At the beautiful Hawkes Bay Golf Club and next door at the Hastings Golf Club, the NZ Senior Championship was held. I was out doing coaching sessions and watched some of the players hit balls or play practice rounds. All the swings were different, of course. Some players had long flowing swings. Some players had short, quick swings. Some played a fade. Others played a hook. Some golfers hit it high. Others hit it low.
What occurred to me was that they all had similarities. Allow me to explain.
Each golfer had a set up. Each golfer had a takeaway. Each one had a backswing. You can probably see where I’m going with that.
Each golfer had a set of skills that were the same as the next golfer. They also had a set of skills different to the next. Given that rather elementary observation; is there an optimum pattern for every golfer? In an individual sense there probably is. With the skills we all share is there an optimum pattern each of us must do to be good? Is there a system that will make us all great ball strikers? Like, ‘if we do this, we will get this result’?
Probably not. golfers need to have a set up, backswing, down swing, impact and follow through. How those are achieved are unique to the golfer. This is because golfers come in all shapes and sizes. They have different limitations and strengths. They play different equipment. They play in differing conditions.
I do think having a standard language and system for checking the golfers is necessary. The amount of instruction, coaching, tips and other shit out there now grows by the day. Communicating the swing to a golfer in a standard, simple fashion is a skill of the coach. Communicating those points pertinent to that golfer is another.
Golf is the greatest game (with the possible exception of rugby). How you play it and get it done is unique to you. There are similarities with each golfer and for that reason there should be some standard method of assessment. Most coaches have this via video or launch monitors or whatever.
This all said, I happened to be watching a video on Qigong (pr. chee-gong). This led into videos about Tai Chi, Shaolin Kung Fu, Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do. All are martial arts. It is interesting that many many centuries of development have seen these arts survive the test of time. At one stage there were 30 or so students training exactly the same way on one minor skill. I think it was a punch. Regardless of shape, size, age, strength or skill level – that’s what they were doing. And, they were doing it a particular way. If you like this is a breakdown of a whole move into a chunk which the students were learning. Could the golf swing be taught this way? I would love to hear your thoughts.
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