Why Golf Instruction Doesn't Work

Golf "Instruction" is an Oxy-Moron
No sport on earth has as many "training aids", "swing gurus" and "tips" to try and help you improve. With the amount of money spent on improving equipment technology and studying the motions of the swing one would think there would be a "cure for the common swing" by now. But, like the common cold, we are no closer to finding a solution to this ailment than when we began. We can send someone to the moon and back but have yet to figure out a way to get rid of a slice. A car can run on solar power but hitting a five yard draw is an elusive mystery for most. Golfers seek out every latest teaching fad, instructional tip and equipment breakthrough as if it were the cure for cancer, hoping that "this will be the one." Sadly, it never will be. Golf instruction by itself will never make you a good golfer, especially today's instruction. Neither will hitting all the balls in the world using every training aid ever made with the latest and greatest in equipment. A sound golf swing is attainable, but you must go down the right path to find it.

One of the greatest ironies of life is the constant search for answers and meaning. People spend their entire lives searching for some cosmic truth as to why we are all here and what our purpose in life is, just the way golfers spend countless hours on the range or reading books or watching TV for that one tip that will change their golf game forever. This insatiable desire to hit good golf shots creates a market for the countless training aids and golf instructors who can charge $5000 for a morning of their time, yet can guarantee absolutely nothing in return. It takes most golfers an entire lifetime to realize, much like happiness, you can't "buy" a good golf swing. So how does one attain a good golf swing? Are some just doomed to slicing because of a lack of talent or athleticism? No more than they are doomed to a life of sadness are they doomed to a life of poor golf.

So what is the cure to the slice? What is the "secret" to hitting 300 yard drives? Sadly, because you have read this far, it means that you are still looking for that one secret tip that all good ball strikers know and you don't. You are still looking externally for answers when you had them all along. The cosmic joke of the universe is that the answers to all your questions about life, peace, happiness and a good golf swing have always been right in front of your eyes. The secret is that there is no secret. The second you stop trying to understand the golf swing at an intellectual level is the very moment in your golfing career that you open yourself up to your true golfing potential. The golf swing is much like Zen, it can't be taught, only experienced. If I tried to explain to you with words what Zen or love or happiness are, they would never suffice. There are no exact words to accurately describe how to make a proper golf swing just as there are no words to describe what love is. If you try and explain what love is to a computer it will never understand because love is not logical, but a human who has experienced love can fully comprehend what love is without any words being said. If someone were to try and "teach" a human how to love, it would never work because words cannot replace the experience. In much the same way, NO ONE can explain to you how to swing a golf club and guarantee you will "get it". There are some things that can be put into words just as there are some words that can describe happiness. But to truly understand happiness you must first experience it. So, how can anyone ever expect to learn the golf swing?

A good golf instructor is one who understands that the technical aspects of the golf swing are never the sole focus of learning, no more than a Buddhist monk would be expected to attain enlightenment by learning the details of "how to" meditate. A Zen master would act as a guide to the monk, passing along wisdom and experience, not just "technical" details. But first, the Zen master must experience enlightenment for himself, how else could he guide someone down a path that clearly cannot be explained with words alone? How can someone learn to love from someone who has never loved? In much the same way, taking lessons from a golf instructor who can't strike the ball like a master and focuses only on the technical details guarantees you one thing - that you are missing half the picture.

When instructors are asked to describe the golf swing, it often sounds something like this. A golfer addresses the ball with it positioned just off the left instep and the club resting directly behind it. The shaft of the club should be near vertical with the ball positioned off the center of the club face. To start the swing, the club begins moving back low and slow to the ground, maintaining the triangle established by the arms and chest. When the arms reach parallel to the ground, the club should be at a perpendicular angle to the arms, vertical to the ground. You get the picture. This goes on into infinity, with every single last detail technically explained. This is the level of understanding most golf instructors have of the swing today. The chances for someone successfully striking a golf ball following this "instruction" are about as good as someone being told how to love in the same manner and having a successful marriage. It won't happen.

If someone were to ask me to describe the golf swing, I would say this. The golf swing is a natural, athletic and dynamic motion. That's it. That is my contribution to the overly complex world of golf instruction. How profound, no? No details, no technique, no lecture on the importance of a good grip. Not that these things are not important, but they are the tip of the iceberg and more of a pitfall than they are helpful. Those that get bogged down in the sludge of technique of how to swing a golf club will never truly understand how to swing a golf club.

There are dozens and dozens of so called "experts" of the golf swing. I even saw one person who says he earned his "doctorate of golf" from The Swing Machine. This person loves to talk about the angles and lines of the golf swing. This is how he teaches, by having students look at lines on a video monitor and getting a lesson in geometry. I suppose if you could carry the monitor around with you during a round of golf, it could be helpful. The golf swing is far less complex than most instructors would like you to believe. They teach you a very complicated two plane swing either because that is all they know or they want you to keep coming back for more lessons so they can make more money. I consider myself to be more like the renegade magicians who go and share the "secrets" of magic tricks so that all who want to truly learn, can. The "secrets" of the golf swing have run their course. My goal is and always will be to teach a golfer the golf swing in one lesson, and then I never want to see you again :-) If in one lesson I can't teach you everything you need to truly know about the golf swing and dramatically simplify your understanding of the swing, then you need to find a better instructor.

If you have realized some truths about golf and want to improve your game, not just your technique, email me: