Nothing like throwing PGA professionals under the bus.....Very nice
I didn't say "PGA professionals." As you probably know, one doesn't need to be a PGA member to be a golf instructor or a pro. Most of the PGA members around me don't really teach - they're shop guys, directors of golf, head or assistant pros, etc. And a good number of the instructors around me aren't in the PGA. And some of the best instructors I can name aren't in the PGA.
I stand by what I said. Most instructors and coaches aren't staying current. They're not taking the effort to advance their understanding of the game. They're teaching the same things they've been teaching for 30 years. They're bad at prioritizing. They throw out 10 or 12 things in a lesson and in the hopes that something sticks. And this hurts the golf instruction industry.
Why be afraid to be critical? I'm not. Mr. Doak famously expressed (and continues to express) his opinions. He wasn't afraid of saying what he felt was the truth (to him), even before he'd really established himself. If someone said "most golf courses have lousy architecture," would anyone here bat an eye? Golf is expensive. Golf instruction is expensive. I'd love it if the level of golf instruction was higher than it is. It's being raised, and it's better now than ever, and I don't see that growth or trend stopping. We have more tools, more information, more understanding, etc. at our disposal. For those who want to better themselves, the opportunities are there.
There are some lousy Spanish teachers. I suspect that I'm not one of them. However, each year that I have my assessment, I confront areas of weakness. Fortunately for me (that I'm aware of) there is no Spanish Teacher Atlas, where my flaws are exposed.
Because you care, because you address and confront areas of weakness, you're almost surely nowhere
near even average, Ron. In golf, many have remained at the same level as they've always been. They don't care enough to advance in their own abilities as an instructor.
Is it possible to change course, and ask if/how his teaching allows golfers to appreciate/solve the puzzle of golf course architecture?
I think my answers there disappoint most folks here. I think that every golfer can pretty much reduce the "puzzle" down to something that's pretty simple. It'll vary slightly from golfer to golfer, depending on their length, skills, preferences, etc. but scoring in golf is very close to a "solved" problem. We're pretty well aware of "how good you can get" at some things, like putting (i.e. nobody will ever be good enough to make 90% of their 10-foot putts for any extended period of time playing real golf courses in the real world), etc. So you can pretty easily break down the probabilities of scoring from different shots and different areas, as myself, Broadie, Fawcett, etc. have done.
I appreciate golf course architecture for two reasons, primarily:
- Just the general beauty of what you're looking at, or the exhilaration, or the awe at what man or nature can envision or create.
- I enjoy overcoming the difficulty, in feeling a sense of accomplishment, particularly when a hole happens to be designed in such a way that the ideal strategy isn't the most obvious. If a golf course can ask enough questions of you, without just bludgeoning you over the head with difficulty - if it can reward good shots (not all, but mostly) and punish bad shots (not always, but mostly) appropriately, you can measure yourself and the work you've put in and your play and decisions, and feel good about yourself when you meet that challenge.
(These somewhat explain my feelings about Tobacco Road - while TR is very good at 1, in that it's painterly, abstract, interesting, unique, etc. - I don't feel it does the second all that well.)
But anyway, yah, most of the time the decisions are pretty simple. Sometimes, you can still have a good challenge, even with a clear decision… but you still have to pull off a shot. What's the strategy on the 7th at Pebble Beach? It's pretty clear - hit the green. But how you do that still presents a challenge and an opportunity to play a shot you feel good about playing. Do you chip an 8I? Full sand wedge? Where to aim in this cross-wind? Even when the decision is clear, golf can still present an interesting challenge to you. Plus the 7th at Pebble is good at #1, too.
Of course it does not hide the fact that those who cannot do, teach.
I had typed more, but suffice to say, this is a tired old saying that's flat out wrong far more often than it's right. Increasingly so, too.
It isn't throwing anybody under the bus to say that if they aren't constantly trying to stay current with research and technology that they probably aren't very good at what they are doing, or at least not as good as they could be. It's a reality; harsh to be sure, but a reality.
I don't even use all of those tools in literally every lesson I have. You don't often need to know the exact AoA of a 22-handicapper who is still learning to find the club face. They're tools, just like a golf course architect doesn't always use certain architecture features, or certain landscaping equipment, on every hole, or even every course.
You're right, AG, that my point is that there are too many instructors who, IMO, are not doing much if anything to advance their understanding of the game. It's disappointing, and it drags the instruction industry down.
a member I did not recognize came up and told me "your lesson didn't work"A bit confused, I asked him when I had given him a lesson...he replied "I was in the stall next to you while you were working with Mr. Rabinowitz and the stuff you told him didn't help me at all"
Ha ha ha ha ha. I love it.
Thanks, Jeff.