Over the years I’ve watched many golf lessons, taken some, and given a few. After the lesson package is over and the money is spent, how does the student assesses their results? Let me suggest several questions students ask themselves.
Did I have a fun time?
Today’s world is filled with high stress producing work and entertainment. “Work hard – Play hard.” or “I need a rest from my vacation.” We sacrifice our rest in pursuit of the perfect vacation we can boast about on Facebook or Twitter. Great pictures abound. Look at what we saw or did. Question: is was it really fun? At the end of the session are you bound up with so much more to do than when you started? The first ingredient must be to play and have FUN.
At Play-a-Round Golf School, our slogan “Teaching works best when fun comes first” goes right to the core of the problem. Lots of fads come and go. Heading off to the fitness gym is the current fad. Running, walking, or spinning in place for an hour. Really seems boring to me. Better body, but bored. Where’s the fun in that? Playing is much more fun!!
Do I have more confidence in my swing?
Students must be see accomplishment(s). Games are a great way to get our minds off instruction and let our bodies learn something new. When the PC first came out we were taught how to drag-and-drop using the mouse by playing Solitare. Our company actually encouraged us to play on the computer to help us learn; that is until they learned how many other games were coming down the pike. Games like Tic-Tac-Toe help our students learn how to manage speed and direction of their putts. Who cares how far my drives went, when I won a game of “Chip over the Alligator?” Before we know it, our students are mastering their golf swings. Play builds confidence!!
Do I want to continue?
The movie “What about Bob?” portrays Richard Dreyfuss as leading psychiatrist who suggests to his patient played by famous golfer, Bill Murray, that he can only get well by taking baby steps. Unfortunately, to meet expected value/price points too often golf lessons shotgun-blast scores of golf tips to correct the errant golf swing. No fun in that. Too many tips to write down, besides Ben Hogan often said that you can’t take a confident swing if you have more than one or maybe two swing thoughts in mind. Too much, too quick equals too complicated. Forget it. Play is addictive!!
At Play-a-Round Golf School, we begin our classes by teaching strokes taken on the green (short stuff) where our students learn to rock their shoulders. We then work outward from the hole to the “chip swing” where students learn to turn the body and then to the “pitch swing” where they learn to add their arms. Finally, we help them take a “launch or full swing” to get the ball high into the air by adding power to their swing. Each session is filled with games to create fun, enable accomplishment, and encourage our students to continue playing the game.
So, there you have three objectives to our golf school instruction. Did the students have fun? Can they confidently demonstrate what they learned? And, finally, will they continue their step-by-step pursuit of the game? Our students and their children tell us that it’s working. Stay tuned as we help our students to play around this wonderful game.