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  1. #1
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    Default State of golf coaching in Australia

    Having invested in quite a large sum of money on golf lessons this year and quite a lot of time in practice (given I work 55 hours a week in a busy ED), I must say I’ve been a little disappointed in the level of coaching in general.

    Like the thread about the Lakes golf course and course architecture, I’m hoping a teaching pro will jump in and give us his perspective.

    I have received little nuggets of information from each coach and from my home course pro, who I have regular lessons with, I am learning to play golf rather than the golf swing.

    Having said that, I’ve been left to my own devices to put the pieces together.

    Not one coach looked at my grip. I found out that I had a gap between my left thumb pad and the grip causing my left hand to move on the grip during the swing.

    No one checked any mobility restrictions I had and figure out how that may have affected my swing. For example, I tend to stop my body rotation too early in the backswing causing my arms to become disconnected from my body. I’ve been told to put a glove under my right armpit or left armpit or both, make a bigger hip turn in the backswing and just plain “don’t swing that far back”.

    Through a trainer, I found I had a big restriction in neck rotation. I could only turn my head around 45 deg. So I’ve been working on this and doing some neck stretching and mobility exercises for last few weeks. I can already see a big difference in my backswing pivot and arms are staying connected more. Tempo has naturally become more even instead to rushing the transition as my arms get disconnected.

    I don’t think golf coaches need to be physical therapists but I think they should do a rudimentary mobility screen before they start teaching the swing. Some anatomical movements in golf are close to end range for most people. These include hip internal rotation (especially the left hip for right handed golfers as we follow through), thoracic rotation, cervical rotation, and right shoulder external rotation (watch Ben Hogan during transition). These at least should be looked at.

    I think part of the reason that most coaches are “tips” based is because of the golfing public who don’t see the value in long term lessons and just want a quick fix. Compare this to something like playing a musical instrument. If you took up playing the guitar, you’d likely have weekly lessons until certain level has been attained and then still have regular catch up lessons afterwards. Why is golf any different?

    Sorry about the long rant but I’d love to see the level of coaching stepping up a level in general.

  2. #76
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    Was there more in add about stealing your clubs after and hocking them on Gumtree to pay for Meth????
    Hit Them Well or Hit Them Often

    W.I.T.B


  3. #77

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    I've never had lessons from a pro... Don't intend to either. Most of my family are low handicap golfers and all of them only concentrate on a few basic things so I sort of follow those couple things. Even pros have there swings changed a fair bit due to different coaches or injuries whatever. My swing is no where near perfect, but I can repeat it and work it to shape my shots. I know this advise doesn't help much but rather than worry about a bunch of things I'd say work on bigger flaws and just aim for concistency

  4. #78
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    Jono how have you got on with your coach? Would be interested to hear your progress.

    I've had a couple of lessons from Michael Sund at Yarra Bend; hcp has dropped and he's a good bloke too! I've heard good things about the other coaches down there as well.
    Last edited by bongoey; 2nd April 2019 at 05:27 PM.

  5. #79
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    .

  6. #80
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    I’m seeing two coaches atm.

    1) club teaching pro for playing lessons followed by a supervised practice session. I do this about once every 4-8 weeks. He’s really helped me focus more on playing golf on the course rather than the golf swing, particularly choice of shots around the greens.

    2) Ray Hawkins at Precision golf. He’s got wealth of experience and has the tools as well (flightscope, my swing catalyst and pressure sensors). He’s helped me with technique and helped me develop a more consistent swing.

    GA is 7.0 atm but I feel like I can go lower. I’m certainly enjoying playing more than I used to.

  7. #81
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    I just got an email from Gankas Golf. His new platform is close to being released and appears to be a monthly/annual subscription type service with the traditional tiers of Bronze, Silver, Gold.

    If you check out the link below it shows a community, an app for tracking your stats and the basic outline of the subscription tiers.

    I’ve been waiting for this so keen to find out more.

    https://georgegankas.golf

  8. #82
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    Quote Originally Posted by BUSHY View Post
    I just got an email from Gankas Golf. His new platform is close to being released and appears to be a monthly/annual subscription type service with the traditional tiers of Bronze, Silver, Gold. If you check out the link below it shows a community, an app for tracking your stats and the basic outline of the subscription tiers. I’ve been waiting for this so keen to find out more. https://georgegankas.golf
    I had a quick look. Seems like a “DIY” type deal rather than getting any online lessons from George.

  9. #83
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jono View Post
    I had a quick look. Seems like a “DIY” type deal rather than getting any online lessons from George.
    He offers online lessons already and the link is at the bottom of the page, although he has a bit of a waiting list I think.

    I’m keen to see how they’re priced, his lessons are $200USD.

    I guess from what I’ve seen online and watching his videos if you’re looking for a ‘quick fix’ (which I know you aren’t) this isn’t the way to do it. What he says makes a lot of sense to me and I’ve used it to good effect.

    Some info below.

    https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussio...online-lessons

  10. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jono View Post
    I’m seeing two coaches atm.

    1) club teaching pro for playing lessons followed by a supervised practice session. I do this about once every 4-8 weeks. He’s really helped me focus more on playing golf on the course rather than the golf swing, particularly choice of shots around the greens.

    2) Ray Hawkins at Precision golf. He’s got wealth of experience and has the tools as well (flightscope, my swing catalyst and pressure sensors). He’s helped me with technique and helped me develop a more consistent swing.

    GA is 7.0 atm but I feel like I can go lower. I’m certainly enjoying playing more than I used to.
    Jono, are your two coaches communicating with each other? Cant imagine anything worse than two coaches going in opposing directions.

    I have an acquaintance who is a pro, he gets frustrated from the other side, most people want a quick and easy fix and won't invest long term in the progress.

    Personally I prefer to work on my own thing with occasional input from a local pro. There are no local pros that I trust with my game. Have looked online at lessons but at the moment I think I know my next step, once that is done (probably 6 months away) I may invest online to work out next steps.

    That said the Gankas thing intrigues me, I steepen the shaft in the downswing and swing nearly the opposite of what he seems to prefer and would like a bit of that in my game.

  11. #85
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    I'm a 747 man myself but I do love to felt the elbow fly when I really need to nut one.

  12. #86

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    Are there any coaches in Sydney / Oz that teach what Gankas teaches?

  13. #87
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    Quote Originally Posted by serrz View Post
    Are there any coaches in Sydney / Oz that teach what Gankas teaches?
    Doubt it Dave, but I’m sure a few follow him on insta etc....

  14. #88

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    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Nemo View Post
    Doubt it Dave, but I’m sure a few follow him on insta etc....
    Mate, gripped down today and it definitely helped! 5 birds (offset by 3 wipes). Need a Gankas coach to get some more distance!

  15. #89
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    Quote Originally Posted by serrz View Post
    Mate, gripped down today and it definitely helped! 5 birds (offset by 3 wipes). Need a Gankas coach to get some more distance!

  16. #90
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    Just a quick update ...

    I had to sit down and rethink about what I was trying to achieve with my golf after what was in my mind a disappointing club champs in May.

    I was so score focused that the game was no longer enjoyable. 4 consecutive rounds of stroke play pretty much broke me mentally.

    When I thought about what made golf fun (apart from the social side), it wasn’t the score. The case of “its not how, it’s how many” is not why I got hooked on this game. I want to improve my ability to hit shots, be it a long straight drive, crisply hit iron shot, a spinning chip shot or a putt that rolls true where I aimed.

    I have changed coaches and my ball striking has improved a lot. I’m not focusing on the score at all on the course and the game is starting to become fun again. I’m swinging more freely and stopped doing band aid moves to stop hooking it or whatever. I think the scores will eventually follow.

    I’ve been carrying a half set bag sometimes and full set other times. Can’t wait for daylight saving and to start getting some twilight 9 holes in with 5-6 clubs ... 😊

  17. #91
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jono View Post
    Just a quick update ...

    I had to sit down and rethink about what I was trying to achieve with my golf after what was in my mind a disappointing club champs in May.

    I was so score focused that the game was no longer enjoyable. 4 consecutive rounds of stroke play pretty much broke me mentally.

    When I thought about what made golf fun (apart from the social side), it wasn’t the score. The case of “its not how, it’s how many” is not why I got hooked on this game. I want to improve my ability to hit shots, be it a long straight drive, crisply hit iron shot, a spinning chip shot or a putt that rolls true where I aimed.

    I have changed coaches and my ball striking has improved a lot. I’m not focusing on the score at all on the course and the game is starting to become fun again. I’m swinging more freely and stopped doing band aid moves to stop hooking it or whatever. I think the scores will eventually follow.

    I’ve been carrying a half set bag sometimes and full set other times. Can’t wait for daylight saving and to start getting some twilight 9 holes in with 5-6 clubs ...
    Good to hear your back on the right path,nothing more frustrating than golf.I think that the majority of golfers playing club champs have a vision of shooting low rounds and being in contention,bit the reality is only a very few from each club realise the dream.I was so focused on getting better that nothing happened.I didn't do anything that made a difference,and that lead to frustration.Eventually ball striking went south,pennants became a chore and I lost the competitive spirit.So then I jist went out and played golf,dont worry about the scores,just enjoy the banter in the group and the 19th.Still nothing changed much in regards to scoring,but I was starting to enjoy it again.Got a short game lesson and tips a month ago,I had now found something I wanted to improve.So now I am enjoying golf as a social event rather than worrying about the scoring,with a focus on improving something in the game

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk


 

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