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High School Golf Coach looking for advice
jcvandamme ·


Hi all-
I'm just starting my 2nd season as a high school golf coach and I want to be more than just a glorified taxi driver. So I have a few questions for all of you. Is there anything that your high school coach did that you felt really helped you? Any drills or practice games or something like that? My team has players that range from single digit handicaps to kids just picking up a club for the first time, and I want to be able to help them all improve. Any tips or tricks that I could use? Thanks.
I'm just starting my 2nd season as a high school golf coach and I want to be more than just a glorified taxi driver. So I have a few questions for all of you. Is there anything that your high school coach did that you felt really helped you? Any drills or practice games or something like that? My team has players that range from single digit handicaps to kids just picking up a club for the first time, and I want to be able to help them all improve. Any tips or tricks that I could use? Thanks.
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Fairway Wood: 2017 M2 3 wood
Hybrid: Rocketballz 3 hybrid
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Irons: Rocketballz 4-AW
Wedge: Vokey SM5 56/10
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mysterious, but I cant talk about it
and I can't talk about why.
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. ... Teach them how to pitch, chip and putt
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Good luck and keep your cool.
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1)Took 2 seniors and had them pick teams. I would match up (as evenly as possible) teams against each other whether it be a 2 on 2 scramble or best ball. Do a couple of those matches and have singles the rest of the day. Keep points for the year and have a winning team. This kept them in competition. They wanted to beat the other team so bad.
2) I spend the majority of time on swing instruction with newer players. Try to get them into good habits such as grip, posture, alignment. My better players didnt require too much of me doing anything swing wise.
3) Everyday we spend at least 15 minutes on short putts. 3-5 feet, uphill, downhill, left to right, right to left, whatever!! Then we spend 10-15 minutes on longer putts just getting them in that 3-5 circle to help try and eliminate 3 putts.
4) The day after a match/tournament, we work on whatever was off at the tournament. Usually chipping, putting, or short irons for the guys. Now I coach girls so replace short irons with hybrids.
5) I knew the course we were playing for state since we had played it the year before. I remember what holes we struggled on and what we needed to work on. So a couple days before state, we spent a good deal of time hitting 3 woods and longer hybrids off the ground.
6) On course work. Tuesdays and Thursdays are pretty slow at our course so its empty when we get out there for practice. We will walk over to one of the 2 or 3 holes right by the clubhouse and just chip/pitch. give them all sorts of different types of shots to practice. And we may sit there working for 30-45 minutes and never have anyone come through.
I have seen lots of ideas but these have worked best for us. You cant drill people to death. Got to find a way to make it fun. Your good/better players will take care of themselves but find a way to make the others want to get better.
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1)Took 2 seniors and had them pick teams. I would match up (as evenly as possible) teams against each other whether it be a 2 on 2 scramble or best ball. Do a couple of those matches and have singles the rest of the day. Keep points for the year and have a winning team. This kept them in competition. They wanted to beat the other team so bad.
2) I spend the majority of time on swing instruction with newer players. Try to get them into good habits such as grip, posture, alignment. My better players didnt require too much of me doing anything swing wise.
3) Everyday we spend at least 15 minutes on short putts. 3-5 feet, uphill, downhill, left to right, right to left, whatever!! Then we spend 10-15 minutes on longer putts just getting them in that 3-5 circle to help try and eliminate 3 putts.
4) The day after a match/tournament, we work on whatever was off at the tournament. Usually chipping, putting, or short irons for the guys. Now I coach girls so replace short irons with hybrids.
5) I knew the course we were playing for state since we had played it the year before. I remember what holes we struggled on and what we needed to work on. So a couple days before state, we spent a good deal of time hitting 3 woods and longer hybrids off the ground.
6) On course work. Tuesdays and Thursdays are pretty slow at our course so its empty when we get out there for practice. We will walk over to one of the 2 or 3 holes right by the clubhouse and just chip/pitch. give them all sorts of different types of shots to practice. And we may sit there working for 30-45 minutes and never have anyone come through.
I have seen lots of ideas but these have worked best for us. You cant drill people to death. Got to find a way to make it fun. Your good/better players will take care of themselves but find a way to make the others want to get better.
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We held a lot of competitions, mostly for donuts and soda. Keeping it fun and relaxed was probably the best thing for all of us though.
One thing that I really appreciated was team awards. We had MVP, Most Improved, and Most Inspirational. MVP and Most Improved were based off statistics for the year and year over year respectively. Most Inspirational was voted on by the team. I received it the last two years for the time and work I spent with all of the guys. Sometimes golf teams get clique-y, and it is detrimental to the development of the team.
At the end of the day it is an extra curricular that these kids may play for the rest of their life. They should be forging memories and making friends. We may not have won very often, and I may not have realized my full potential, but I wouldn't go back and change a thing.
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It will be different for each kid.
Fairway / GIR / Putts per round / Up & Down aka scrambling %
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For me, it wasn't the technique, but rather the mindset that I learned that made a huge difference. In high school as a golfer I was pretty green, I learned on my own, had no real instruction other than my father who was just a casual golfer and not a rules or etiquette nut, no lessons, wasn't a country club kid, didn't play any tournaments until my senior year, etc. I was a youth baseball player who picked up the game and loved it. For me, the not so obvious things my coach taught me like course management and simply learning how to play certain holes properly was huge. Learning to play to my strengths or to play safe rather than just hit it as far as possible seems incredibly simple, but it was somewhat new to me, and did wonders. It seems like such a simple thing but not everybody truly understands how to work their way around the course unless they're taught how to do it, and I'd guess there might be a better player who you might not be able to help in terms of technique, but rather in mindset, that could prove extremely valuable. I'm helping my brother with his own HS team tryouts tomorrow and I'll be trying to instill some of these insights on these kids, such as there's no reason to pull driver on a par 5 with water when there's no chance you'll get home in 2 anyway. I go 6i short, 8i over, wedge in, takes all the risk out of play.
As to stuff to work on, short game, short game, short game. Chipping and putting contests are always great. Put your kids in all sorts of up and down situations and have them practice that out. Make them roll dozens of 4-6 footers every day. One thing I took from my coach on the short putts, don't be afraid to take the break out of them, within reason, and knock them in the back of the cup. Doesn't work in every scenario, but the firmer you hit it the straighter the putt is, and the easier.
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Mr. Hogan made this drill famous, at least that is what my Teacher told me when he introduced it to me in 1976(16yo). It took me two years before I could pull any club outa my bag from driver through 9i(I could get to my 52* wedge in '12 though it was a stinger, however if it was an open, non-elevated green, I could put in on, lol).
Excellent drill and as Maryland says, you'll see some interesting shots, see who really is a Player with a swing and have some fun.
The best to ya with your season
Fairways & Greens My Friend,
Richard
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I feel for ya Bro, though I know that that doesn't mean much at this time.
When the anger and pain subsides-
This kid is heading down a track with a train coming at him that he cannot see.
When he sees it, it's going to be too late!!
Believe me, and it may not be this year, ****, it may not even be on a golf course, however this kid has a severe character flaw, and it will be exposed, and he will get crushed.
I've seen it!!
I realize that this does nothing to help you feel better now, though knowing that you went out, Played the Game as it was meant to be Played and gave your best effort will stand you in good steed for your future.
You are an honorable young man & a Gentleman.
And as you said, this Game is so much more than the score on the card!!
I only wish that there was a way to right this wrong, though this is life, and unfortunately, sometimes in life cheaters prosper, however this much I do know Peter-
If he is in the game long enough, he will meet that train and be nothing more than a crushed spot in the game called life.
Over time, and as he steps out of his league talent wise and the stakes rise and the air gets a lot thinner, trust me Peter, he will either get beaten silly or he will be exposed for the fraud that he is, both on the course and off.
Though take no glee in his misfortunes-
Stay the path that you are on, keep swingin and may your future be Fairways & Greens My Friend
Extremely Well Played!!
As Always,
All the Best,
Richard
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3w- TS3 w/ Tensei Blue 65x
DI- Tour Edge CBX w/ HZRDUS Black 6.5 85 Gram
4-PW- Cobra King Forged Tour w/ s400
Taylormade Milled Grind- 50,54,60 w/s400 Onyx
Putter- Cleveland Huntington w/ Flat Cat grip
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Good Luck...HS Golf can be frustrating at times, but it can also lead to some of the most rewarding experiences you can have with young adults. I still have players from my first year of coaching that I talk to and play golf with on a regular basis. Several have become good friends now that they are adults. The days of the HS golf coach being a glorified bus driver are over. Those guys are becoming extinct. Hope you find the success you are looking for.
Regards,
Tom
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Hybrid undecided
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1 - do tryouts playing the ball up. After that, we never touched the ball and played in all but dangerous conditions (spring in MO we would have 30+mph winds and freezing temps as the sun went down). These made us ready for anything in a tournament. Lots of the area people played the ball up all the time so as soon as they played a tourney with the ball down, we were already 2-3 strokes up before we teed off because we were used to it.
2 - My HS coach is/was an excellent golfer, and when I was a freshman, he was much better than everyone on the team. So he would put out the challenge of when we'd go play 9 holes, he'd play us for hamburgers. It was very interesting as we got older and better, he slowly went from never buying, to buying 5-6 a week and he finally had to quit doing it because we had 5-6 kids that would shoot par or better on 9 h oles. So you could do something to make it competitive, if you're a solid golfer and the kids look up to you, put yourself out there in the competition.
3 - for practice, primary focus on shortgame and making it fun. Once again, competition is #1. We would putt around the clock as a team, play 21 (everyone chips to a flag, closest gets 3 points and picks the next spot to chip to, if you hole it you get 9 points). If you can chip and putt in HS golf thats the most important thing in my opinion.
4 - This is probably the biggest thing in my opinion, but helping the kids mature on the course. If I could hit the ball today like I did in highschool, but have the mental game that I have now, I'd be a WAY better golfer. I play every once and a while with a kid thats a HS golfer and he could be amazing, but he plays like a kid. Gets mad, half quits, takes mega aggressive shots when not necessary, just plays stupid. If you can coach those kids to be smarter on the golf course and if they realize they can make up a bogey with 1 birdie, but making up a triple takes a lot more work.
Being these kids coach, you can really set them up for a lifetime of success in playing golf, since golf is such a lifetime game so good luck!
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1)My HS coach loved golf but was not a "golfer". He had a not so great swing and didn't know the golf swing at all. BUT, he never acted like it. He was a GREAT motivator and knew how to push us but he left the swing improvements to the local club pros. If your home course has a pro and you are not the most educated on the golf swing, get a pro involved. It will help the kids and help you.
2)Winning in HS golf at the common level (exceptional or private schools are different) usually comes down to the 3-6 players. Most HS teams will have one or two good players who you can count on for decent scores. The teams that win get good rounds from the bottom of the starting roster. I'm not telling you to focus on those players but take a look at the abilities of those guys and work to help them improve. An 85 instead of a 90 is often the difference in winning a losing.
3)Teach your best players to be leaders. HS aged boys and girls are right between kids and young-adults wanting to express independence. If you can get your best players to take an interest in winning and helping their teammates you will make the lesser players better and elevate your best players.
4)Consider a Varsity and a JV team. Not sure how many players you have but an early season try-out will split those who are there for fun and those who are there to win (and have fun). We had 17 players on our HS team one year and while everybody would play every regular season match, only the Varsity squad traveled and played together. You always have the option to move someone up if they begin to improve.
5)If you live in an area where your players can walk the golf course, make them walk at all times throughout the golf season. It will make them better prepared for matches and teach them discipline. If we got caught riding during season, we had to run laps.
6)If you have players that want to get better and possibly play collegiality, make sure you push them but be supportive. Extra drills that focus on chipping, putting, and wedge play are critical. I don't think these constant drills are right for all HS golfers but those that have talent and a desire to get better need to be pushed.
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Yes! That is a really awesome idea, and I'm sure its more the bragging rights than anything else for those guys. You could get them to do all kinds of things, pick up shag balls, clean clubs, heck even make them caddy for the winner after a tournament and they have an easy day at practice.
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most communities have some very good players who can teach who are able/willing to give back to the game. some teaching pros will even make an appearance once in a while...those that know how to build a good name and develop their business.
that way you arent spending too much of your time trying to help out beginners who need the most help and dont have your attention so divided
a variety of all kinds of stuff/drills/on course stuff is best to keep things lively and interesting. but get them out on the course for practice in a supervised manner...put them in an environment that most duplicates match conditions.
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