Golf Instruction

Scott Johnson, PGA

Introducing the Golf Coaching Program

I would like to introduce a new lesson option for the coming fiscal year, the Golf Coaching Program. The student will pay an annual or monthly fee and can schedule lessons at any available time at their discretion. There will be a maximum number of hours available for the period, fifty hours annually and five hours monthly. The fee charged will reflect a substantial discount over the normal rate. The program is designed to afford the opportunity to take a more concentrated approach to regular lessons and encourage supervised practice and play.

The goal of any instructor is for the student to improve and derive more enjoyment from the game. Improvement in ball striking is great but the real goal is improving one’s score. The question then becomes, what is the best way to instruct the student and get them better at playing the game.

Let’s look at the golf teacher in two ways, first as a golf instructor and secondly as a golf swing coach. If we look at the learning process in two ways we can differentiate between the two roles. The first phase of instruction during a golf lesson is almost always some type of change, let’s call that the revolutionary stage. During this stage the student is given new information and is asked to make changes to their swing. This period can consist of intensely frustrating periods and many students never get beyond this stage.

The second phase of instruction is refining the techniques used and implementing them on the golf course. We will call that the evolutionary stage. The instruction gradually shifts from new information to refining the movements the student has already begun to learn. In this stage the golf instructor becomes the golf swing coach, focusing mostly on giving feedback with much less emphasis on teaching new information. The goal in this stage is to help the student develop a deeper understanding of the golf swing and to provide feedback that helps the golfer keep on track as they work to improve.

It often isn’t until the student gets into the evolutionary stage that they can begin to see significant benefits from their golf instruction. Once they reach this stage, they are working on things that they have already worked on before so it becomes less difficult and less frustrating. The more golf instruction, coaching, a person gets in the evolutionary stage, in the form of feedback, the more likely they are to stay on track and the improvement should be considerably more significant. Because this phase is about feedback, it may benefit the student to get instruction more frequently than in the learning phase. Unfortunately, many students don’t get to this stage. They may expect to see results too quickly, or simply have not practiced well enough or often enough to incorporate change.

There are reasons for the student to take individual lessons as opposed to a longer term coaching approach. They may just want to work on one phase of their game, they may be tuning up for a golf trip or tournament, or simply not have the time in their schedule to put in a lot of practice time. The same methods and approaches do not work for all. I look at the coaching option as an enhancement to the teaching program, an option for those who would like to use supervised practice and play in their learning process.

Here is the fee schedule for the coaching program.

$3000 annual fee – up to 50 hours of instruction for a 12 month period

$400 monthly fee – up to 6 hours of instruction for a 30 day period

The time frame for each program will start at the day of the first lesson and extend for a year or 30 days from that date. You can schedule the start date at any time. If you are interested in the program, or have any questions contact me at 858-361-3194 or email sjohnson@rsfgc.com

Scott