Do you really want to improve?

I have been having some really good conversations through skype and the social media world with John Graham http://johngrahamgolf.com/blog/ about the future of player development.

We have talked about programmes that can really offer the best service to help our players improve.
As golf professionals do we expect too much from our players to come for a lesson then ask them to go away and practice alone with no further observation until the next lesson?

Golf is a sport that is commonly known for its difficulty, so why is it players only see their coach in frequently. In most other sports the time spent with the coach is normally more than the time spent actually competing. For example in elite level football, basketball, or tennis a player will almost never practice without a coach observing.
This observation time may not be direct coaching but the coach has the opportunity to see if the player is practicing correctly all the required skills needed to develop.

We both agreed the idea of observed practice time, during which skills challenges can be set up for shot making and short game was very important.

One factor that could be prohibitive to observed practice is cost. How about asking 3 of your golfing friends to split the cost of an hour with your coach. One hour per week should cost you the same as as 2 buckets of balls at the range.
During this time your coach could set you shot making or short game challenges. This way you will have the coach keeping an eye on your technique while helping you learn all important scoring skills.

If you really want to improve you will need to make some sort of sacrifice. It maybe financial or it maybe time. But make the sacrifice and improve your golf with the help of your coach.



Andy