We’d like to welcome another guest blogger to SirShanksAlot.com. Eric Wilson is a PGA Master Professional and the Vice President of The College of Golf at Keiser University in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Today Eric talks about what a good golf school can offer those individuals looking to make a career out of the game that we love.
You love the game of golf. What serious player doesn’t want to improve their swing, cut strokes, and consistently hit the 19th hole with an ever lower score? If you’ve ever considered golf school or even just taking lessons from a pro golf school graduate, you understand there are a number of tasks, exercises and techniques you can practice on your own.
Making your swing the absolute best it can be is not easy. Nor should it be. If it were as simple as lacing on a pair of golf shoes and hitting the links, do you think you’d ever get a tee time? Unlikely! But golf differs from other sports that appear at first glance at being easy.
Take bowling for instance. The massive multi-generational appeal of this sport has to do with how easy and effortless it appears. The challenge, as you may know if you’ve spent any time on the lanes is that consistently scoring high is not all that simple. Without many hours of practice and guided expert advice, your game of bowling may just stay locked in the realm of Friday night rock and bowl with your family.
Golf only has the minimum of a simple appearance. Whacking a little, white, dimpled ball with a metal or composite stick. What could be easier? Of course, anyone who’s spent any time at all on the driving range or the links understands that just this most simple of acts is anything but.
Once you become serious about improving your swing and generally lowering your handicap one of the first points you’ll need to pay attention to is your equipment. It was Tommy Amour who stated in his book, “How To Play Your Best Golf All The Time“,
“Properly fitted clubs are the only part of improved golf that anyone can buy.“
So before you ever get on the practice tee or take lessons at golf school, if you’ve not invested in the proper equipment you’ll have the disadvantage, or handicap of poorly fitting clubs. And these bad clubs will add not only shots to your score, but help to develop bad habits that will take years to overcome. If you’re able to overcome them ever.
Purchasing clubs that are “whippier” than you might think necessary is another fine choice you can make before you ever get out to the course. The theory here is that the club will work more for you than a stiffer one. Only the most practiced pro golf school graduate truly knows how to handle stiffer clubs. Why layer yet another handicap on your game when you can easily choose to do away with that particular challenge?
A good golf school will be one of the first places to let you know that the basic factor in all good golf is the grip. A poor grip will lead to poor shots. Spend enough time striking the ball badly, and you’re level of aggravation rises. Once you’ve met the limit of your patience very bad things usually happen. By taking the time to practice a good grip, you’ll reduce tension in your game, and increase your prospect of having a great round of golf.
Properly fitted clubs and a good grip are the base foundation of transforming your swing into the best it can be. The next point you must have well practiced is your stance. Far too many amateur golfers do not understand the importance of balance and how to best address the ball.
It’s important to realize there is not a single stance that fits all situations. There are however factors that should be included in any scenario that you’ll find yourself in during a round of golf. With knowledge, experience and practice you’ll understand how to adjust your stance to best attack the shot at hand.
From here, having the knowledge of what good footwork means will round out your swing. Too many amateur golfers and new students fail to comprehend that how your feet move, shift, and sway affect everything above them. And that amounts to the entirety of your golf swing.
You’ll never learn everything you need to better your golf game from a single article. Your best bet is years of practice or better, focused, highly professional training that you’ll receive at a quality golf school.
About the Author
Eric Wilson Ph.D. is a PGA Master Professional and the Vice President of The College of Golf at Keiser University in Port St. Lucie, FL. You can find The College of Golf on Twitter (@CollegeofGolf) or on Facebook.