Thoughts on Teaching (and Learning) Golf

Devoted teachers must accept that they move in the shadows, not in the spotlight. Yet, teachers are often the force, inspiration and support behind many performers and performances.

One key to successful teaching is recognising the importance of the language and choice of word used to communicate with students. While this may seem self-evident, I believe that it is important to use a great deal of humour, verbal imagery and mime – the more colourful the more successful!

Understanding that there is not always a right or only way to achieve desired results, the  successful teacher must often reflect on their own methodology. A teacher’s influence must   focus on the general impact on the student and not the specific.

A good golf teacher has to have a powerful sense of movement, the ability to perceive what might not be working successfully and a clearly defined discipline based on tolerance and not on rigidity.

While building a player’s technique, the golf teacher must educate, inspire and expand the player’s vision, encourage them to understood and embrace their game and support them to cope with the inevitable frustrations and standstills along the way.

A good teacher always recognises that the player has the key role and, in the shadows, must mould the personality of the golfer into one which can both create and perform.

And a few thoughts for aspiring golfers…

even if you have a good swing, you have to learn to play with it, and to make it obey.
the good golfer needs to ‘see’ their swing, without having to watch it on video
the swing is a blend of rhythmic coordination, technique, strength and temperament

Favourite Golf Instruction Books

My students often ask me “What are the best books on golf instruction”. There are five books which I return to and I think are of value to the serious golfer (i.e. anyone really trying to improve their game.

1. Butch Harmon’s ‘The Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf”
2. Bob Toski’s “How to Feel a Real Golf Swing”
3. Jim Hardy’s “The Plane Truth for Golfers”
4. Hank Haney and John Duggan’s “The Only Golf Lesson You Will Ever Need”
5. Ben Hogan’s “Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf”

I have put a customer review of each of these books in the “Golf Book Reviews setion of the site”. Please let me know what you think of these (and any other golf book you have read – whether instuctional  or any other aspect of golf).

Lessons with Ian Butcher

Lessons from £29 per half hour and £45 per hour.
Nine-hole individual lesson (including green fee) from £100

Ian is a fully qualified level 3 PGA Coach based at King’s Acre Golf Course near Edinburgh, Scotland. King’s Acre is a fully equipped modern golf facility with all the modern facilities golfers off all abilities would expect.

Lessons with Ian take place indoors in a custom studio. The studio is ideal for wet weather lessons and for swing analysis as it incorporates a state-of-the-art VI computer video system with four camera angles.

Outdoor lessons are on grass areas and include play from fairway, rough, bunkers and specialist shots for long and short games and include King’s Acre’s renowned high quality driving range with real greens, water hazards and distance markers.

The 18 hole course itself can be used for lessons and is ideal for in situ shotmaking and tackling the specifics of positional play, different types of shots and how to compile a score.

You can book a single lesson or a series to work on all areas of your game.

Booking is easy; simply call King’s Acre on 0131 663 3456.