening in or when you're on the golf course, then I can go ahead and say, okay, well, these are things that we need to try and continue to work on. Maybe we need to add this, maybe you need to take a little bit of this away. But I do think it's important that you just don't shut everything down and just become a practice er, not a player. The goal is to play better golf, right, But what everybody does is they just spend an enormous amount of time solely just on practicing, and they forget that part of playing better golf is learning how to play on the golf course, and you have to do that regardless of what your golf swing looks like. Your golf swing is always going to be in a state of flux. It's always going to be fluid. There are going to be days where you're hitting really good. There's going to be days where you're not. But you still have to play and have to be able to somewhat compete and find a way to shoot a decent score with the swing and the technique that you've got. Let's take a quick break and we are back. I think you want to ask as many questions as you can in a golf lesson. Um, you should be asking if if if an instructor is telling you to do something and it doesn't make sense and you don't understand it, UM, don't be embarrassed. Hey, listen, could you explain that better? Could you explain that in a different way? Because I don't really get what you're trying to get across here. I think a lot of times UM students think that instructors are going to be you know, get mad or feel like you're questioning them. If any instructor that you're working with UM doesn't like you asking questions, UM kind of makes you feel, you know, somewhat ignorant or belittled for asking questions and says, hey, no, no, just just do what I tell you to do. You you need to walk away from that and not go back UM. Any theory, any position, any concept that a coach is asking you to do as the play or they should be able to draw you a picture, a very specific UM, easy to follow, easy for you to understand, a good idea of what they want you to do, and you should be able to kind of spit that back at them. I say that a lot of times. I'll say that to a player. Okay, you know, we start off, we're working on these things, we're working on these positions, we're working on this type of move UM. And then I'll say, okay, go ahead and repeat this back to me. Pretend like I don't know anything about golf, and you tell me what you're working on with your instructor, so you give it back to me and talk me through it. And I think that opens up that dialogue for you as the player and you and and certainly me as the coach, to to figure out if there's a disconnect, if what I'm saying isn't making sense UM. So I think it's important that you have that that good kind of UM communication with the instructor you're working on UM. But they shouldn't be telling you to do things because that's what they're telling you to do, and you shouldn't be asking any questions. You should ask as many questions as possible. I think it's important if you're going to take lessons and you are serious about getting better UM, I would keep a lesson journal. I would write down UM everything that I was working on UM and take notes and and have a really good idea UM. Hopefully you're working with an instructor that UM can give you video to your golf swing, giving you that video back from the lesson with voice notes with voice over. I think that's really really in help helpful for for you to have a good understanding as as as the player, what you're trying to do. But I do think it is important as as the student to ask as many questions as possible, and like I said, to have realistic expectations to say, Okay, listen, I'm going to this instructor for these things. These are the things I'm trying to change. These are the ways that I'm going to try and get better, UM, say to the instructor at the beginning, listen, based off of what you see, UM, be honest with me, give me a timeline here on. You know how difficult you think this is going to be to fix. Um, what are some of the things that I can expect along the way? UM, So that when I'm not taking a lesson from you, what should I expect? UM? What should the miss be? What should the good shot be? And I think if you have a really good idea as the student of what you're trying to do, what you want to do, and you have someone that you're working with that can draw you a really really clear defined concept and you know, plan an outline on the direction you're going to try and go, then I think you know you can get better as as a student. UM. I think you have to be patient, You have to be honest with yourself as a student as to what your talent level is, UM, if you were, you know, in that average golfer range. And to me, the average golfers is pretty much the majority of people playing golf that UM. Average golfers to me are people that aren't trying to compete. Then they might be playing in tournaments at their course, but they're not. Their entire life isn't based on the competing part UM. And so I think you need to have realistic expectations and and say, Okay, if I really want to improve, I'm willing maybe to take a couple of steps back. I don't think you have to get worse before you get better. UM, I don't believe that. I think you can get better. I think it just takes time. And and if you're willing to devote the time, and you have the time to practice and try and embed and implement some of the changes that you're working on, then I think you can make changes. But UM, you know the keys for me, for lesson takers, do your homework. Have realistic expectations, UM, Have realistic expectations based off of how much you can play, how much you can practice, Have realistic expectations based off of UM, what your body can and can't do what your ages? What's your flexibility is? UM? You know, are you working out, are you moving a lot um in a non golf way on a regular basis. Those are all things that are going to hinder but also help your progression as a player. UM. But like I said, UM, I'm very very lucky that people UM choose to come take golf lessons from me. I take it really really seriously. And if you are going to take lessons, like I said, do your homework, UM, figure out what you want to try and accomplish, and have really really specific to find clear goals as to what you want to try and do with your golf swing, what you want to try and get out of the golf lesson and convey that to the instructor and and hopefully there will point you in the right direction. UM. Be patient, UM and hopefully UM, some of this information helps and and and maybe UM you start thinking about taking lessons in a different way. I want to thank everybody for listening. Some of a bich comes to you every Wednesday. We will see you next week.

It's the Son of a Butcher podcast. You guys know the drill. We come to you every Wednesday. UH. This week. UM talked in the past a little bit about kind of how I teach and how I give golf lessons. But UM, one of the things I mean, as someone who has been teaching for you know, well over two decades and give golf lessons on a regular basis, wanted to talk today about, UM taking a golf lesson. If you're looking at taking instruction, UM, what what you should be looking for in an instructor, UM, and you as the lesson taker, UM, what is kind of your roles and your responsibilities? UM. First of all, I think, UM, you were, as as golf instructors, were incredibly lucky to have people take time, you know, out of their out of their lives to come take golf lessons from ructors. And certainly it's something that that I take really really seriously. UM. I've talked about some of the things that I like to do and and the way I give golf lessons. UM. So if you're someone that is going to take lessons and you're going to, UM look at investing in instruction, I mean, first of all, I think it's it's really important that if you are going to try UM and get better at golf. If if getting better and improving your golf is something that is important to you, I do think that that taking golf lessons obviously can help that. UM. Having said that, I think, UM, if you're looking for an instructor, I think it's really important that that you as the student, UM, that that you do a little bit of homework, a little bit of of due diligence. UM. You can find golf lessons, you know, from any any range of price. UM. You know you can you can find really really cheap golf lessons, and then you can go to people and and spend a lot of money. And I'm of the belief that that you get what you pay for UM. So if you are someone that is going to take UM lessons and and and kind of go down the route of trying to improve your your golf game, UM, I think it's really important for for you as the player to have a pretty good idea and understanding as to what the problems are and what are the areas that you feel like you can you can make some gains UM, and that you need to improve a lot of times I'll have people come and take golf lessons and you're asking questions and it's it's a little bit like, uh, it's a little bit like pulling teeth. It's a little bit like, Okay, let me try and get as much information out of this player as I can. And I think a lot of times golfers struggle. Um. And I've said this before on the pod UM. I think a lot of golfers struggle because they've they've played golf for a fairly long period of time, and they don't really kind of have a good idea of what they're trying to do, um and what they need to do to hit really good, consistent quality golf shots. UM. So, if I'm going to go take a golf lesson, the big thing I would want to do is figure out, first of all, what what is my price range? How much do I want to pay per lesson? Do I wanna take something that's you know, kind of quick thirty minute lessons? Do I want to take you know, a little bit longer an hour lesson, or do I want to take um, you know, a more kind of extended to three hours. Do I want to take um just one lesson and go work on it. Or do I want to find an instructor that has um lesson packages. You know, most golf in structures now I think do six lessons um. And that is where I think a lot of UM significant gains can be made in getting a series or a package of lessons, because one it's it's it's saying to the instructor if you're going to come in and buy, let's say, a six lesson package from an instructor, I think what it says to the instructor as someone that is an instructor is okay, this person is somewhat serious about wanting to get better, regardless of what the handicap level is. Obviously, if you're a beginning golfer and you're completely new to golf, I do think taking a series of golf lessons can help you know so that you're you're you're working on on things, and you're working on things over a specific period of time. So anytime someone wants to come and invest um a lot of time with me as an instructor, I kind of put them in the bucket of being, you know, serious about what they want to try and accomplish and what they're trying to do with their golf game. UM. So if you're someone that is UM going to to take lessons, I think it's important to do your homework. I think it's important to look at, uh, the instructor that you're going to go take lessons from, UM, what type of of presence do they have on social media. The reason I say that is it's going to give you a good idea. I think now social media allows a lot of instructors to kind of tell their story, to tell UM, what they like, what they don't like, what they believe in the golf swing. And I think that's really really important that as a student, you're going to someone UM that you have sought out, that that there's a reason you've sought them out. Maybe UM, you're you're struggling with you're putting, and you're going to work with someone that is a putting specific instructor UM and they're they're specifically working on putting. Maybe you're going to go to kind of a short game guy UM that is big into short game, that that has a reputation for that, and then you can go to people and work on full swing. But I think it's important that as the As the student, you have a good idea of what the instructor you're choosing does, believes and is going to try and get you to to to work on UM. There are a lot of players UH that want to work with with instructors that UM create power, that creates speed. UM. There are instructors UM that players want to work with that have UM a system, have a kind of specific swing theory, and he's going to try and get all of the players that they're working with UM to kind of swing the golf club a specific way. So, if you have a a style of golf swing that you like, if you have positions in the golf swing that you're like that you like, I think it's important to find an instructor that kind of shares those same ideas, beliefs, values in in the golf swing. UM. I think you can get a little bit sideways UM if you've got specific things that you want to work on in your golf swing and you go to an instructor that really doesn't kind of believe in those things and and really isn't going to help you kind of work on those things. There are a lot of instructors that have very very specific UM ideas models positions that they believe very very strongly UM in the golf swing. UM. They believe that putting players in these positions, putting the players into a system of swinging the golf club a specific way. The instructors do that because they believe that that's going to help you as a player get better. So as the player, as the student, I think it's really important that you kind of get a good overall idea of Okay, what is it that I want to accomplish in in in taking golf lessons and taking instruction and then finding a coach and instructor that fits along with the things that that you're trying to work on in the golf swing. UM. If you're I think as the as the student, you want to take a look UM at what kind of players? Uh this instructor that you're working with works with? Um? Do they work with a lot If you're a beginner, do they work with a lot of beginning golfers? Um? If you're an intermediate you know player, If you're a mid handicap player, UM, what type of mid handicap players is this person work with? If you're trying to play competitively? UM? If you're really really serious about your golf and you're trying to take your golf game and put it on the competitive level, whether that's being a competitive junior, competitive amateur, competitive college player, UH, a player that's trying to play competitively at the professional level. I think you need to then be looking at players if you're trying to compete UM. In my opinion, I think you need to be looking at players. Are looking at coaches and saying, Okay, what is their body of work, what are the type of players that they're working with, What are the type of players they're working with? Where do those up the players play? Do you know if you're if you're an amateur, if you're a junior, if you're a junior high school golfer, and you want to try and get to the next level, and you want to try and get to to play Division one division to play some sort of college golf, then I think it's incumbent upon you as a as a student to find an instructor that works with players that are where you want to be. UM, that is working with competitive juniors and and and ranked juniors either locally or state or nationally UM or internationally. UM. I think if you're trying to play competitively UM, whatever tour you're trying to play on, I think it would be helpful to work and seek out an instructor that has worked with players on that tour that you want to go to. UM. That's certainly UM one of the reasons why a lot of players that play competitively UM seek me out because you know, I've spent you know, over two decades working you know, on tour all over the world, on the European Tour, on the PGA Tour, on the LPGA Tour, on the PGA Tour, champions UM Asia Live. I've worked with players. One of the things I'm really proud of is UM. The players that I've worked with over my career from a competitive level has have pretty much one UM at every single level and one UM, if if my memory is correct, pretty much on every tour. So UM. If you're a competitive player and are looking to compete, I think it's important that you find an instructor that matches kind of where you want to go UM. I think it's really important for you as as the student to let the instructor kind of know what your UM, what your goals are, what UM what the end game is? UM? And that's one of the first questions I always ask a student is listen, what can I help with? And what what is? What is your end game? What is the reason why you are coming to to take a golf lesson today? UM? What are your goals? UM? One of the questions if you're trying to play competitively, UM, regardless of what the level is junior golfer, amateur, college, you know, the professional level. UH. One of the questions I'm always gonna ask is, UM, what's the lowest score you've shot in competition this year? And what's the highest score you've shot in competition this year? And that can sometimes be a fairly significant end and big gap. It can be maybe in the sixties on the low end and in the high seventies, mid eighties on the high end. UM. So I'm always trying to figure out what kind of range you have, UM with regards to scoring. Let's take a moment to thank for Wellness for supporting the show. You guys hear me talk about them every week, and that the reason I do that is because I drink their coffee every week. I know lots of people are focusing on health and Wellness as we start the new year. But what I love most about their coffee is that there isn't anything artificial and no artificial ingredients sweeteners, creamers and all the junk that isn't good for you. It's only the good stuff giving you more energy without typical crashes you get when a lot of your coffee and if you have a lot of sugar in your coffee. Give it a try and use the special code c H three. That code will get you off your order plus free shipping and a free starter kit worth thirty dollars when you visit for Wellness dot com slash podcast. Again, that's the code c H three at for Wellness dot com slash podcast. I think it's important to to explain to the instructor. Listen, these are um, these are the issues that I'm having. Um, when I play well, I hit this type of shot. When I play my best, I do these things. I'm always asking players students, um that I'm that I'm working with. What what is the shape that you're trying to hit? Um? Where is the miss? What type of miss do you have? Do you have a directional miss meaning the ball is curving too much? Do you have a contact miss. Uh, it's the quality of stripe between the club and and the ball. Um, do you hit the ball thin? Do you hit the ball heavy? All of those things, And a lot of times when I'm asking those questions to a student, I get that kind of you know, dumbfounded look, and and it's it's it's almost like the player doesn't know what it is they do. So I think it's really important that if you're going to take golf lessons, you're able to come and say to the instructor, listen, these are my goals from a golf standpoint, this is what I want to do. I want to try I want to break a hundred for the first time, eighty great par for the first time. And that's my goal. You know, I'm a I'm a twenty handicap. I want to try and get down to a team. I want to try and get into the teens. I want to become a single digit and um, these are also my goals incoming and taking a golf lesson from you as the instructor. My goal is to try and change this about my game, to try and improve this about my game. UM. I also think a lot of times, um, instructors get sideways with with with students because I think sometimes UM students can have unrealistic expectations of of coming and taking a golf lesson. UM. I feel like I'm pretty good at giving golf lessons. I feel like I'm pretty good UM at instruction. UM. But based off of what I'm working with as as an instructor, UM, you know, largely you're working around what a player is doing, UM, what a player can do, what a player is physically able to do. That's another UM part that I think is really important for UM people getting lessons to to convey to instructors. Listen, this is my health history. UM, I've had these injuries. UM, I currently have these injuries. UM. Anytime a player comes to me and says that they've got any sort of injuries, they've had injuries and past or they've had recent injuries, the number one thing I ask is, listen, have you been cleared to hit golf balls? Have you been cleared by your medical professional, by your doctor, by your physiotherapist, whoever is in charge of of your rehab if you're if you've been injured, UM, who's in charge of that? And UM, are you able and have you been given clearance to hit golf balls? Um, you should not anyone listening to this this podcast if you're hitting golf balls and you're going to the driving range and you're hitting off balls for an hour, UM, you should not be in pain hitting golf balls. UM. Golf is not a contact sport. UM. I was working with the junior the other day. UH eleven, twelve year old Jr. UM had made that jump from UM playing US kids golf to playing regular length UM golf clubs. This this young UM kid UM I think he was. He was probably under five ft tall UM, and he was playing and had been fitted with golf clubs UM that were about a half inch longer than the golf clubs that maybe an inch to a half inch longer than the golf clubs I play with. Yes, they had graphite shafts, UM. But the kid was making a golf swing based off of the golf club that he was playing. Um. It was too long, it was too heavy. Even though he was professionally fitted for these clubs, he was playing with effectively kids clubs. And he and his and his parents decided to get him into regular golf clubs, which is something that every young kid wants to do right. Every young player doesn't want to play with kids clubs. They want to play with real golf clubs. Um. But I was watching this kid hit golf balls, and you know, in asking him questions, UM, the quality of the strike tended to be a bigger issue for him than the direction the golf ball was going. So we looked at him on video and we could just see that he was putting the golf club in a position at the top of the back swing. Um, that was very very difficult for him to control. The back swing was very very long. Um. He had a lot of you know, extending backwards, a lot of curvature, UM in his spine, he had a lot of you know, his leaning left at the top of the back swing. And UM, I looked at his golf swing and I and I said to his dad, I said, listen, um, we we need to make some serious changes here so your son doesn't get hurt. And the father said, well, what do you mean. So I said to the to the to the junior, I said, listen, you're not gonna get in trouble for for saying this, but be honest with me when you go practice golf balls. Does your back hurt? And you could see the kid, you know, made the nervous look to the dad. The dad's kind of looking at the kid going, you know, you never tell me you're hurt. Um, you never tell me you're in pain. Um. And so the father said to the son, listen, be honest, or are you in pain when you hit golf balls? And the kid shook his head and was like, yeah, I'm I'm I'm in pain a lot of time. And he showed me exactly where the pain is in his in his low back and his mid back, and and he said, sometimes, you know, if he has a day where he hits a lot of golf balls on the weekend, goes and plays golf for eighteen holes, Um, he struggles to sleep at night because it's back hurt. And the kid's eleven years old, and you know, golf should not be hurting his back. So I think it's important that, um, you are honest with the instructors that you're you're working with and say, listen to my it's my injury history. That's what I've been dealing with now. And then I think it's important to to explain to the instructor. Listen, I've had some lessons before. These are the things that I've done. If you have had lessons before, Um, these are the things I've worked on. Um, they worked, they didn't work. They worked for a little while, then they didn't work. And these are the reasons why they didn't work. And I was unable to stick with him. I think a lot of times, UM, students are looking, um, for golfers to for instructors to somewhat have a magic bullet, uh, to be able to come in take one golf lesson. Boom, You're cured and everything's fine. Um, you as the player are going to have a d n A, a signature. Everybody swinging a golf club kind of has their own d n A, their own kind of signature of what their swing does. And and so I think students are looking at instructors to kind of change these signatures and change these patterns. But a lot of times, Um, these are very ingrained patterns. They're very ingrained motions. You know, sometimes you've been playing golf, you know, ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty years, and you're you're working on a lot of the same movements, and you're doing a lot of the same things. You know. They say that there's the cliche that practice makes perfect, but practice can also make permanent. So if you do the same thing over and over and over again when you do come for a golf lesson UM, that might not be a quick fix. It might be a situation to where you might need to say, Okay, as the instructor, listen, this is what you do. UM, we're going to try and change some of this. But UM, you know what you do is is is is a difficult move, and we're going to try and make some changes to help you offset that. But I do think at times it's it's it's unrealistic to think that you can come in UM and make massive change, just really really quick. Now, if you're playing a lot of golf, if you're playing UM competitive golf, UM, if you're practicing you know, three four or five, six, seven days a week, if you're playing two, three, four or five times a week, then I think change can be made quicker because you're getting in more reps. But you've also got to remember that going to a golf lesson UM for the first time with a brand new instructor is very much like going to a personal trainer and saying, listen, I'm out of shape. It's January one. Uh, you know, I'm twenty pounds overweight. UM, I want to try and get in shape, and I really want to try and lose some weight. What they're going to do is they're going to create a plan for you. UM. They're going to create a series of workouts and things that you can do over an extended period of time. Because if you say to a physical trainer on January one, January second, listen, i'mds overweight. UM. I want to spend you know, basically all day with you today, you know, three or four or five six hours in the gym working out, doing all this stuff, and hopefully I'm gonna be UM, I'm gonna lose weight tomorrow and be in shape. Unfortunately, UM, it doesn't work like that. So our job as instructors are to try and say, two players, listen, Okay, let's figure out a way that we could build a better pattern for you and try and eliminate some of the things that that you do. UM. Not specifically the way I teach. I don't basically teach by UM numbers or by systems or theory. I I look at what a player does individually, and I say, Okay, what can I do to help this player? UM swing the golf club better? And so that's where I think, as the student, you've got to look um at what your problems are. UM. One of my favorite sports to play A UM, I play tennis. UM. I love playing tennis. UM. I I read a lot, I follow a lot about tennis. UM, I take tennis lessons, and UM you know when I look for tennis instructors, UM, you know, I do my homework, I look at you know what type of players they work with, what type of theories they have. UM. You know my back hand is not great. My four hands okay, but my back hand isn't great. And UM I've been working with with the tennis instructor that UM we've done a lot of work on on my footwork. UM it has helped me improve a lot of my strokes. But UM, I looked at a tennis instructor and I kind of knew some of the things that that he he did, and that's one of the reasons why I chose him. UM. My tennis game is a work in progress. Right. I don't feel like when I go, UM take a one tennis lessons on my ground strokes are immediately going to improve. UM, because I do like tennis. I've I've bought a ball machine, and so now I go take tennis lessons. Um, I go have people that I hit with, but I also go and get on the ball machine and work on these kind of drills and and footworks um. So UM. And I think that always really helps me as as a golf instructor to go take, um a lesson in another sport from someone else. UM. And it's a sport that that I'm interested in. So let's take a short break and we will be back right after this. All right, let's get back to the interview. I think you have to be patient. I think you have to have realistic goals. UM. I think you want to try and look at your golf swing and changing your golf swing and improving your golf swing a little bit like trying to climb Mount Everest. Um, You're at the bottom and you're going to try and get to the top of a and the highest mountain in the world. UM, You're not going to make it by starting at the bottom and trying to climb to the top. Um, you will fail every single time you do that, what you've got to do is you've got to get up, get to base camp, get acclimated. Then you go to Camp one. Then you can go to camp to get acclimated, get comfortable. Then you can go to Camp three, get out, then you can go to Camp four. So all along the line, you're you're doing things in stages. You're doing things to where you can you can climb in my mountain, you're trying to get up the mountain safely, and you're trying to get up the mountain with all of the UM supplies that you need, and it's just impossible to do that all in one go to just start at the bottom and try and climb to the top. So I think it's important that as as a student you look at okay, UM, there might be some short term issues UM. And I think one of the issues that that golfers have is they go take golf lessons and UM and then they try and take what they're working on in their golf lesson straight out onto the golf course. UM. In an ideal world, you would have some time time to work on on on the changes, work on the things that you're going to try and make um, you know, permanent in your golf swing. But also you have to also then do two separate things. You have to practice golf, which we do on the driving range, and then when you go play golf, you have to go play golf. You can't go out and play golf swing. And I think a lot of students that that that that struggle is they go they take golf lessons and then what they try and do is they try and go out on the golf course and they're working on their golf swing. You should be doing two things. Should be practicing and when, and you should be playing. When you play, you should be playing with whatever swing you've got. And if it's a work in progress, it's a work in progress. But you've still got to be able to go to the golf course and try and score and try and play. And that is the art of playing and executing. And then there is the technical part, the technique, the swing thing. You've heard me talk a lot about that if you're a regular listen to the pod. The difference between technique and execution. Um. And I think a lot of golfers as well, UM, they try and do everything. Specifically players that are going to compete. They're trying to do everything in a vacuum right there, trying to make changes without playing. And I always say to players that are trying to compete, you know, they come in and they say, hey, I'm gonna try and make some changes. You know, I'm you know, trying to get the first stage of of corn Ferry. I'm trying to, you know, go to Asian Tour qualifying school, so I want to try and make some changes to become a better ball striker whatever. And a player will come and then they'll say, you know what, I'm just now going to shut everything down and work on my game. And I'm always like, listen, I think it's important for you to work on your game, but I think you have to work on your game while you're playing golf. You have to be able to do and you have to do both. You can't just shut everything down practice only and then hope that you're going to go play and it's going to be fine. There's a difference between playing golf and practicing golf, and I think playing golf off is hugely, hugely important, and I think you want to try and if you are going through some swing changes, if you are going through some some lessons. Um. I think it's important that you're able to take a lesson, go practice, you know, to three a couple of times, maybe go play nine holes, then come back and say to the instructor that you're working with, Okay, I came for this lesson. These are the things that we worked on. I went ahead and did these things and worked on these drills and felt like, you know, I was making some progress. And then I went and played, and when I played, this is what I saw. I saw this contact, I saw this shape, I saw this miss. That then allows you to to share that with the instructor that you're working with, so that they can then say, okay, based off of the stuff that we're trying to work on in your golf swing, based off of what you say is happening in practice, and based off of what you tell me is happening in or when you're on the golf course, then I can go ahead and say, okay, well, these are things that we need to try and continue to work on. Maybe we need to add this, maybe you need to take a little bit of this away. But I do think it's important that you just don't shut everything down and just become a practice er, not a player. The goal is to play better golf, right, But what everybody does is they just spend an enormous amount of time solely just on practicing, and they forget that part of playing better golf is learning how to play on the golf course, and you have to do that regardless of what your golf swing looks like. Your golf swing is always going to be in a state of flux. It's always going to be fluid. There are going to be days where you're hitting really good. There's going to be days where you're not. But you still have to play and have to be able to somewhat compete and find a way to shoot a decent score with the swing and the technique that you've got. Let's take a quick break and we are back. I think you want to ask as many questions as you can in a golf lesson. Um, you should be asking if if if an instructor is telling you to do something and it doesn't make sense and you don't understand it, UM, don't be embarrassed. Hey, listen, could you explain that better? Could you explain that in a different way? Because I don't really get what you're trying to get across here. I think a lot of times UM students think that instructors are going to be you know, get mad or feel like you're questioning them. If any instructor that you're working with UM doesn't like you asking questions, UM kind of makes you feel, you know, somewhat ignorant or belittled for asking questions and says, hey, no, no, just just do what I tell you to do. You you need to walk away from that and not go back UM. Any theory, any position, any concept that a coach is asking you to do as the play or they should be able to draw you a picture, a very specific UM, easy to follow, easy for you to understand, a good idea of what they want you to do, and you should be able to kind of spit that back at them. I say that a lot of times. I'll say that to a player. Okay, you know, we start off, we're working on these things, we're working on these positions, we're working on this type of move UM. And then I'll say, okay, go ahead and repeat this back to me. Pretend like I don't know anything about golf, and you tell me what you're working on with your instructor, so you give it back to me and talk me through it. And I think that opens up that dialogue for you as the player and you and and certainly me as the coach, to to figure out if there's a disconnect, if what I'm saying isn't making sense UM. So I think it's important that you have that that good kind of UM communication with the instructor you're working on UM. But they shouldn't be telling you to do things because that's what they're telling you to do, and you shouldn't be asking any questions. You should ask as many questions as possible. I think it's important if you're going to take lessons and you are serious about getting better UM, I would keep a lesson journal. I would write down UM everything that I was working on UM and take notes and and have a really good idea UM. Hopefully you're working with an instructor that UM can give you video to your golf swing, giving you that video back from the lesson with voice notes with voice over. I think that's really really in help helpful for for you to have a good understanding as as as the player, what you're trying to do. But I do think it is important as as the student to ask as many questions as possible, and like I said, to have realistic expectations to say, Okay, listen, I'm going to this instructor for these things. These are the things I'm trying to change. These are the ways that I'm going to try and get better, UM, say to the instructor at the beginning, listen, based off of what you see, UM, be honest with me, give me a timeline here on. You know how difficult you think this is going to be to fix. Um, what are some of the things that I can expect along the way? UM, So that when I'm not taking a lesson from you, what should I expect? UM? What should the miss be? What should the good shot be? And I think if you have a really good idea as the student of what you're trying to do, what you want to do, and you have someone that you're working with that can draw you a really really clear defined concept and you know, plan an outline on the direction you're going to try and go, then I think you know you can get better as as a student. UM. I think you have to be patient, You have to be honest with yourself as a student as to what your talent level is, UM, if you were, you know, in that average golfer range. And to me, the average golfers is pretty much the majority of people playing golf that UM. Average golfers to me are people that aren't trying to compete. Then they might be playing in tournaments at their course, but they're not. Their entire life isn't based on the competing part UM. And so I think you need to have realistic expectations and and say, Okay, if I really want to improve, I'm willing maybe to take a couple of steps back. I don't think you have to get worse before you get better. UM, I don't believe that. I think you can get better. I think it just takes time. And and if you're willing to devote the time, and you have the time to practice and try and embed and implement some of the changes that you're working on, then I think you can make changes. But UM, you know the keys for me, for lesson takers, do your homework. Have realistic expectations, UM, Have realistic expectations based off of how much you can play, how much you can practice, Have realistic expectations based off of UM, what your body can and can't do what your ages? What's your flexibility is? UM? You know, are you working out, are you moving a lot um in a non golf way on a regular basis. Those are all things that are going to hinder but also help your progression as a player. UM. But like I said, UM, I'm very very lucky that people UM choose to come take golf lessons from me. I take it really really seriously. And if you are going to take lessons, like I said, do your homework, UM, figure out what you want to try and accomplish, and have really really specific to find clear goals as to what you want to try and do with your golf swing, what you want to try and get out of the golf lesson and convey that to the instructor and and hopefully there will point you in the right direction. UM. Be patient, UM and hopefully UM, some of this information helps and and and maybe UM you start thinking about taking lessons in a different way. I want to thank everybody for listening. Some of a bich comes to you every Wednesday. We will see you next week.