Analysis of the Swing Study Guide An Exceptional Teacher 1. Golf Knowledge 2. Communication Skills 3. Motivation 4. Energy and Enthusiasm 5. Credibility Developing a Teaching Program: Motivation: First step is to motivate. Turn someone on to golf Find out why people are motivated to play golf. Promotion: Business Cards o Name, title, business address, business phone, PGA Logo, etc o Double sided Advertising and Promotion: Best is word of mouth Everyday conduct Scheduling Lessons Set lesson-teaching schedule and keep to it. Appointment book set up to reflect availability. Lesson Length Allow time for review and closing in a lesson. Don t limit yourself to ½ hour lessons. 15-20 minutes are suitable No more than 10 ½ lessons or six 1 hour lesson in a day. Stamina level and your job duties are factors in deciding how many lessons. Lesson Pricing Don t out-price the market and scare potential clients away. Good product at a fair price will attract people. Price breaks for series of lessons. Playing Lesson Charged by time or the number of holes. Three types o Play with the golf professional o Player want the professional to simply watch the player s performance o On-the-course training means playing shots in situations set up by the professional. (Charged by the Hour) Teaching Facility Location by the clubhouse Adequate size-------dual range Private tee for private lessons Ideal conditions--------adequate grass, clean balls, 2 piece ball. Targets that are adequate to simulate playing experience is better Uneven lies, correct distances, etc..
Aesthetics-----shade, water, benches, etc Equipment: Club Fitting: 1. Stock Club, off the shelf 2. Custom order clubs assessing the player s needs 3. Buy component parts and assemble 4. Make custom clubs from raw materials. Complete Custom Fit: 1. Interview the golfer and skills 2. Evaluate player s present clubs 3. Watch the player hit balls 4. Make fitting recommendations Three elements if a club will improve a player s performance 1. Quality 2. Design 3. Fit Golf Shafts: The golf shaft is not a producer of power. It can store energy and, if properly matched to the user, deliver the energy at the correct time. o Steel Shafts Flex characteristics are controlled by wall thickness. Thicker the wall, the stiffer and heavier, and less torque. o Graphite Shafts Stiffness, flex point and torque are controlled by 1. Fiber s tensile strength 2. Amount of fiber 3. Pattern in which the fibers are applied Golf Balls: The distance a ball will travel is affected by dimple design, material of cover and core, size and weight. Of the top 20% of balls tested by the U.S.G.A., the difference in distance form first to last was approximately 10 yards. Bernouli Principle is the reduced drag and caused lift by pulling air around the ball, thinning it about and thickening it below causing it to lift. Small and deep dimples tend to make the ball go lower. Wider and shallower dimples make the ball go higher. Conforming Ball Initial Velocity Size Weight Symmetry of Design Patterns Overall Distance Standards Ball Construction: One Piece, 2 Piece, and 3 Piece Balls
o 2 Piece Higher Handicap players (durable) Bounces higher when dropped Putts further with equal effort Lower trajectory Loses less distance in cold weather o 3 Piece Softer and cuts easier Greater spin rate, with more backspin to hold greens Establishing a Relationship with Your Student: Evaluating Students: - What you teach and how you teach should be adapted to student needs, learning style preferences, attitude about and approach to the game, experience, and skill level, and other individual characteristics. Learning Syles: Visual: Learns best from pictures, demonstrations, videos, and using mirrors and visual imagery. Verbal: Likes explanations and details presented orally and in written form. Kinesthetic or feeling: Learns best by involving the body in performing drills or being moved through the swing by the teacher. Left Brain Learner: Likes realistic and logical details, enjoys drills. Also know as the analyzer. Involves speaking, reading, writing, ordering, and step-by-step thinking. Right Brain Learner: Likes to see and feel the whole picture, rather than get verbal details of the parts; like to play a game on the course rather than do the drills. Also know as the integrator. Involves intuition, creativity, imagination, the emotions, and orienting the body in space. Innovative Learner: Is imaginative and relates new information to personal experience. Common sense: Wants realistic examples relevant to real life. Dynamic: Wants to learn by actual involvement and specific experiences. Analytical: Wants to see the principles and concepts behind the subject. Probing Your Teaching Approach and Assumptions:
Swing Observation: Club Fitting: Easier to fit better players because they hit the ball more consistently. Better players can favor certain types of club heads, shafts, or grips. Not all golfers realize the importance of fitting clubs and the potential it has on their games. Juniors: Avoid creating expensive clubs that kids will outgrow and try to concentrate on making common-sense modifications to exiting clubs. A junior s height is probably the most important factor in calculating club length, especially for players who are just starting to play. After the age of 11 or so, athletic ability becomes one of the major clubfitting factors to consider. Seniors: Loss of distance, not control Emphasis on short game It s part of our job to try to gain back 10 15 yards that they ve lost off the tee. Longer clubs, more loft, low bendpoint graphite shafts, lower swingweight Make grip slightly larger under the right hand. Consider eliminating the 2,3,4 irons for more lofted woods and 3 wedges Heavy sole weighted trouble woods and titanium metal woods. Women: Most women play with clubs that are too long and heavy. Most women don t play with a correct set makeup. During the Swing: During the downswing, the club head is traveling faster than an y other point along the shaft, causing the shaft to bow forward and downward. Just before impact, the club face slightly hooks due to shaft flexing. Average male generates 100 mph. Tour is approximately 115 to 135 with 124 being the average. The maximum force applied to the ball at impact approaches 1 ton. Assuming the face is center, the face angle will comprise about 15 to 30 % of its original diameter. The golfer does in fact feel the hit but because of the time required for the impact to travel through the clubhead, up the shaft, into the golfer s hands and to register with the brain, the golf ball is already 10-12 from the clubface in flight. The angle difference between the club head path and club face angle determines the amount of sidespin added to the shot. Following the point of impact, the club head will alternate leads ahead of and lags behind the shaft at it continues to flex. About three time. Gives feel. Three factors o Clubface angle, path and centerness of hit. 8 Primary Equipment Variable that affect centerness of hit: 1. club length
- The key factor in determining club length is centeredness of hit. Ball striking ability, swing style, comfort, and playing ability will influence centeredness of hit. - Club length impacts lie the longer the club, the flatter the lie. - Club length impacts shaft flex. The longer the shaft the more flexible it feels. - Club length impacts swingweight. As a club becomes longer swing-weight increases. If shortened, it decreases six swingwieghts for every inch. 2. Head type (irons or woods) - A major condideration in finding the most suitable iron head design for a player is hosel configuration: Offset, straight, or bore through. - Wood head consideration are driver loft, offset hosel, straight hosel, size, and face depth. 3. Lie angle - The lie angle is the angle between the centerline of the shaft and the clubhead. - A golfer using a club with an improper lie angle will probably find it difficult to control the direction the ball takes when it leaves the clubface. - The only way to measure lie angle is dynamically. - Lie angle is the major consideration affecting direction. - Lie angles are variable that can be modified. 4. Shaft (shaft flex and shaft materials) - Shaft flex is a comparative measurement of shaft s resistance to bending or its rate of oscillation (frequency). - Resistance to bending is commonly measured on a shaft deflection board. Rate of oscillation is measured with a frequency analyzer. - 5 common flexes: L, A, R or T, S, X. - The more flexible shafts are generally used for lower clubhead speeds. Stiffer is for more aggressive speeds. Medium flex players may have smoother swings. - It s not how fast you swing, it s how you swing fast. Style of swing is the greatest influence of shaft needs. - If the shaft is not properly matched, the clubface is less likely to arrive at the ball at the ideal angle. 5. Grip (size and materials) - Grip consideration (based on hand size) include: o Finger length o Palm size o Comfort/efficiency - Prime goal of the grip is to accommodate the release. 6. Loft (in woods) - Purpose of loft is to get the ball in the air. - Ideal driver loft maximizes a ball s carry and roll.
- Player s style of play or swing will dictate the appropriate driver loft. Increasing the loft may reduce the force applied to the ball, increase backspin and trajectory, and reduce roll. It may also reduce distance. - Many players play better with their 3 wood off the tee because there is more loft and less side spin on the ball, which helps maximize distance for their swing style and clubhead speed. - Golfer will want to decrease the loft to increase distance. This can lead to trouble if other factors are not considered. The only way to determine efficient loft is through trial and error. - In wood clubs, loft is the angle between the face and a line perpendicular to the sole. This angle is measured in degrees at the vertical and horizontal centerpoint of the face. 7. Set makeup - Each player s needs and style of play will determine set makeup. - Although it is easier for a manufacturer to sell an entire set of clubs, it doesn t mean a player may need or benefit from all of them. - Beginners may be confused with too many clubs, and usually benefit by having three or four irons, a putter, and one to two woods. 8. Swingweight/total weight - The overall weight of the club is a primary consideration in clubfitting. (Ideally, a club s weight should allow a player to swing in balance consistently.) - Swingweight is a secondary consideration and refers to a club s balance. With the introduction of new materials and techniques used in club design and production, swingweight as we knew it in the past is not as relevant any more. The Business of Teaching: Key Steps in Developing a Successful Teaching Business: - Understand the mission of your facility and the role teaching plays in that mission. - Assess the current state of your teaching business. - Know your market, customers, and competition. - Identify specific, measurable business objectives. - Create a business plan, which can help you: o Clarify and communicate objectives o Motivate yourself and, if you are a manager, your staff o Develop budgets o Measure success o Increase credibility - Promote your teaching business. - Cultivate good customer relations. - Hire and train staff.
o How to hire and train o Number of staff necessary o Compensation for staff - Have equipment, teaching station, and time available for each lesion. Some Benefits of Business Planning: - Clarifies Objectives Helps you clarify your own objectives for the teaching program. - Communicates Objectives Creates an excellent communication tool to conveys teaching program objectives to all staff and facility management. - Motivates Staff Motivates staff who participate in assessing performance and setting objectives for the future. - Helps Develop Budgets Provides a framework for developing yearly budgets and forecasts. - Helps Measure Success Gives you a tool with which to measure performance (and your own success in managing the business.) - Increases Credibility Adds to your credibility as someone who can manage business issues. To Create an effective business plan for your teaching program you must: - Understand your mission - Assess the current state of your teaching business - Identify specific objectives for the next few years - Know your customers and competitors - Forecast revenues and expenses - Outline promotional strategies to accomplish your objectives.