Top PGA Teachers Speak Out on Today's Hot Topics

March 2008; By Scott Kramer (from PGAMagazine.com)

Not long ago, golf instructors were armed solely with their knowledge of what a good golf swing should look like – and the wisdom to know how to help implement it with a student. Nowadays, PGA Professionals are inundated with trendy swing methods, high-tech launch monitors, an onslaught of training aids and the latest quick-swap clubfitting systems.

How are America’s top teaching professionals coping with all of these changes? We surveyed the 2007 PGA of America Teachers of the Year from PGA Sections across the country to find out what’s new in their teaching lives, what’s hot, where it’s all headed and, most importantly, how is it all affecting the overall improvement of golfers.

For starters, there’s little doubt that technology is having a significant impact on the lives of instructors everywhere. In fact, many teachers say their students consider them obsolete if they aren’t armed with the latest launch monitors and swing data-revealing equipment – regardless of how renowned their teaching reputation is. But is technology taking away from their craft or enhancing it?

The consensus: When technology is used properly, there’s nothing better. When it’s not, watch out. As PGA Professional Marty Fleckman points out, several generations of golf’s greatest ball strikers – such as Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson – never had access to a TrackMan, Vector launch monitor, commercial teaching aids or high-speed HD video to help analyze their swings. “They all basically taught themselves according to ball flight,” says Fleckman, the PGA director of instruction at BlackHorse Golf Club in Cypress, Texas. “Not understanding ball flight and correcting the shape of the swing to produce a more consistent, repetitive impact is the major problem with most instruction today. Whenever a student’s making a swing shape correction, I think video is helpful so they can see what they’re feeling. Launch monitors are helpful in establishing clubhead speed, ball speed and launch angle.”

And the latest high-tech devices certainly seem to be time-savers, as well. “For the instructor, it serves as a diagnostic tool that can confirm or clarify qualitative evaluations,” says PGA Professional Cameron McCormick, director of instruction at Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas. “For the student, it’s augmented feedback that, when used the proper way and under supervision, can speed the motor learning process. The picture is clear in my mind that scientific study using technology becomes the most important tool we have as professionals to improve our education as to what really occurs during body movement and club/ball collision. We can put to rest theory and opinion that can do just as much harm to the golfer as the overuse of technical information.”

Adds Kip Puterbaugh, PGA Professional at The Aviara Golf Academy in Carlsbad, Calif., “The ability to get quick feedback from computer video has been a great aid to teaching. Video doesn’t lie and you can’t deny a swing problem. When you’ve identified a problem, video will get the student to fix it faster as you can get instant feedback after each swing. Countless times a student has hit a ball and said, ‘I did it that time,’ and then look at the video and see that they didn't change. So video helps the student develop faster and learn to trust what might feel weird.”

Technology can also have an undeniable impact on your bottom line as an instructor. Sean English, a PGA teaching professional at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, claims technology has not only made his job as an instructor easier, but has also helped increase his lesson income by 200 percent. How, exactly? Through the word-of-mouth marketing that follows from helping people correct their swing and ball flight flaws more quickly.

“We work with doctors, lawyers, engineers and many very intelligent people who are very successful in their workplace,” says English. “They have to listen to us tell them they’re swinging wrong, and it’s hard for them to believe us. With the advent of video technology, they can see their swing, and we can show them side-by-side against swing models. It gives me more credibility. A launch monitor fitting puts numbers right in front of them, and can help them see when a more flexible shaft improves clubhead speed and ball speed for added distance. They know that I’m not filling them with jargon, to make myself look good or take more money from them.”

That sentiment is echoed by Joe Sievers, PGA director of instruction at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge in Snoqualmie, Wash., who says the top benefit of technology is that it provides students with objective feedback.

“TrackMan technology enhances golf instruction tremendously. The ability to objectively inform the instructor of everything the ball does during flight is just phenomenal,” says Sievers. “Great golf instruction is still an art, however, and technology will never replace quality instruction. Technology will simply increase a good instructor’s ability to decipher information quickly and correctly in order to present it to the student in ways that are easier to understand.”

Technology isn’t perfect

Many instructors suggest that if video is comparable to an X-ray of the swing, then launch monitors are the equivalent of an MRI. Combining data from a video system and launch monitor with training aids, physical training assessments and mental training techniques can lead to the ultimate solution to correct someone’s swing flaws – or create information overload and confusion for the student.

This is where a PGA Professional can use his or her ability to read the needs of students to evaluate how well a given student absorbs the process. A good instructor will develop a personalized plan for each student that follows a logical series of steps, which eliminates or greatly reduces confusion.

Paul Sanders, PGA director of instruction at Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, N.Y., agrees, pointing out that each student arrives at the lesson tee with his own set of tendencies. If an instructor is able to properly diagnose a student’s swing flaw, then technology will help expose the problem quickly and efficiently. “This adds a sense of relief to the students that you can help them,” says Sanders. “I’m very careful to read each student, finding out what type of learner he or she is, during all discussions on the phone prior to the first lesson. When reviewing video, I stay focused on the topic we’re working on and encourage students to only worry about one swing topic at a time. This information filtering helps them focus on the things that will have short- and long-term benefits to their game. The position we should all take first is that of an educator. Teach each student based on the information you are collecting on his swings. This will help establish the student’s confidence that you understand the technology and can use the information to help his game, and provide a clear direction as to why you’re asking him to do certain drills or use a particular training aid.”

There’s also the ongoing cost of keeping these gadgets running at your facility, causing financial pressure Professionals haven’t previously experienced. “Technology is expensive and has further costs in the time it takes to learn how to use new tools,” says Dom DiJulia, PGA Master Professional and founder of the Dom DiJulia School of Golf at Jericho National Golf Club in New Hope, Pa. “All players learn differently and some definitely learn more quickly due to the use of technology, but there is danger in this. Teachers using technology must be skilled and disciplined at using only small doses of the information in any given session. Technology offers many opportunities to deliver students paralysis by analysis.”

It’s also possible that instructors can become confused while learning the capabilities of all the latest technology. You need to have the patience to implement it into teaching sessions. Temporarily, that may slow down you and your business. Another drawback to technology is when the electronics suddenly go black. “Nothing’s worse than having equipment break down in the middle of a lesson – you lose credibility as an instructor,” says Sievers.

But in the end, the consensus among PGA Professionals interviewed is that the learning curve and expense of implementing teaching technology are very worthwhile.

“There used to be nothing to back up what was being taught,” says Charlie Vandenberg, PGA instructor at Thousand Oaks Golf Academy in Grand Rapids, Mich. “A lot of the information was hearsay. Now there’s science and research that proves this is the way the joints move in the swing.”

No matter how great technology performance is while it’s working, instructors still need to keep their eye on the prize: Getting the student to improve. TPC Snoqualmie Ridge’s Siever uses this rule of thumb for teaching technology: “The more reliable and simple to use technology is, the better,” he says. “It’s helped more than it’s hurt, but students often tend to focus on their swing to the detriment of their overall game. We’ve become so obsessed with numbers and swing mechanics that we often overlook the fact that golf is still a game. Tiger Woods’ swing mechanics – as impressive as they are – do not make him great. His unparalleled ability to control, manage, and play his game is what truly sets him apart.”

Regardless of its benefits or drawbacks, technology has truly changed instruction and clubfitting. Mike Davis, PGA Professional at Royal Links Golf Club in Las Vegas, suggests that The PGA of America create more seminars regarding the use and application of some of the latest products. “Technology has changed how I teach and made me a better instructor,” says Davis. “I don’t have to guess what’s happening, I can see it very clearly on video.

“Several swing flaws turned out to be different than I used to believe, so I’ve changed my priorities for most students based on video. My models and changes for students have become simpler. Students benefit because they can see the problem better, along with a comparison of the proper technique.”

Davis says he makes take-home DVDs of lessons so students can retain important lesson keys. But he heeds caution to others: “Video can be very confusing if the instructor isn’t experienced enough to direct the student’s focus,” says Davis. “I keep the focus on a few key areas, so the student won’t get confused.”

How students see instruction

With so much swing data and equipment information being passed on during tournament broadcasts, many viewers believe they now understand all of the numbers generated by launch monitors and other measuring devices. Whether they truly comprehend what they’re seeing is another story, however. Matt Flenniken, PGA Professional at Los Lagos Golf Course in San Jose, Calif., figures he’s given 53,000 lessons in his career. He is adamant that students are absorbing more data than ever before.

“They are more knowledgeable about the vernacular associated with these technologies, and in some cases about the truths of spin rate, smash factor, trajectory and other affecting parameters, as well as ball-flight laws,” Flenniken says. “It’s our position as mentors/Professionals to educate the consumer. Educated consumers make smart buying decisions. I don’t need video or flight monitors to do a great job helping a student, but those tools aid in communicating information to the student. They debunk myths of the swing and the game.”

Armed with all of the buzzwords and knowing what technology is capable of measuring, students also now expect more from their lessons. This, in turn, puts more pressure on instructors to meet their technology expectations if they intend to position themselves as leaders in instruction. But stats and data alone will not help a golf swing. Says Puterbaugh: “They are better educated about what they need to launch a ball farther, but they still do not understand enough about a proper swing to be able to get the desired results. No club has been designed yet that will cure a bad swing.”

And even though students have high-tech information at hand, it means nothing unless you help them interpret it. “Are students more informed about clubs and swing data? Yes,” says Sievers. “Can they correctly apply that information so that it helps their games and lowers their scores? Yes. Students who come to me for the first time may have much information but need guidance as to how the information will help them.”

Then there are the students who think they understand what all of the data means, as it pertains to their swing. But in reality, this is too much of a good thing – and it’s impeding their learning progress. “Technology can cause problems and hurt students’ process of learning,” says Kenwood Country Club’s English. “This typically comes from the students who read every golf article and watch golf every night. For them, I try to limit the amount they see themselves on video and instead work more with drills and exercises to get them to feel more – keeping them focused on the task at hand. The only true results are in how the ball flies.”

How clubfitting fits into instruction

In terms of information, golf club and shaft manufacturers have done a good job of schooling golfers on their gear and characteristics. This has helped draw attention to the art of clubfitting – and many PGA Professionals contacted by PGA Magazine say they don’t give a lesson without incorporating clubfitting these days. Doing so helps fortify the relationship you have with your students, and it develops opportunities to service those customers for the long term.

“I don’t know how you can teach someone to swing and get the results they want if they’re using improperly fit equipment,” says John Richman, PGA Professional at The Golf Club of Kansas in Olathe. “There has been so much information put out there to the golfing public about the fitting process and its importance that students understand how essential it is to their success.”

Consumers no longer see clubfitting as a mysterious process. Now it can be argued that many students expect it to be a part of their ongoing lesson plan. Some instructors say they’re perpetually checking students’ clubs to ensure they fit properly, others say they do every now and then or when they notice something’s wrong with the swing.

“If I see a problem in their setup, I immediately check the length and lie angle of their clubs,” says Cheryl Anderson, PGA instructor at Mike Bender Golf Academy in Lake Mary, Fla. “I always have clubfitting tape and a lie board available. If their swing looks good yet the ball is not going where it should, I will certainly check the lie and loft of the clubs and also experiment with different shafts.”

John King, PGA director of instruction at Saugahatchee Country Club in Opelika, Ala., is adamant that clubfitting and teaching go hand and hand, but he also tries to fit the clubs to a student’s specific goal. “If I have a player who is trying to flatten his swing plane but fits to a very upright club, I may suggest to go to a slightly flatter lie than what the fitting suggests – just to be more conducive to his goals and the efficient swing rather than the swing he had during the fitting session,” says King. “There is a reason why he’s trying to flatten the swing, so you might as well put a club in his hand that would complement a flatter swing plane to award him for a quality shot.”

Krista Dunton, PGA instructor at Bellfair Golf Club in Bluffton, S.C., says she evaluates a player’s equipment during every lesson – making sure it fits the student, his or her swing, and overall type of game. Dunton also makes sure that the set composition is correct, with respect to the number of irons, hybrids, fairway woods, wedges and driver.

But here’s the kicker: She uses no technology. “We do not have a launch monitor, so we have to wait for a demo day to get specific numbers,” says Dunton. “However, ball flight is a great guide.”

Likewise, Greg Schulze, PGA Master Professional at Sawmill Golf Club in Stillwater, Minn., says he keeps things basic – out of necessity. He admits he’s not versed in all of today’s technology, but still holds clubfitting as a craft. “I have a simple fitting cart with strike board, tape, lie angle gauge, grip size examples and other non-technical devices,” says Schulze. “I am associated with a company nearby that has experts in clubfitting and has the space and resources to supply much greater technology and knowledge for those looking for an equipment change.”

Many PGA instructors say they couldn’t run a proper clubfitting session without the use of technology these days. Scott T. Hamilton, PGA Professional at Cartersville (Ga.) Country Club, provides what he calls the perfect fit. “The perfect fit incorporates the use of video to get the

student on plane, a Vector launch monitor to check spin and launch conditions, the use of the exact ball the student plays, and multiple fitting clubs,” says Hamilton. “A couple of the problems I see with so many clubfittings are that either the student is fit for a club with an off-plane swing – which gives an improper lie angle reading – or the ball they are fit with is not the ball type they play.”

And juniors who are learning the game also rely heavily on clubfitting technology. Mind you, these are young people who have embraced computers, video games and iPods as part of their daily existence. So the bulk of future golfers will be coming along with the same use-of-technology expectations regarding learning the game.

Kevin Weeks, PGA director of instruction at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Ill., says that most of his clientele are serious junior golfers who want to use the latest, greatest technology for everything, including instruction and clubfitting. “I watch their equipment very closely,” says Weeks, who keeps the staples – face tape, lie tape and lie board – at his teaching station. “We have all of the major manufacturers’ fitting vans come through; I provide the dates to my students so that they can make sure that they get their equipment checked out. Also, our clubfitter has a launch monitor and I strongly suggest they make an appointment with him every spring to get tuned up before the season.”

With technology comes caution, though. Len Siter, PGA head professional at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, N.J., says he’s always using three-dimensional imaging technology to fit, as well as the Vector system. But Siter says a good instructor will not forget the bigger picture during a clubfitting session: understanding the student’s swing. “Most students can’t repeat the swing on a continuous basis and good clubfitting is helping them get to the end result easier,” says Siter. “I come across clubs that are too upright all the time and truly believe that clubs sometimes hold the student back from getting better. Clubs can put bandages on swing faults. A good instructor/fitter can understand what the student really needs.”

Depending on your facility’s setup, the extent of a clubfitting session can vastly differ. If you’re armed with an outdoor range, video camera, launch monitor, and the latest adjustable-component fitting systems, you can not only fit someone with a wide range of products quickly, but you can also watch the entire ball flight. BlackHorse Golf Club’s Fleckman says he gets many students coming to him for a clubfitting session after they’ve received equipment specs from retailers in the area.

“Almost all were fit in an indoor environment, hitting into a net with launch and direction monitors to calculate distance and direction – they didn’t see ball flight,” says Fleckman, who likens that experience to buying a new car based off a test drive, on the showroom floor. In other words, PGA instructors based at courses have a decisive advantage in clubfitting over many off-course shops. Again, this can help cultivate relationships with golfers that will last for years to come.

At the very least, incorporating clubfitting to some level if you haven’t already can help you secure a lot of loyal customers. “Better players are pretty close to being fit the way they’re supposed to be – a lot of them have found their way there,” says Vandenberg. “It’s the average player we can change quickly. We can impact their games so dramatically.”

And while many non-PGA Professionals offer clubfitting services, your expertise as a teacher of the game also sets you apart as the expert in clubfitting.

“The understanding a teacher has of the swing, compensations and reward are absolutely necessary to use these tools with value,” says Los Lagos’ Flenniken. “To use the tool to ‘fit’ a club vs. ‘sell’ a club is the difference between PGA best practices and just being a salesman. The value of the tool can be fantastic in the hands of a teacher that has ball flight, swing knowledge and fitting knowledge. So the tools we use are only as good as the user. The only people who should be teaching golf and fitting equipment are teachers.”

The technology of self-promotion

It seems the world today requires people to step up to get noticed, regardless of their field. Just as technology has helped businesspeople and entrepreneurs, golf instructors are increasingly using technology to gain an edge in their careers. For some of the country’s top instructors, that has come in the form of self-promotion through Web sites.

Roughly 12 years ago, Aviara Golf Academy’s Puterbaugh started the kipgolf.com Web site to promote the academy. And business has since blossomed. “The main purpose of our Web page is advertising for our golf school,” he says. “At the present time, the Web site is responsible for about 40 percent of our referrals and we really need to try and keep more up-to-date with it because it works. We were one of the first golf academies to get a Web site.” Putterbaugh loads the site with tips, curriculums, photos, instructor bios, prices, clippings from articles featuring his instruction or written about him, and more. It informs potential students about his facility.

BlackHorse Golf Club’s Fleckman has operated martyfleckmangolf.com for about three years. “It not only talks about my teaching qualifications, but also who I am and where I’ve been,” he says. “In addition to offering private lessons, I also do corporate outings, plan, coordinate and host golf vacations, as well as golf schools. Let’s say it helps maximize your time, and time is money when you work for yourself. When people Google my name or golf vacations, they can normally find me. My main goal is to do more corporate outings, group clinics and schools.”

Two years ago, onetime LPGA Tour player and current PGA Professional Cheryl Anderson activated cherylgolf.com in an effort to publicize her teaching business, which was then in New York. While the site remains informational only, things may change later this year now that she’s moved south to work for the Mike Bender Golf Academy in Lake Mary, Fla. “I don’t have e-commerce or lesson-booking capabilities on my current site, but will probably add those soon,” says Anderson. “The site allows potential students to learn about my background and capabilities before they have to commit to lessons with me. It’s a great venue that allows me to tell my story about what I believe as a teacher and player, and it showcases my credentials in a way that I can’t in a conversation with a potential student.”

But the site is more than just that for Anderson. She uses it to let people know the special qualities a PGA Professional can offer golfers. “One of my goals for the site is for it to provide a complete record of my career, so that visitors and students can understand the significant effort that goes into becoming a respected teacher,” she says. “We are professionals, but we don’t go to three years of law school or four years of medical school, so we need to show the public in other ways how we have earned our skills and credentials to teach the game in an effective manner. A Web site can be a big help in this process of educating the public.”

Other top PGA Professional instructors, such as Bender and 2000 PGA Teacher of the Year Jim Suttie, also operate Web sites under their names. These sites are fairly comprehensive and do a thorough job of explaining their respective teaching brands. Both Bender and Suttie receive on average between 20 and 30 Web site visitors per day, and in a typical year each will get more than 500 requests for lesson times and additional program information from the “contact us” request form on each of their sites. That translates to a lot of extra instruction revenue.

Other proactive instructors are also e-mailing out newsletters, promoting their services and facility, and offering tips. While top instructors are constantly busy and able to charge more money than competitors, know that many are proactive. Media – magazines in particular – constantly get solicited by the most well-known PGA instructors to write articles, provide tips, get included on Top 100 lists, or get their facilities included in photo shoots. Many of these are known to be among the top instructors in America. But that’s indicative of the extra effort it takes to build your instruction business these days.

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Scott Kramer is PGA Magazine’s instruction writer and contributing equipment editor..