jason sutton – Page 2 – The Golf Guru Show

“Guru’s Teaching and Coaching Workshop” on March 31st (Details Inside)

January 7, 2014

I am excited to announce that for the 3rd year, I will be hosting my teaching workshop at Carmel CC on Monday, March 31st. I started this workshop 3 years ago where I presented by myself. Year 2 I started to add top teachers like John Graham to come and present which brought it to whole other level. This year I am proud to be joined by Andrew Rice, Director of Instruction at Berkeley Hall in Hilton Head, SC. This will make for an exciting, interactive learning experience for all involved. The cost is 200.00 per person which includes lunch and (8) MSR Credits. The Theme of this year is: “Using todays technology and research with yesterdays language to help your students improve”

I have already had quite a response from pros from different states but I hope that the pros in the Carolinas take advantage of this outstanding educational opportunity. Here is more about your speakers and what will be covered:

Jason Sutton, Jason is the Director of Instruction at Carmel CC in Charlotte, NC and is the 2013 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year, will be hosting a workshop designed to take your teaching and coaching skills to the next level. Jason will share the knowledge acquired from over 23 years of teaching experience and thousands of hours on the lesson tee which will include his framework for teaching full swing and putting, keys to success through personal development and will also unveil his putting research using the SAM Putt Lab data and how to use it to help your students improve their putting. Jason utilizes technology such as TrackMan and SAMPuttLab to help his students improve at an accelerated rate.

John Graham. John is the Director of Instruction at Webster Golf Club in Rochester New York, Ranked #21 in New York by Golf Digest, A Senior AimPoint green reading Instructor that specializes in teaching putting. John will discuss the common myths in putting and green reading and share how to properly assess your students in a putting lesson coupled with SAMPuttLab data research on real life situations. He is also expert in social media and will share his story of how social media has helped him grow his business and how it can help you and your facility.

Andrew Rice , Andrew is the Director of Instruction at Berkeley Hall where his students learn to understand, and better control, the factors that influence the flight of their golf ball. He has been teaching golf for almost 25 years and uses current teaching technology such as TrackMan and Swing Catalyst to help golfers of all abilities improve. He is one of nine TrackMan Partners and is also a SwingCatalyst Ambassador.

Originally from South Africa, Andrew Rice has been involved with the game of golf for more than 35 years. Andrew will share his experience with teaching with TrackMan and Swing Catalyst to help his students improve.

What Will Be Covered

This will be an interactive day of mentoring, sharing and improving you’re teaching skills. Here are topics that will be discussed:

The 5 Mastermind Skills that every teacher should know – The CGA Framework
The art of moving and manipulation the student to create pattern changes
How to use technology such as Trackman, Swing Catalyst and SAMPuttLab to speed up the learning process
Understanding Ground Forces and how to teach it to your student
Teaching Putting at the Next Level – Learn the 5 Most Important Aspects of Putting and how to teach them
S.A.M. Putt Lab Data and research will be revealed that will dispel the “most common myth in putting”
How to use social media to drive business, create brand awareness and improve your teaching skills
An Introduction to AimPoint Green Reading and the most common myths that you must know as an instructor
How to set up a coaching programs to increase your bottom line and add value to your students

To sign up: Emal Me at jsutton@carmelcountryclub.org

Hope to see you at the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show!

Jason

2013 Guru’s Top Twitter Active Teacher List (The Ultimate FF)

December 29, 2013

As the end of 2013 draws near, it is a great time to reflect on our year but also to recognize people in our industry that help grow the game in so many ways. I hope that you all have accomplished your goals and are ready to set new ones for 2014. I have had an outstanding year thanks to so many of you and my outstanding team (Adam Ohsberg, Maggie Simons and Alex Van der linden). I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your efforts as I have learned so much from you and enjoy watching your continued growth as professionals and as outstanding people. Being recognized as the Carolina PGA Section Teacher of the Year is such a huge honor and I am so humbled by this award. Awards like this don’t happen without a lot of help and guidance from my mentors. The people who you choose to be around you says so much about who you are and what you stand for. I hope that the way I conduct myself has made a small impact on the attitude and direction that our industry is heading. The days of putting yourself in a little box, protecting the information and best practices that you have accumulated over the years and refusing to share it with anyone in the hopes that you may get ahead of the next guy is OVER. The days of sharing, discovering through continued research and mentoring others is what we must focus on going forward. Our game and the ones following in our footsteps are counting on us to set the example and share what has been passed down to us with them. This is the only way that we are to improve our skills as coaches and how we will be able to help guide the average golfer to improvement. This is the what I call the Cycle of Evolution For Growing the Game. Even though this list focuses on Twitter, the use of social media has grown in many ways and has allowed us as coaches a platform to provide golfers and other coaches with valuable information that will help us all grow and improve.

The Goal Of The List

The main goal of this teacher list is to highlight individuals that are ACTIVE on twitter and doing the following: 1) sharing quality content 2) engaging with other coaches and golfer…which means answering tweets, using debate in a healthy way (no bashing other teachers) 3) promoting and lifting up other coaches to improve and recognizing good work

Requirement To Qualify for List = Must have at least 2000 Tweets (as I promised from last year). Next Year will be 3000 minimum

It has been incredible to see the growth in the number of tweets and the number of followers from last years professionals. I have a couple of special categories for a few amateurs that are doing some great things and a couple of sport psychologists as well. I also am recognizing some of the coaches that I feel have a lot to share but didn’t quite make the tweet count. I hope this will motivate you to shoot some video, start a blog, reach out to some of these coaches that can help you. because they will be willing to help in many ways. I don’t want to hear the excuse that you are too busy teaching and that your lesson book is full. I am pretty sure that most of these folks are busy, I know that I am…..you just have to make it a priority and view it as important. Twitter should be a part of your improvement plan for 2014. Before I get to the list, Happy New Year and I hope to meet you all at the #tweetup13 in Orlando. So here you go…………………!!

Congratulations to the 18 new inductees that are the first on the list so you can click and follow them!

Number of Tweets

John Graham @johngrahamgolf 59000
Sara Dickson @sara_pga 26670
Jason Helman @jasonhelmangolf.com 6601
Rob McGill @golfprorob 10459
Kirk Oguri @kirkoguri 19576
Andrew Marr @andrewmarrgolf 10676
Dennis Sales @dennissalesgolf 11365
Andrew Rice @andrewricegolf 4884
Mike Fay @mikefaygolf 11091
James Ridyard @jamesridyard 12121
Vikki Vanderpool @vvanderpool 5243
Mark Sweeney @aimpointgolf 5104
Brad Redding @bradreddinggolf 6304
Ed Bowe @bowegolf 6489
Mark Durland @durlandgolf 2708
Andy Griffith @andygriffiths1 6250
Ryan Chaney @oraclerio 6912
Rick Grayson @rickgraysongolf 5237
Ryan Crysler @ryancrysler 20241
Josh Boggs @boggspga 2791
Hugh Marr @hughmarr 5069
Erik Barzeski @iacas 7865
Mitch Walz @walzygolf 7902
Robert Campbell @rcampbellgolf 2282
Petri Parviainen @piiter77 8496
Ian Peek @ianpeekgolf 7124
Jamie Donalson @golfdonaldson 8281
Keith Stewart @kjpga 2323
Matt Diederichs @mattdgolf 18400
Blake Graham @blakegrahampga 17200
Denise Hastings @hastingsgolf 2147
Brett Packee @brettpackeegolf 4772
Joe Mayo @trackmanmaestro 7879
George Connor @connorgolf 3237
Denis Pugh @Dpugh54 9737
Derek Hooper @derekhoopergolf 2193
TJ Yeaton @tjyeatongolf 2750
Chris Gibson @chrisgibsongolf 4196
Jesse Struebing @jstruebs 6739
Kate Tempesta @KTUrbangolf 3047
Andy Gordon @andygordongolf 4545
Martin Park @parkythepro 13254
Kevin Flynn @kflypga 6949
James Martin @James_W_martin 2671
Meindert Jan Boekel @BKLGolf 5722
Donal Scott @donalscott 4415
Michael Balderstone @mjbalderstone 3098

Here are a few amateurs that are doing a great job of growing the game through social media

1. Ricky Lee Potts –@rickyleepotts aside from the many talks that he has given at PGA shows and such about how to use social media, he is leading the way with his incredible Google + Golf (almost 10,000 members) group. He utilizes the group to promote teaching professionals with his Friday Foursome hangouts as well as sharing information with golfers all over the world

2. Nick Chertock – @golfprogress. Nick is an avid golfer that has started several groups on Facebook including the most popular (Golf Teaching Professionals) group which attracted over 200 top teaching pros to the first LIVE forum at the PGA show. Talking about thinking out of the box . You don’t want to miss this years as it is going to be awesome.

2. Rich Hunt – @richie3jack Rich is doing some incredible analysis on PGA tour stats that is changing the way golfers and pros are thinking about different parts of the game. Make sure you get his 2013 golf synopsis that can be found on his twitter page.

Sports Psychologists – Dr. Bhrett McCabe, PHD , Andy Morrison

Up and Coming Twitter Coaches (Guys and Girls that have alot to share and need to tweet more)

Corey Lundberg, Brandon Roby,Cameron McCormick, James Hong, Alex Pisano, Adam Ohsberg, Maggie Simons,Alex van der Linden, Megan Padua, Tim Cooke, Scott Chisholm, Allen Burton, Skip Maiwald, Tom Stickney, Travis Lloyd, Aaron Olson

Thanks so much for reading and feel free to share!

Guru

Talking Putting With Chris Foley on Lakes, Woods and Irons Golf Show – My Interview

July 13, 2013

Here is my interview with Chris Foley on his golf show in Brainerd, Minnesota. Thank you Chris for asking me to be on. In this interview we are talking about putting and S.A.M. Putt Lab training.

Interview with Chris Foley

Follow me on twitter @golfgurutv

Leave your comments below and don’t be afraid to use the share buttons below. Thanks for listening.

Guru

Sometimes A Simple Change In Putting Can Make A Big Difference

April 19, 2013

Thompson Claims Third Career eGolf Tour Title with Flawless Final-Round 65 at Ballantyne

Chris Thompson

By Stewart Moore

Charlotte, NC – Chris Thompson of Lawrence, KS entered the final-round of the weather-shortened Championship at Ballantyne Country Club on Thursday knowing he needed some magic in order to pick up his third career eGolf Tour title. The former Web.com Tour member and Kansas Jayhawk star more than delivered, posting seven birdies en route to a bogey-free 65 and a 36-hole total of 11-under 133, good for a two-shot victory and the event’s $17,000 first-place prize.

The Championship at Ballantyne Country Club was the fourth of 24 scheduled events on the 2013 eGolf Tour schedule, and was contested this week at Ballantyne Country Club in Charlotte, NC.

The week began with a seven-hour delay preceding Tuesday’s opening round, as heavy overnight and morning rain left the golf course unplayable until 3 PM in the afternoon. The extended delay pushed the completion of the first round into Wednesday afternoon, which in turn forced officials to reduce the event to 36 holes.

With only a handful of groups able to complete two rounds by late Wednesday night, second-round play resumed at 10 AM (after a one-hour frost delay) on Thursday morning, with players in the early wave returning to their holes from the night before, and players in the late wave teeing off accordingly thereafter.

Thompson entered Thursday’s final round trailing overnight leader Chris Epperson of Hilton Head Island, SC by five shots after posting a first-round 68 – 16 holes of which were played on Tuesday, with the other two being wrapped up on Wednesday morning.

Epperson, arguably the best player on the eGolf Tour without a victory, finished his 36 holes just before darkness set in on Wednesday night, notching rounds of 69-66—135 to set the overnight pace at 9-under par.

“I knew entering the day that I had to at least get to 9-under to have a chance, but a lot of it depended on what Brent (Witcher) was doing,” said Thompson of the tournament’s 18-hole leader. “I felt like, if I could get off to a solid start, there would be some birdie holes once I made the turn.”

Thompson began his final round on the back nine of the Rees Jones-designed course, posting pars on his first four holes to remain at 4-under for the week. A late surge of birdies on Nos. 14, 16 and 18 vaulted him to 7-under par, at the time just two back of Epperson’s lead.

“It was big for me to get that birdie at 18 because that set me up for the front nine,” said the 36-year-old Thompson.

Chris Epperson Chris EppersonThe front nine is where the former Jayhawk “All American” went to work, as birdies at the par-4 first and the par-4 second took him to 9-under par, finally tied with Epperson and at his minimum target score with seven holes still to play.

At the par-5 fifth, Thompson took his first lead of the tournament, posting his sixth birdie of the day to reach 10-under par for the week.

Just two holes later, at the watery dogleg-right par-5 seventh, he sealed his name on the winner’s check, posting one more birdie to reach 7-under for his round and 11-under overall. Pars on Nos. 8 and 9 gave the native Midwesterner a final-round 65 and an 11-under 133 tally in the clubhouse – all done without a single view of a leaderboard.

“I usually like to know where I’m at on the course, but with the rain-shortened event it was hard to tell,” said Thompson, alluding to the fact that players simply remained in their first-round pairings over two rounds. “I’ve played in enough Monday qualifiers where you don’t know how you stand, so I just kept trying to make birdies.”

Thompson, forced to wait roughly two hours to see if he would win, watched as literally zero players threatened his 11-under total. When the final group came to the table at 4:45 PM, Thompson had locked up his third eGolf Tour title, posting a two-shot win over Epperson.

“I really enjoy coming to the South and playing this tour,” said Thompson, who annually competes in four to six eGolf Tour events. “The courses are very good, and the fields are deep to the point where, if you win out here, you’ve played extremely well.”

Thompson’s win may not have come to fruition had it not been for a visit to noted golf instructor Jason Sutton at nearby Carmel Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

With nothing but time on his hands, knowing he wouldn’t begin round two until Thursday, Thompson and a friend went to Carmel to have Sutton take a look at his putting stroke, using the SAM Putting Lab in order to analyze his setup and path.

“I had been putting poorly all year long – honestly, last week (Irish Creek) was probably the worst I’ve ever putted,” said Thompson. “Jason made a few changes and suggestions, and I putted incredibly today. I felt like I couldn’t miss.”

The win was Thompson’s third since the 2010 season. In 2010, he claimed his first eGolf Tour title at the HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn, while win No. 2 came at the Columbia Open in May of 2011. He is now third on the eGolf Tour money list with $19,216 in earnings.

David Erdy David ErdyEpperson earned $10,000 for his runner-up finish, ascending to No. 1 on the eGolf Tour’s 2013 money list with $25,430 in earnings.

The runner-up finish marked the best of Epperson’s eGolf Tour career, which dates back to the start of the 2006 season. The former Armstrong Atlantic State golfer has now posted four top-4 finishes in four starts thus far in 2013, and owns a staggering nine top-4 finishes in his last 18 starts on tour – dating back to a solo-third-place effort at the 2012 Irish Creek Classic.

David Erdy of Evansville, IN finished in solo-third-place with rounds of 67-69—136. The former Indiana University golfer earned $7,280 for his efforts – the first made check of his eGolf Tour career.

Erdy nearly missed the tournament entirely when he showed up at 2:30 PM on Tuesday afternoon, thinking it was the day of the practice round (most eGolf Tour events start on Wednesdays). Erdy’s original tee time was 9:10 AM, which in most circumstances would have left him with a “Did Not Show” designation on the tournament scoreboard; however, given the seven-hour weather delay, he had arrived roughly an hour-and-a-half shy of his new 4:10 PM tee time.

Stefan Wiedergruen of Germany, Fielding Brewbaker of Salem, VA, Chip Lynn of Lillington, NC, Marty Jeppesen of Saline, MI and Bruce Woodall of Yanceyville, NC tied for fourth at 6-under 138. Each player earned $3,900.

• The tour would like to thank Ballantyne head golf professional Matt Saggio and his staff for their help in coordinating this inaugural event. A special thanks goes to Ballantyne head golf course superintendent Scott Cochran and his crew for presenting a wonderful venue for the week, and for putting in extra work to prepare the course around numerous delays. Finally, a special thank you goes to the members of Ballantyne Country Club for allowing the tour to utilize their club for the week, and for their tireless efforts in volunteering. Without their support, the event would not be possible.

• The eGolf Tour will take next week off before returning to action for the fourth annual Championship at St. James Plantation, to be contested at The Reserve Club at St. James Plantation in Southport, NC on March 27-30.

Guru

My Masters Week and Picks From A Proud Father’s Prospective

April 10, 2013

I am pretty sure that all fathers want to give their kids a life that they didn’t have as a child. In my case I am so fortunate to have two wonderful kids, Brittanie (13) and Nicklaus (11). At one time they both played golf but in the last couple of years, Nicklaus Palmer has really gotten the bug for this great sport. As a teaching professional are kids are often looked at as that they are supposed to be golfers and they are supposed to be good at it just because their dad could play or teach. This isn’t always the case as we know and as we slip the parent hat on and take the coach hat off at times we have to make a decision, how much should we push our kids into golf? In this unusual place we run the risk of having the child hate the game forever and often times maybe resent what dad does for a living as we are often away from the house more than normal dads are. In my case with Nick and Britt, I never pushed golf on them. I made a conscious effort to give them the opportunity but to never make it mandatory for them to learn. They both gravitated out of curiosity to the pee-wee clinics and junior clinics at the Dana Rader Golf School which at least game them a glimpse of what it was all about. They both started about 3-4 years old. As Brittanie got older and decided to not play golf any longer and Nick took a liking to football I didn’t think either one of them would grow to love golf as I did as a kid which was fine with me as long as they were happy and active I didn’t care.

THE TURNING POINT FOR NICK

Being in the same town as a PGA tour event is very cool and I would always take the family out the Wells Fargo Championship for the day to see the best in the world play. The kids enjoyed it and it soon lit a fire under Nicklaus as he would start to beg me to bring him to work so he could practice and play like (Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson). These guys really do have an influence on young people and I feel great that Nick has some outstanding role models including the members at Carmel Country Club that are so nice as he comes out to practice and play every chance he gets. We just finished up his spring break and he didn’t miss a day of practice at the club. The cool thing is I don’t have to ask him to practice, he just loves it. It has been so neat to see how much he has improved in the last year and a half as he plays his junior tournaments and drags me out onto the golf course whenever I can to give me a run. His first official US Kids tournament about 2 years ago he shot 116. Yesterday after attending the Masters Monday, he shot 35 for 9 holes from the white tees. Hard work paying off for sure as I have never seen a kid practice harder and try to gather information more for an 11-year-old. I keep giving him info and I can’t fill him up which is fun. So back to giving him more than I had……………………….I never had a country club to practice as the only country club that I had been the one I was working at and that has not changed and I never got to go to the Masters until I moved to the Carolinas in 1997 and I havent missed a year. So here is my latest Masters memory through the eyes of an 11-year-old for those who havent heard it yet (if you don’t follow me on twitter)

MY MONDAY AT AUGUSTA

It was a typical day that started at 4 a.m. as we traveled to Augusta. We were the first ones through the gate as we made our way to the perfect practice area and range to watch Nicks favorite player, Webb Simpson, warm up and head to the first tee. We walked around with Webb for his 9 holes and then proceeded to have a few pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches along the way as we watched the other players on the course practice and play. Nick was extra interested in the young 14-year-old from China as he was only 2 years older than him as he dreamed of playing Augusta at that age. The kid handled himself with maturity beyond his years. As the day started to wind down, we heard that Tiger was on the practice range so we headed that way. We watched Tiger hit some bunker shots and some putts as he headed out to play a late nine. Thinking our only chance of getting to see him for the last time we must go several holes out so we camped out behind #16 tee with some friends that I ran into. The crowd was getting enormous as they had the same idea of seeing number 1 in the world hit a couple of shots into the green. In the meantime, Peter Hanson from Sweden came up by himself to the tee. I struck up a conversation about the yardage and how I thought my son could hit that green if he had the chance. He couldn’t have been a nicer guy and not thinking it would ever happen, after he hit his shot to the green, he asked me what club would the boy need to hit a shot. Yes, he called Nick out onto the tee to hit a tee shot on #16 at Augusta. As he walked out I couldn’t help think of how nervous I would have been and how incredibly calm he seemed to be as he handed him his 6 iron and went through his pre shot routine like we have worked on a thousand times. Hit the pretty good shot under the circumstances with a crowd cheering like crazy. I couldn’t have been prouder and I can’t thank Mr. Hanson enough for creating such a lasting memory for a young passionate golfer. He obviously gets it! He also is now one of mine and Nicks favorite players for sure. As this was all going on, I completely choked with the video camera and only managed a picture. Luckily a great guy sitting beside me videoed the whole thing and put it on you tube. Enjoy the video and thank you for letting me rant as a proud father of both my kids. I love them so much. The only way it could have been better is if my wife, father and mother in law and my parents could have been there to witness it. Creating memories for sure!

My picks for this years Masters:

1. Justin Rose

2. Webb Simpson

3. Peter Hanson

4. Rory Mcilroy

5. Bo Van Pelt

Have a great week and enjoy the Masters

Guru

Putting – “The Art and The Science”

April 1, 2013

Is Putting an “Art or is it Science?” I think it is a little of both. I have always considered myself a pretty decent putting coach as I have spent time with some of the best trying to learn how I can help my students more with such a huge part of the game. As a teacher we have to inspire our students to practice and to be willing to make changes that will show up in their score. Two years ago I had taken my putting instruction as far as it could go until I was introduced to two pieces of technology…..AimPoint Green Reading and The S.A.M. Putt Lab. One for green reading and one for stroke mechanics and feel. I was now armed with a deadly combination that has taken my putting instruction to an entirely new level. I recently hosted and spoke at a PGA teaching seminar with my good friend, John Graham in which we focused on putting. John introduced AimPoint and I revealed some of the studies and findings of our S.A.M. Lab data that we have compiled over the last year. Thanks to my new assistant, Alex van der Linden (aka Poindexter the Golf Geek) for his expertise and helping me crunch the numbers we found some interesting trends and some valuable information that I think has helped us with our teaching. I won’t reveal all of our findings but want to focus on what I think is one of the most important part of being a great putter……TOUCH and FEEL. We know that distance control is important but how do you teach. Just giving your student a series of drills is not the entire answer or it isn’t the one that satisfied me or John Graham.

Speed vs. Acceleration and A Myth Dispelled

One of the most frequent ideas that I hear the average golfer say that they are trying to do with their putting stroke is to ACCELERATE through the ball and follow through. They do this because they have the misconception that they always decelerate which couldn’t be further from the truth. Most of the golfers that we tested overaccelerated which means that their peak velocity happened after impact and peak acceleration happened just prior to impact. This makes it very difficult to control your speed. (see graph below)

What Good Putters Do

We found the opposite when testing PGA tour, LPGA tour, Mini Tour Players and top amateurs. they had constant speed control which included zero acceleration through impact. Good putters had a very flat top to their acceleration graph like the one below. Also I have posted a short video of a recent putting lesson that includes this common misconception as well as a few more helpful nuggets.

RESEARCH TO PROVE MY WAY OF FIXING THE PROBLEM

I believe that I have a way to change this pattern as I have had much success with my students. This way is easy to understand and is teachable through using the SAM Putt Lab to create the proper feel for the stroke. currently, Alex and I are doing a research project to test my theory to see if there is a distinct correlation between the profiles that we have seen and consistent distance control. Before I reveal my idea I would like to gather more data.

Follow me on twitter @golfgurutv

Here is the #makingeverthing

Guru

Guru’s Teaching Workshop with Special Guest John Graham

January 19, 2013

In the eve of my departure to the National Teaching and Coaching Summit and the PGA Merchandise Show, I wanted to announce that I would be hosting my second annual teaching seminar at Carmel Country Club on Monday, March 18th. I am also very excited to have John Graham as my guest speaker. John is from Rochester, NY and is the Director of Instruction at Webster Golf Club. He is also a Senior Aimpoint Green Reading Instructor and an expert in the world of social media. For those of you who don’t know Mr. Graham need to take this opportunity to meet one of the greatest minds in golf instruction today and a very good friend of mine. At this seminar I will discuss my teaching philosophy for the full swing and John and I will share lots of putting information. John and I have been doing some research using the SAM Putt Lab and have compiled plenty of data in the last year that we will share and discuss with the group. We will also be doing live lessons using the SAM Putt Lab and John will give you and overview of AimPoint technologies with some additional drills that you can share with your students. The cost is $100.00 and will run from 9:00 to 5:00. You will earn 5 msr points for your participation. I have an exciting day of learning and sharing quality golf information for you so I hope you can join John and I for this great event. Here is and overview of my program and how to sign up. I hope to see everyone in Orlando.

The 5 Mastermind Skills that every teacher should know – The CGA Framework
The art of moving and manipulation the student to create pattern changes
How to use technology to speed up the learning process
Teaching Putting at the Next Level – Learn the 5 Most Important Aspects of Putting and how to teach them
S.A.M. Putt Lab Data and research will be revealed that will dispel the most common myth in putting
Live Putting Lessons using the S.A.M. Putt Lab that will teach you how to move the numbers and help your students improve faster
How to use the 4 corners of social media to drive business, create brand awareness and improve your teaching skills
An Introduction to AimPoint Green Reading with drills to share with your students

Date: Monday, March 18th

Place: Carmel Country Club, 4735 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina

Cost: 100.00/person

Email Jason Sutton @jsutton@carmelcountryclub.org to reserve your spot

If you have any questions feel free to say hello at the PGA Show. I would love to meet you all.

Guru

The Guru On Maginnes On Tap SiriusXM PGA Tour

December 6, 2012

I wanted to share an interview that I did with John Maginnes on his XM Radio Show “Maginnes On Tap”. John was so nice to have me on his “Teacher Tuesdays” segment where we talk about AimPoint, D-Plane and take a few calls to help some of the listeners with their game. It was fun to do and I hope to be a guest on the show again soon.

https://www.box.com/s/6zfgct9d7rbab1q8ltdx

Feel free to share this post with any of the available buttons at the bottom and leave a comment below

Follow me on Twitter @golfgurutv

Guru

Stop Talking! I’m Trying To Learn

November 19, 2012

One of my favorite things to do in this business is to help young teachers perfect their craft. At the Carmel Golf Academy part of my training regimen is to observe my teachers and to video tape their lessons and watch them back with them. This is not an exercise to put them down or make them feel bad but to give them constructive criticism to help them improve. One of the biggest things that I had to learn as a new teacher was not to try to tell the student everything that I knew, which at the time wasn’t much! This is something that I preach to my staff constantly is knowing what to say, the language you use to say it and making sure you are 100% engaging the student and allowing them give you feedback. Most teachers talk to much in order to boost their ego and show the student that they know stuff which is not productive and definitely not a great way to gain the trust of the student. To gain the trust of the student you must LISTEN to them, carefully describe what you want them to learn and be open to positive or negative feedback in order to tailor the learning to the student. Results have to be a mutual decision or you may believe that they got better but if they don’t believe it then you’ve lost them. Check you EGO at the door coaches. So this article has nothing about the who has the best philosophy, or the certifications that you have acquired or who can read the trackman numbers the fastest…..This is about how do you deliver the most understandable message with the least amount of babble to get the quickest results from the lesson. That to me is what the great teachers do for the students I am sure you will agree from your lesson experience.

I was teaching a beginning women’s clinic the other day and invited one of my teachers to assist me. After the clinic was over, I asked him to evaluate me. He said,”I am always amazed about how little you give them but always make them improve and excited.” He said that before he thought he was cheating the student if he didn’t tell them or work on more stuff. I can see his point but the goal of the lesson is to improve and not to overload them with information. They will ask enough questions to keep you busy and even then you have to keep from self overload.

I googled “Teachers talking too much” and this is what I found: a part of the article –

It gets better–research has shown that students taught by active learning, on average, score a grade and a half higher than those who learn in traditional (boring) ways.

But, most teachers do not do use active learning. Why? I wish I knew.

Perhaps it is as Geoff Petty said so eloquently in his short explanation on active learning(doc file):

We tend to teach the way we were taught ourselves, rather than in the way that works best.
We know too much, and rather enjoy explaining.

Interesting… as this pertains to the classroom teachers but how can we apply this to teaching golf.

So we start with understanding how people learn the fastest. 1)Doing – feel 2)seeing – visual 3)hearing – auditory

So if the this is the priority of how people learn, why do we do #3 the most? hmmm. Because it is easy to tell someone but maybe more difficult to give them the other two which are more important. So here are some ideas on how to “Talk Less and Guide Learning Faster” and students pay attention because your coach needs you to give great feedback as well.

1. Interview well – Ask open-ended questions and be observant. I have a big list of questions that I ask a student in the interview but the big 3 are as follows 1)What is your main goal and what does it look like (specific) What is your big ball flight miss (shot that they can’t survive) and 3) What are you trying to do” (their model) close 4th is physical limitations of course. As they answer your questions (don’t interrupt or try to help them) observe where their eyes go and how they stand. kinesthetic players look down and visual players look up. Auditory players may go all over the place. Are they favoring one side and what are they wearing? (more on that later) This observation continues throughout the lesson as you explain, model or manipulate….notice where they are looking and continue to ask questions. Do they close their eyes or keep them open as you move them?

2) Watch Your Language – Every lesson is a presentation. After I video tape their motion and we are going through the swing, CHOOSE your language carefully and MEET them where they are. By now you should know the students background, who they have had lessons from (which is why you should study all methods), occupation and sports history so this should help you in explaining what exactly what you want them to see. (key) Don’t point out every fault or strange movement in their motion but only the things that you want them to see and that you want to focus on in that lesson. Especially people who this is their first time that they have seen their swing, it can be overwhelming so be careful. Depending on their lesson experience and background you will know the words you can use or can’t use. The average golfer isn’t going to know what the 3rd accumulator, p4 or spin loft means so you are constantly checking for understanding. “Do you understand what this plane line is for?” Use language that they can relate to without the ums, uhs and kind of’s so it is clear and concise. I highly recommend that you listen to your video analysis emails that you send to your students for evaluation to help you improve your presentation. So meet them where they are.

3) Learn To Model and Manipulate Properly – Once I have explained what we are going to work on, I either Model (visual) or Manipulate (kinesthetic). Neither of these exercises require a ton of verbage which is nice. In my opinion, manipulating or moving a student into the correct positions is a lost art. If you are standing behind the trackman or the video and telling the player to move a certain way and getting in there and moving the student around then you are doing them a disservice. I teach this to my staff. Where to stand and proper hand placement. When to exaggerate and when to be perfect. It is hard to explain without video or actually doing it but there is what I call shaft control and body control and they must be done correctly or the student will get poor feedback. Doing this in a mirror helps as well. I also recommend (PNF) which is moving the student in opposite direction of the error and having them to resist. This gives them the feedback that they need to move in a positive direction which ingrains the change much quicker. Moving them allows for the student to give you feedback on how it feels to them and that is invaluable. I don’t care what they say or how they explain it, that is the language that I use in the lesson because that it how they relate to it which is most important. (Less Talking More Listening)….starting to make sense. Modeling is simply demonstrating by hitting a shot or doing it slowly (my recommendation). Can be helpful for the student to see it in action.

I know this is more for the coaches but it is important for students to give great feedback and let your coach know what you want, how you learn the best and when you don’t understand something. A great teacher can use all that information by explaining it a different way so that you can understand it. Because you, the student are the most important part of this equation and if you feel you are getting left out you need to speak up.

Coaches: make it a point to tape yourself giving some lessons this off-season and make it a learning tool because I will be doing the same in order to improve. If we don’t get better, the game doesn’t grow.

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Golf Vacation Tips (Guest Post by Beth Myers)

November 8, 2012

As the season starts to wind down and have some time to reflect on the year, I promise that I will be doing some writing and shooting some videos to help play and teach the game a little better. Until then, I am always entertaining articles from guest writers. Here is another one from Beth Myers from East Coast Golf Sales. Thank you Beth for your submission.

Get Your Vacation on Track by Picking the Right Tracks

There are few things better than a golf vacation. First of all, vacations are great to begin with. Add in sunshine and golf courses you have never played and it is hard to go wrong. One challenge can be selecting which courses you are going to play. If you are heading to a

golf hotspot, there are likely dozens of choices to pick from, with a variety of designs and greens fees. In addition, some courses are friendlier to women players than others. Following are a few points to keep in mind when selecting your vacation golf stops.

– Keep it Easy. Even if you are a good player, nobody likes to get beat up on vacation. Choose courses that have relatively low slope ratings, and therefore are easier on your scorecard. Save the challenging tracks for a regular old Saturday – you are on vacation and should get to post a good score to go with your good mood.

– Research Pace of Play. One way not to spend your vacation is waiting for the

bandondunes3 — Bandon Dunes #1 on my list

group in front of you to get off the green. Check web forums and review sites for insight into pace of play issues on courses you are considering. If a particular course seems to have a slow play problem, skip it in favor of quicker options.

– Don’t Break the Bank. Vacations are not cheap, especially in the days of $4.00 per gallon gasoline. You do not need to stretch the budget even farther by playing super-expensive courses. You are going to have fun playing golf regardless of how much the greens fees are, so take it easy on the pocketbook. A good rule of thumb is to play one high end course on the trip, and play the rest of the rounds on less expensive tracks.

– Picture Perfect. You will want to have some photographic memories of your trip, so pick courses that have great natural scenery. A course near a mountain or lake will provide an awe inspiring day of golf, regardless of how well you play. Be sure to remember the digital camera and take a quick moment to get some great shots for the scrapbook once you get back home.

– Play With Others. If you are traveling with less than four golfers, always try to get paired up with another group at the course. In touristy areas, you are very likely to meet people from a wide range of places. This can be a great experience and makes for a fun day on the course chatting with someone from a different place.

Some of my favorite memories are from golf vacations. Golfers love trying new courses anyway – trying new ones far from home is even better. One other tip I have is try to play earlier in the day if possible. Sometimes an afternoon tee time can eat up your entire day and leave no time of other vacation activities. By getting up and playing early, you will probably have a better pace of play and finish your round with plenty of day left to explore.

Beth Myers is a passionate golfer, mother & wife…not in that order J. She writes for East Coast Golf Sales on all things women’s golf – you could say she is a little obsessed. Be sure to follow her on twitter @GolfBeth

What are your top 5 golf destinations? Leave your ideas in the comment section and feel free to share this article. Thank you Beth 🙂

You can follow me on twitter @golfgurutv

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