Could Modern Golf Instruction Be Driving Golfers Away From the Game Instead of Towards it?

"I wonder if in the not too distant future you could almost expect to see that the golf instructor/technician who works with you will have a lab coat on instead of a golf shirt and be armed with a PhD. from M.I.T?"

Over the past three years we have spent countless hours writing golf instruction articles, and we've posted well over 150 on our blog showing you various ways you can improve the way you learn and practice to improve your golf.

Our primary motivation has always been (and always will be) to help you learn how to gain more benefit from the way you go about practicing to improve your golf skills in your quest to lower your golf scores and your handicap.

Why?...

Because your time is a very precious resource and we want you to learn effective methods to fast-track your improvement process so you gain a deeper enjoyment and satisfaction from learning, playing and improving your golf.

It is partly because of this that our focus has purposely steered right away from the golf swing instruction arena because we have noticed that there is so much stuff already circulating around the internet that we believe our message would surely get lost as it travels through the heavy atmosphere of nouns, verbs, adjectives, similes and metaphors that attempt to describe how someone should swing the golf club to improve their shot-making.

We sometimes wonder if all this conflicting information revolving around golf swing instruction is making the learning and improving of golfers more difficult than it needs to be?

3 Big Reasons Golfers Are Leaving the Game
I’m sure you are well aware of the fact that golfers are leaving the game in big numbers for a variety of reasons; and the three main reasons appear to be:

1.      It’s an expensive game to learn and play

2.      It takes a relatively long time to play

3.      It’s a difficult game to learn and play competently

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Should Learning How to Play Golf Be An Expensive Exercise?
There are other factors of course, but these three are at the top of most lists. Expensive, difficult and it takes a long time to play sums it up perfectly. Today people don’t have the time they once had to spend endless hours trying to perfect some aspect of their golf swing technique.

They want to play the game of golf on a golf course, not think about how to play it. And this leads me to my point.

If they choose to stay and play it’s because they can either play competently already, or they are willing to invest considerable time, effort and money to learn how to.

The bottom line is that there is a significant investment required for you to improve your golf skills, and we’re not just talking about the time element, but the actual dollar cost.

What we have found from a sample of our students we asked about this that they believed that many golfers are departing from the game because they simply do not see a reasonable return on their investment in golf lessons.

They invest the dollars and expect to play better on the golf course sooner rather than later, and for many it just doesn’t happen.

So this quite often leads them to trawl golf instruction websites and YouTube channels looking for free golf instruction tips to satisfy their thirst for improvement.

And who can blame someone for looking for another way of obtaining improvement for less time, money and effort?

They do not see the value of spending 30 to 45 minutes (or longer) standing on a driving range working on a swing drill and hitting balls with an instructor once a week, and then paying them as much or more than they would pay a plumber or electrician to solve a problem for them. 

They simply don’t see the value in a comparative sense; that golf instruction for many seems a lot more expensive since they know that what they pay the plumber or electrician is likely going to solve their problem.

At the end of the golf swing problem, many still have the golf swing problem!

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Hi Tech Learning or Hi Tech Confusion? 
Many golf instructors are now investing their dollars into the latest golf swing diagnostic technology, which they house in buildings that might resemble the type of place you take your BMW or Aston Martin to have it serviced by a specialist team of technicians.

These golf swing diagnostic centers have grown more popular over the past few years as technology has evolved, improved and got cheaper to buy where they are quite common now.

I wonder if in the not too distant future you could almost expect to see that the golf instructor/technician who works with you will have a lab coat on instead of a golf shirt and be armed with a Ph.D. from M.I.T?


This golf swing technician would plug you into various types of technology and you would hit a few shots--possibly into a computer generated image of a golf range or hole, and their computers would perform some complex computations and the data that spits out from a printer would determining whether your body motion, golf swing technique and ball-flight were operating as efficiently as they should.

After this they supply you with the corrective measures required for you to improve and you are sent on your way.

Back in the day's when Ben Hogan was playing, I bet it would have sounded like science fiction to him, but of course today its a reality.

Are Golfers Sick, or Just Sick and Tired?
Golfers learn perfectly, they are not sick or broken in some way, and they certainly don't need to be fixed.

So the basic question here is whether amateur golfers who want to play better on the golf course needs this type of teaching model? 

Do we want golf instruction facilities to resemble hospitals where you go and get plugged into machines to diagnose your perceived problem with the same clinical approach?

We believe an important part of the improvement process that would lead to faster progress and more satisfaction is being diluted from golf instruction to where instead of benefiting from a less is more approach to improvement, it is replaced with a more is less approach to improvement.

What we are talking about is meaningful communication—the simple act of communicating, connecting and building rapport with golfers using language skillfully and creatively with the express purpose of helping the golfer to achieve his or her goals faster by offering them less confusion rather than more.

Let's not forget that learning and improving golf is more of a creative process than an intellectual one.

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Personalize Every Lesson
And because every golfer learns in his or her own best way it is still the responsibility of the golf instructor to step into the shoes of their student and do their best to understand the world of golf from their students eyes.

The golf instructor’s primary role becomes one of reorganizing their students experience and understanding of golf in such a way that they learn to play more competently on the golf course faster.

Golfers don’t care how much you know or can show you know, until they know how much you care about them.

And to care about them is to care about what they want from the game of golf, and it is always unique and different every time.

Golf Teaching or Golf Learning
Golf teaching models appear to be replacing golf learning models and there is a big problem looming for golf instructors if golfers are going to be encouraged to stay in the game and invest their hard earned dollars to keep improving their skills to play better on the golf course.

We believe that the real skill that golf instructors need to continually hone and develop their communication ability so they can impart meaningful, impactful and personalized communication that positively influences every golfer they work with to learn faster and more effectively. 

We know that much of the technology that is used today can be extremely helpful to communicate teaching points, but when it replaces the critical student to teacher communication bridge to where there is little or no rapport in the relationship, improvement is going to be more challenging for the golfer to obtain their goal than ever.

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Let's not allow golf to go from being a wonderful game to learn, play and enjoy with friends and family to an ongoing science experiment where the goal is to make golfers fit into a teaching model that has some scientific certification or endorsement.

Let's communicate and connect more meaningfully with every golfer we come across and help them to play golf better on the golf course.  

After all, golf is still a game to be played on the golf course and our mission as golf instructors is to help our students to get them out there enjoying this great game for the rest of their days.


Lawrie Montague and David Milne - Pro Tour Golf College
Your Success On Tour is Our Business

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We are pleased to inform you that Pro Tour Golf College has been appointed by the Asian Junior Golf Foundation as official service provider to develop and implement a holistic junior golf program for South East Asia.

Together with the junior program Pro Tour Golf College will also design and run a "Train the Trainer" program for local golf coaches working in concert with governments and respective education departments within the region.

This ambitious project will be officially announced at the Asia Pacific Golf Summit to be held in Singapore later this year in November.