Teaching Philosophy

Once you have achieved an ingrained swing through practice on a driving range or into a net, I believe that the next best steps to learning golf begin on the putting green and then continue backward to the tee.

You start with a 1 foot putt, and then extend it to a 2 foot putt, then a 4 foot putt. As you proceed you will explore:

• Your options for posture, grip, ball position
• The crucial influence of putter’s shaft flex for feeling how hard to hit the putt
• Alignment, and its complexities, so important to the game of golf

As you work your way off the edge of the green with longer and longer putts, you will then learn how to chip the ball from the longer grass surrounding the green. Chipping with a 6, 7, or 8 iron for shots just off the green keeps the ball close to the ground. Your chipping technique develops as you work your way backward from the green in one yard increments. Eventually, the bump and run action of longer chips then becomes too strong, causing the ball to run too far after it lands on the green.

You should putt until you have to chip, chip until you have to pitch.

Now a pitch shot is required. It’s best to use a gap wedge when learning to pitch the ball.

As you move back in one yard increments you will have to make longer and longer pitch shot swings. The pitch shot lengthens to become a full swing and therefore a shot which establishes your maximum distance for the gap wedge.

Now move back approximately ten yards and make the same full swing using the pitching wedge. Other than slight variations in ball position and distance from the ball (to allow for the longer club) everything else remains the same. You will notice how the ball lands on the same target even though the distance is approximately ten yards greater.

Make about ten full swings with the pitching wedge and then move back another ten yards and change to the 9 iron. Then a full 8 iron and another ten yards, then a 7 iron and all the way back through the longer clubs and finally to the driver.

Once you are taking full swings as you extend your distance from the green you will be using the same swing, just changing the club to hit the ball longer distances. Golf club manufacturers strive to develop equipment that will work seamlessly from club to club because they are assuming that the golfer will use the same swing from club to club.

As you are go through this process:

• You will refine your posture, grip and ball position, both in relation to the feet and distance from the body
• Your attention will be directed as needed to the vagaries of alignment
• You will be made aware that your weight should be shifted from back foot to front so as to transfer the rotating body’s weight to the club head where it will compress the ball at impact
• You will develop a pre-swing routine, using the, using the three D’s (Direction, Duff and Distance) as a guide.