How quality instruction can impact problems in the golf industry

I am trying to come up with some general problems in the golf industry that quality swing instruction can fix or alleviate. Problems like slow play, injury, or even frustrated players quitting the game. Even how telling someone to play from closer tees might help them enjoy the game better or boost equipments sales at your club from teaching players about equipment. What does everyone think are some issues that could be resolved if more people recieved good instruction?

equipment. TM won't have such a marketing ploy then if people realized it's THEM not the arrow.

This is going to be a really big issue in the next decade. No one in the USA golf industry leadership so far has come out and told the public how badly the sport is declining in the US. It is booming in Asia right now, and we are losing players here everyday. If something does not change soon, we will end up like tennis, with few watching the televised events, and few regularly participating amateurs. The back room chat in the industry is that folks are starting to get really alarmed at how much the sport is declining. Niclaus referenced this on the Feherty show last week, about how he has no US golf courses on the drawing board, but many in China, even Russia.

Swing instruction is never going to become standardized simply because of the nature of the golf swing - it is far too complex for even ten teachers to come to agreement on, let alone 27,000. And every teacher thinks that he or she is providing "good instruction". It is just human nature.

But - slow play is caused by golfers with poor skills, more than any other factor. I have my ideas on how the instruction industry could change to make learning the game a lot easier and faster, and have a long record of success with my methods, but they are so radical and contrary to traditional paradigm of teaching, that chances are it will be another 30 years before they are widely adopted. By then, golf may very likely be in worse shape than we are today.

The USGA in the meantime needs to make the game easier to play. Eliminate the COR rule for drivers and other clubs, so average joes can hit the ball a lot farther, which reduces playing time and lowers scores. Eliminate rough and most bunkers. Make the hole an inch or two wider. And end some of the silly rules that slow play and are overly penal. So much could be done to make the game more fun and less time consuming to play.

The issues are: average golfers need a clear "map" mentally of what should happen with their body and club, that does not require a phd in physics to understand, or a roomful of high tech gadgets as "aids". They also need the ability to focus their mind clearly on just one thing when learning, practicing and playing. And they need to feel their bodies with some sense of objective feedback. Reasonable flexibility and core strength are also required to play decent to great golf. If they have all of the above, they then need to commit to a regular practice plan, most of which can be done at home without a ball in just minutes per day. And they need to visit the range at least once every two weeks for the first two years of playing to cement in the home practice with actual ball fight results.

If they can do that, all under the guidance of a good teacher, their love affair with the game can blossom. For those who only "like" the game, all of the stuff I listed about making the game easier, will be enough so that those folks aren't tempted to quit out of frustration.

Thanks for your input. Jim: I agree with much of what you are saying. I think the idea about changing holes sizes, getting rid of bunkers and changing rules to make the game easier would be an interesting discussion that would attract a lot of different opinions. I like what your saying about the mental game. I think improving your golf mental game could benefit a person off the course by helping their confidence and focus.

They need to stop designing courses that are "pretty" that are just too penal.

[quote name='swansone8' timestamp='1362432416' post='6546847']
Thanks for your input. Jim: I agree with much of what you are saying. I think the idea about changing holes sizes, getting rid of bunkers and changing rules to make the game easier would be an interesting discussion that would attract a lot of different opinions. I like what your saying about the mental game. I think improving your golf mental game could benefit a person off the course by helping their confidence and focus.
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I think body awareness and mental focus are actually not restricted to the so-called "mental game" but are in fact pre-requisites for learning golf swing, short game and putting mechanics. That strict division between "mental" and "mechanical" is precisely what I was referencing about the traditional instruction paradigm. Golfers take lessons and end up thinking golf is supposed to be solving a mechanical engineering puzzle.

And the 14 club rule is silly and slows up play, should be 18 clubs, so folks could carry a standard putter for long putts and a belly or long putter for short putts, which would really help reduce 3 putts and improve one putting stats from within 15 feet of the hole. And a fourth or even fifth wedge for short game shots, and a low lofted punch out club.

And courses should not give anyone with a handicap of 10 or higher the option of playing the blues, you play the whites, speeds up play and you score better.

So much could be done, but we have a tiny elite of tradition-bound folks at USGA who are not the most progressive thinkers.

If the PGA could improve as instructors, deepening their knowledge of teaching and teaching methods that would go a long way to making themselves a more relevant part of golf and a part of the solution.

I think golf is on the decline for a number of reasons. The first reason is expense. Green fees are high, equipment is high, lessons are high, golf balls are high, carts are high and on and on. Some people, including me, play in spite of the expense. For me, what's driving me from the game is slow play. I don't have a clue what the solution would be. It just takes forever to play. May be you should have to earn a players permit that shows you understand etiquette and how to avoid slow play. Have you ever played behind someone who can't hit the ball over 100 yds. and then waits for the green to clear 300 yds away?When the game is no longer fun or too expensive people will do something else. I just don't see how it's ever going to change but I hope it does. Just my opinion.

[quote name='swansone8' timestamp='1362432416' post='6546847']
Thanks for your input. Jim: I agree with much of what you are saying. I think the idea about changing holes sizes, getting rid of bunkers and changing rules to make the game easier would be an interesting discussion that would attract a lot of different opinions. I like what your saying about the mental game. I think improving your golf mental game could benefit a person off the course by helping their confidence and focus.
[/quote]

Sorry to be off topic but I must ask, where can you purchase that cat sweater on your profile picture? it is simply hilarious haha.

RYAN

If people focused on playing good golf ... I think that might negatively impact profits from golf carts and beer sales on the Weekend.
I expect profits to remain strong.

I think golf courses focus on making money not being places to get better at golf.

I do think golf instruction is about to be revolutionized. There are a number of new technologies that are "almost there" which will eventually produce cheap and accurate instruction. What remains to be seen is how interested are golfers in getting better ? It will always be best to have a golf teacher to help you with your swing ... but I think the expansion in golf instruction will not be with the PGA pro mostly due to the perceived high costs of PGA pro instruction.

IMO.

[quote name='FairwayGolfUSA.com' timestamp='1362442185' post='6547831']
[quote name='swansone8' timestamp='1362432416' post='6546847']
Thanks for your input. Jim: I agree with much of what you are saying. I think the idea about changing holes sizes, getting rid of bunkers and changing rules to make the game easier would be an interesting discussion that would attract a lot of different opinions. I like what your saying about the mental game. I think improving your golf mental game could benefit a person off the course by helping their confidence and focus.
[/quote]

Sorry to be off topic but I must ask, where can you purchase that cat sweater on your profile picture? it is simply hilarious haha.

RYAN
[/quote]

I wish I knew. I just found a picture of it but not where I could buy it.

the city owned course i play is busy beyond belief, on weekends the parking lot is packed. i dont know about how it operates on the weekend as i play on monday and wed if i can.. the club pro there really takes care of us old guys.. the course is a howard hill design and is rated very high so i think its not your normal cith owned course .. in the last 2 years they have put in over 2 million in upgrades, the whole course is watered including the rough and the greens are always in great shape.. the club pro has the equipment as his own part. so instead of buying my shoes, balls, clubs i get them at the course instead of dicks.. .some examples of what i bought is a cleveland classic driver listed at dicks foe 299 he sold it to be for 105.. he swlls us golf balls like titelest pro v1 out the door for 39. nxt for 19.. the non senior green fees is 37 for 18 with a cart and i pay 20 with a cart..what iam saying they do what they can to keep guys playing. no other course around here would do the same thus you see there parking lots half empty and a few have close in the last couple of years..they also have a lot of junior lessons that the pro does for free and also high schools golf teams playing for free. .they would not give my foresome a scheduled tee time for this year last oct because they did not know how many of us would be around this year... j/ k. but if a lot of courses would not be so geedy they do would get more play and in the end make more money// forgot to say beside a complete water system they have all new cart paths and this year are getting all new cart paths.. when ever i see the mayor of this city at a cruisein they have where he is always there i tell him how much we like there course and the pro there..

Making the hole bigger is a joke solution to more serious issues.

The upcoming release of numbers for 2012 are reported to be very positive, so it will be interesting to dig around in the findings for some explanations.

I appreciate the feedback but I am looking more for examples of how good instruction could solve various problems. Not limiting it to swing instruction but teaching players about anything golf related.

[quote name='swansone8' timestamp='1362447319' post='6548415']
I appreciate the feedback but I am looking more for examples of how good instruction could solve various problems. Not limiting it to swing instruction but teaching players about anything golf related.
[/quote]

Wont help because people still wont practice.

[quote name='Timanator' timestamp='1362448373' post='6548541']
[quote name='swansone8' timestamp='1362447319' post='6548415']
I appreciate the feedback but I am looking more for examples of how good instruction could solve various problems. Not limiting it to swing instruction but teaching players about anything golf related.
[/quote]

Wont help because people still wont practice.
[/quote]

Lets assume that they do.

They wont. Plenty of good instruction to be had....but even the good instructors have students that fail to improve. Its up to the student to put in the time to get better.

A few random'ish thoughts:

A) I was reading this and thinking "where have I read this before?" Then I remember seeing it on GTP, haha.

B) From the numbers I have seen, play is actually on the rise again. Not sure how accurate those are or what that would mean, but thats just what I've read.

C) Less on the negative side and more on the positive, I think it can absolutely do wonders for participation in tournaments. The more people that you can get to feel good about their games, the more entries you will have in your club tournaments. Once they get in tournaments, they have more motivation to make time for practice and play. They are at your course more so you sell more balls, food, clubs, etc. Thats my opinion at least.

I see more and more discussion on this topic and find it fascinating.

Golf, which benefitted from the perfect storm of factors to boom growth in the mid to late 90's/early 2000's time frame is now suffering from the opposite kind of storm of factors. A still struggling economy combined with the Tiger troubles of the last few years which have created a superstar vacuum in the sport (on a wide scale) leave a supply/demand imbalance that is favored way too much on the supply side. There are other factors of course, but those are the first ones that come to my mind.

And then there is the amount of time necessary to become proficient at the game relative to the amount of time people actually have to devote to the game, which is less and less. I'm not old but even I know the world moves faster now, and time is a sparse commodity that becomes even harder to come by as it passes. This would be assisted greatly by quality instruction, which is certainly out there, but still not in the mainstream way that it needs to be. While the information we have about the golf swing continues to grow, and while there have never been more knowledgable people in the golf industry, there remains a pretty sizable gap in those instructors who know the golf swing and those who can communicate that knowledge. There just are not that many people who are truly effective at making the complicated mechanics of the golf swing understandable to average people.

But these things ebb and flow...it will be interesting to see what the next few years, and any subsequent discoveries we make about the swing, change all of that

[quote name='Jim Waldron' timestamp='1362431336' post='6546715']
But - slow play is caused by golfers with poor skills, more than any other factor. I have my ideas on how the instruction industry could change to make learning the game a lot easier and faster, and have a long record of success with my methods, but they are so radical and contrary to traditional paradigm of teaching, that chances are it will be another 30 years before they are widely adopted. By then, golf may very likely be in worse shape than we are today.
[/quote]
Disagree. I see more slow adequate players than poor players (excluding raw beginners who just don't know any better).

[color=#800080]I says two main issues with golfings. Ego and Complicated . The golf swing is *simple* , playing good golf is the challenge. So much over-thinking. Start simple , keep it simple , all be simple. [/color]

[color=#800080]Slow play is also parts of peoples off wrong darn tees. I get crappy looks from guys if i play off like 6,800 yard tee boxes , and these same guys *man* up and do same and drive it 30-40 yards shorter. Five shots to the green , etc.[/color]

[color=#800080]I argue with my *father* abouts playing from senior tees, shorter seconds shots is more fun for golfers and less time consuming. Chasing a 3 wood versus a 7 or 6 irons.[/color]

[color=#800080]My biggest views abouts the issues with golf is *EgO* . How do you teach golfers to leave ego outsides the course grounds ? Educate which tees peoples shoulds play from , who cares if a short hitting guy is on red tees , and a girl likes me from back or one up from Championship tees (6,500-6,800) .[/color]

[color=#800080]Ego leads to not admittings swing faults , which leads to no practices as it is nots them , leads to dumb equipments purchases , etc.[/color]

I disagree with a lot here

[quote name='Jim Waldron' timestamp='1362431336' post='6546715']
But - slow play is caused by golfers with poor skills, more than any other factor.

The USGA in the meantime needs to make the game easier to play. Eliminate the COR rule for drivers and other clubs, so average joes can hit the ball a lot farther, which reduces playing time and lowers scores. Eliminate rough and most bunkers. Make the hole an inch or two wider. And end some of the silly rules that slow play and are overly penal. So much could be done to make the game more fun and less time consuming to play.
[/quote]

Slow play is caused by people who are slow. Caused by people who are not cognizant of the concept or application of ready golf.

Back before I took the game seriously, I fortunately had a comrade who did instill good course etiquette in me. I could take 140 strokes to get around the course, but I would never fall behind my group or the proper pace of play. In fact, if the course was open, my friend (who wasn't exactly tearing it up at around a 115 avg) we could finish in just a smidge over 3 hours.

My point being, that I knew what my skill level was -- and I didn't bother taking practice strokes or even changing the club in my hand a lot of the time because I knew it wasn't going to change the result very often at all.

I was clearly poor in skill, but not poor in etiquette.

Now, one can be poor in both skill and etiquette -- but I actually don't think that skill and etiquette are actually all that strongly correlated with one another. I have unfortunately played with some very skilled players who were terrible at etiquette. Doing things like not raking bunkers, not repairing ball marks on the green, and certainly not playing ready golf.

Lastly on this point, if slow play was mostly caused by poor skills, how the heck do the touring pros take so damn long? They are the most skilled, they should, by your statement, comparatively fly around the course.

On the other statement in the quote above, I think eliminating COR would only make the problem worse. People hitting the ball farther actually requires people to also hit the ball straighter. Per the rest of your argument -- that's already too difficult. A 200 yard long, 20 yard right slice is often findable. A 250 yard, 30 yard slice is usually lost. People milling about looking for a lost ball will do the complete opposite of speeding up play.

If anything, I think that the distance should be reigned in... big time.

I'd rather see smaller courses -- courses where they don't need quite so many acres to maintain, lower maintenance costs could mean cheaper greens fees, and not being as long should also mean faster play. I feel Monte has it exactly right -- quit making courses just to try to get on to the "top 100" course lists. Quit making them penal just to be 'pretty'.

Just so you don't think I'm 100% against you, I do agree that the rough on most courses should be mowed down or at least scaled way back.

But, all in all, I think you ascribe way too much of the slow play phenomena to skill level and not to lack of etiquette by people.

################################################################################################

My thought on how to improve etiquette is that local courses and golf shops should get together and offer etiquette classes. The class should cost something in the neighborhood of $50, but the courses and shops should offer about that much in 'freebies' for successful completion of the course. Such as the courses offer a free round, and/or the shops offer a free dozen balls.

Then, courses should also offer choice tee times only to people who have passed the etiquette course in the last 2 years. e.g. Sat. and Sun. morning tee times. Reward people for taking the course, and set aside tee times specifically for those who should follow the teachings therein. And have the jurisdiction to remove the credit for the course if you aren't following the etiquette principals laid out.

I realize that most of the above won't happen. But, it is a possibility out there.

I'm not sure if it's a contributing factor but I started playing golf at 13 years old when Tiger won the 1997 Masters. Today there is so much parity on the PGA Tour that it can become a boring product to not only a sports fan but to the average golf fan. The game needs a polarizing and dominating figure. Obviously the economy is a big issue when it comes to losing players but I wonder just how much can be attributed to the Tiger hangover.

My issue is that the so called "solutions" tend to attack things about the game that I value, and I think others do as well. Such as:

1) golf is too hard

Of course it's hard, it's one of the hardest games to play, and THAT'S why it's so satisfying when you get it right. I really don't like the big hole idea, I think that's going to turn off way more people than it will bring in.

2) there are too many rules and norms and it makes it hard for new people to enter the game.

Yup, there are, and I value them. When I started playing when I was a kid it was made really clear to me how I was expected to behave on the course, and I'm a better person for it. The "industry" may think they need the people who treat the course like a bar to keep their tee sheets full, but I'm not in the industry and I have no use for them. If the game shrinking gets rid of those people getting hammered and acting like yahoos on the course I say good riddance.

3) golf is too expensive.

While I agree that this makes the game less accessible to some, I kind of like the idea that playing the game is sort of something you aspire to from an economic standpoint, rather than something you can just kind of pick up and go do like huck a frisbee around.

Long story short I think the whole "growing the game " thing is more of an issue for those who make their living off of the game. I don't really think it has a whole lot to do with those of us who play it. We might have a few less courses to play at but in the long run I don't think it's going to make much of a difference.

Again I appreciate the feedback but I wasn't looking for what people think is wrong with the game or the industry or how to get more people to play. Its more how can good instruction help with any barriers to entry or problems not specifically related to the swing such as preventing injury or slow play (whether it be teaching them how to play faster through etiquette or by playing better). What are other problems can instruction/guidance can solve?

IMO the most significant change in golf instruction in the past 50 years was eliminating ‘The One Size Fits All’ in instruction. Unfortunately this has only been applied to swing mechanics, not playing the game of golf. But the swing mechanics is what the golfer seeks out in instruction for the most part. The golfer’s approach seeking a quick solution, a non-time consuming solution, golf tips from magazines and the internet, one and out on instruction lessons, handy books and videos all are the path a golfer is using to play better golf; In short: buying a golf game with minimum quality time investment.

If an instructor was to provide information regarding slow play, what makes anyone think the golfer is going to process and execute that information? If the results of current golf instruction is any predictor, it is going to fall on deft ears. The program of ‘Tee if Forward’, the suggestion has merit, however in reality it is another one and done, most golfers aren’t going to move up, call it ego, call it indoctrination (pros play from tips, power, distance that is golf, etc.). PGA want to force a shift, simple only put one or two sets of tees out, much like you find at many of the overseas course and even Augusta National. That would force golfers to play a more reasonable distance, the concept of multiple tees an attempt, yet hasn’t made much of an impact.

The golfer’s perception of golf is skewed and this causes the golfer to have unrealistic expectations and goals.

From the USGA

[i]Scratch Golfer:[/i] A male scratch golfer is a player who can play to a Course Handicap of zero on any and all rated golf courses. A male scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470-yard hole in two shots.

A female scratch golfer is a player who can play to a Course Handicap of zero on any and all rated golf courses. A female scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400-yard hole in two shots at sea level

[i]Bogey Golfer:[/i] A male bogey golfer is a player who has a Course Handicap™ of approximately 20 on a course of standard difficulty. He can hit tee shots an average of 200 yards and can reach a 370-yard hole in two shots at sea level.

A female bogey golfer is a player who has a Course Handicap of approximately 24 on a course of standard difficulty. She can hit tee shots an average of 150 yards and can reach a 280-yard hole in two shots

How many golfers have even heard about the ‘Bogey Golfer’ let alone understand what it means? Maybe some golf education/instruction on playing golf, as a Bogey Golfer instead of attempt playing Scratch Golfer golf.

Golf should be enjoyable and fun, it shouldn’t take more than 4 hours to play, it shouldn’t cost more than the cost of a dozen premium golf ball if that much, and the golfer should feel good about his/her game though it may need or could be improved.

Alleviate problems in the Golf Industry through instruction; teach a golfer how to play golf. That means educating the golfer on how to understand their abilities and skills, their strengths and weaknesses, how to take them to the golf course, how match up these to the course to produce a respectable score. The vast majority of golfers should be capable of breaking 90 routinely on any course they play. If a golfer can’t match or break par from the red tees or even break 80, they shouldn’t be playing back. The idea that a short course is easy is only true if you have the proven abilities and skills, but then of course you would easily break 80 from the reds if not match or break par.

For golfers who are willing to invest the time and money, the next level is awaiting them, but first they should learn how to crawl, then walk and finally run.

I am not sure golf instructors through golf instruction can really address the problems in the golf industry, they can minimize them by promoting ‘how to play’ but the golf business is money driven with an aggressive marketing plan to meet the demands of the golfer, quick fixes, buy a game, new gimmick with guarantee results, tip of the minute, etc. A golfer playing good golf, posting a low score is not the primary thrust of the golf industry, though having some success does in fact bolster the golf industry.

[quote name='Timanator' timestamp='1362448373' post='6548541']

Wont help because people still wont practice. [/quote]
How could that be fixed ?
A $200 trackman in everyone's garage ?

Helping Golfers gain a healthy perspective/outlook on the game is huge! I have a student that I've been working with for a few years now. When he first came to me, he simply explained that he wanted a more consistent swing. So after his first two lessons, grip/posture/set up were addressed and only one thing to work on with swing motion. By his third lesson I could tell he was very frustrated, so we talked for most of the lesson and dug further into his mindset. One of his goals, which he did not initially share with me, was to hit approximately 15-17 GIRs! Our next session was a playing lesson at his home club, and that was extremely helpful for me to see him in action! Any tee shot that would stray, he would become defeated immediately for that hole. If you can't put a tee shot in the fairway, then how can I hit the green, if I can't hit the green then how can I score? His mindset was horrible! We had lunch afterwards, I shared some Tour stats, and told him his approach to the game has to change, or else he will never enjoy this game, and more than likely quit.

Anyways this is a very detailed story which I don't have time to get too involved with. Three years later he's playing more golf, playing with his wife again, and has had some of his lowest scores.

Helping Golfers develop a healthy mindset is huge IMO!

[quote name='SunkTheBirdie' timestamp='1362490675' post='6550553']
How could that be fixed ?
A $200 trackman in everyone's garage ?
[/quote]

Golf is like a set of complicated dance moves executed in perfect sequence. No instructor or tools can take place of practice.

Mikpga - playing lessons are a good idea. Maybe the quality instruction the OP is looking for would consist of playing lessons more often instead of always range lessons.