I hope you had a great day wherever you are and thank you for the comments, text messages and positive feedback from yesterdays post. It was very cold here as I woke up to 16 degrees outside and I don’t think it got our of the 30’s which is cold for North Carolina. Of course my 14-year-old son has played golf the last 2 days but he rarely misses a day and he is off school but that is for another blog. I had a junior golf meeting this morning and gave one lesson inside “the dojo” hitting into the net which isn’t bad training. On Sunday I leave for Orlando for the PGA Show, for those of you who don’t know, its our big trade show where anything in the world of golf can be found. For me as an instructor, I look forward to seeing what is new in the training aid, video software or 3D motion capture world but mostly my time is spent catching up with old friends, networking with new friends and attending seminars for continuing education. Always trying to find that one or two nuggets that I can take back and implement in my teaching or at my facility. I am looking forward to several of the proponent group sessions and the Foot-Joy/Boditrak seminars but typically I learn more in the hall way/dinner discussions that are so valuable when I have the chance to spend time with other top instructors.

Twitter and New Social Media Platforms

Over the years I have tried most of the social media platforms and always tend to go back to twitter, Facebook, you tube and my blog for communication and learning. Since my goals have changed and I am in a different place in my career, I have backed off on twitter a little unless I really have something to share of say. It is still the fastest and best way to communicate, build relationships and stay up with the world (depending on who you follow of course). Lately I have been spending more time on instagram and snap-chat which have been interesting. I don’t think these are just for kids as I think they can be great vehicles if used appropriately. I typically post swing or putting videos of some of my students to highlight their hard work on instagram and can link them to other sites if needed. Still messing with snapchat (golfguru1). Most people just post funny stuff in their lives and what is going on but I think it can be an effective marketing tool, even though the videos and pics disappear after a day. Live streaming has become popular with Mearkat leading the way and now Periscope. Periscope is starting to be used by golf instructors to allow you to watch them work while being able to post comments and questions which I think can be valuable. The problem is in order to be most effective (in my opinion) there needs to be someone else holding the camera while you work or it is unrealistic and not as authentic. Still a pretty cool app that I will be using from time to time. I think it works best for a q and a session (face to face) or in a seminar setting. I have enjoyed how Jason Glass, fitness/TPI expert has used it as a daily show of sorts (Coach Glass TV) @jasonglasslab to share information with golfers and fitness trainers. Check him out if you get a chance. I did a show with a couple of my friends, @dennissalesgolf and Derek Radley earlier in the year talking about junior golf and college recruiting which I thought went well.

Lots of golf instruction questions floating around on twitter and Facebook such as “should the trail leg stay flexed or should it extend?” Are we really talking about this still? What is the proper footwork and how should be use the ground (grf’s). I have my thoughts but will save them for another time. Also, after watching the last couple of tour events, I think the golf commentators should seek out at least a general idea of the latest information in order to speak intelligently about some topics as they attempt to describe a golf swing…Brutal! Frank Nobilo at least tries to get the answers which I appreciate. Don’t even get me started about this Old School vs. New School debate….which will likely be my next workshop presentation (I hope you are signed up for Guru Workshop 5 on March 28th…if not click here  (shameless but necessary). Rant over!

Ok. Use the hashtag #askguru and Leave me some questions on twitter, instagram or snapchat or in the comment section and I will answer them on my next blog via text or video. Thanks so much for reading and don’t be afraid to use a share button at the bottom

Come and say hey in Orlando! See you soon

Guru