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Gurus 2014 Top Teacher Twitter List

December 31, 2014

Another great year has flown by and I hope you have had time for reflection and have taken some time off to recharge. For me its been a great year of learning, growing in many areas of my life and hard work. New relationships were formed and current ones were made stronger which is what it’s all about. When my time on this earth is finished, I hope that my legacy wont be remembered by the material things, awards or lists that I might have made BUT by the relationships that I have built and other people who I have affected in a positive way. As Zig Ziglar says,”If you can help as many other people get what they want, you can have everything that you want…If you are interested” We don’t do nice things for other people to get something in return or for what you GET but because it is the right thing to do as a person and for what you BECOME. So many of you on this list I can now call a good friend and it all started here on “twitter.” I have learned so much and it has created so many opportunities for all of us. Before I get to the new inductees of the Top Teacher Twitter List I want to give a shout out to my amazing staff for without you I would be nothing. Maggie Simons, who just made top 50 US Kids instructor has done an amazing job this year stepping in as junior golf leader. I am so proud of your growth as an instructor and big things are ahead. Hard to believe that we could grow anymore but we did. With the help of Ryan Dailey and Matt Reagan, IGROW junior golf has taken our program to another level. I recommend you check this out as it is a definite game changer. Also congrats to Matt Reagan for winning the Youth Development Award for the Carolinas PGA section. Back to back for the IGROW team. Great to see your hard work paying off. Secondly, my addition of Josh Spragins has been a home run. If I haven’t learned anything over the years it been how to hire great people and Josh is no exception. He is going to be a superstar and brings a wealth of knowledge to our team with a great work ethic. If you are down at the show or visit the club, I hope that you get to meet Josh. Now I have to get him tweeting more :)….which is job requirement when you work for me.

GOAL OF THE LIST.….

To highlight individuals that are ACTIVE on twitter and doing the following: 1) sharing quality content 2) engaging with other coaches and golfers…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 the list You must have at least 3000 tweets. Next year it will be 4000 so if you didn’t make the list, get to tweeting. Make it a goal next year to reach out to these people and learn from them. Click on their names, follow them and add them to your lists. Thanks for all your support this year and I hope to see everyone in Orlando for #tweetup15!

Congratulations to our 16 new inductees to this years list. There were a few that were just short that I feel will make it next year and will receive honorable mention……. Also there were a few that were on last years list that didn’t make the 3000 that are on probation:)

James Hong @jameshonggolf 5461
Brandon Roby @brobypga 4090
Allen Burton @docattherock 3015
Preston Combs @pcombs21 5016
Rodd Slater @roddslaterpga 5071
Brandi Jackson @bjacksongolf 5512
Jeff Pierce @thejeffbhf 4329
Martin Park @parkythepro 17,100
Jason Birnbaum @birnbaumgolf 3247
Jason Guss @jasongussgolf 3381
Phil Kenyon @swashputting 6552
Tom Motley @motleygolf 12,300
Sarah Bennett @sbennettgolf 3396
Peter Brown @zippybrown2 9976
Frank Guastella @fgcards 6314
Maggie Simons @maggiesimons 3071

John Graham @johngrahamgolf 68.6K
Sara Dickson @sara_pga 28.2k
Jason Helman @jasonhelmangolf.com 8219
Rob McGill @golfprorob 12.7K
Kirk Oguri @kirkoguri 24.4K
Andrew Marr @andrewmarrgolf 10.8K
Dennis Sales @dennissalesgolf 14.5K
Andrew Rice @andrewricegolf 8115
Mike Fay @mikefaygolf 15.4K
James Ridyard @jamesridyard 14.2K
Vikki Vanderpool @vvanderpool 7168
Mark Sweeney @aimpointgolf 5933
Brad Redding @bradreddinggolf 7268
Ed Bowe @bowegolf 7392
Mark Durland @durlandgolf 4503
Andy Griffith @andygriffiths1 7574
Ryan Chaney @oraclerio 15.6K
Rick Grayson @rickgraysongolf 5977
Ryan Crysler @ryancrysler 21.5K
Josh Boggs @boggspga 4004
Hugh Marr @hughmarr 6000
Erik Barzeski @iacas 8538
Mitch Walz @walzygolf 8455
Robert Campbell @rcampbellgolf 2779
Petri Parviainen @piiter77 11000
Ian Peek @ianpeekgolf 9269
Jamie Donalson @golfdonaldson 9675
Keith Stewart @kjpga 4270
Matt Diederichs @mattdgolf 24.5K
Blake Graham @blakegrahampga 19.6K
Denise Hastings @hastingsgolf 2729
Brett Packee @brettpackeegolf 6610
Joe Mayo @trackmanmaestro 10.8K
George Connor @connorgolf 4098
Denis Pugh @Dpugh54 5803
Derek Hooper @derekhoopergolf 3173
TJ Yeaton @tjyeatongolf 3597
Chris Gibson @chrisgibsongolf 5094
Jesse Struebing @jstruebs 7700
Kate Tempesta @KTUrbangolf 3390
Andy Gordon @andygordongolf 4821
Martin Park @parkythepro 17100
Kevin Flynn @kflypga 8494
James Martin @James_W_martin 3106
Meindert Jan Boekel @BKLGolf 6030
Donal Scott @donalscott 5723
Michael Balderstone @mjbalderstone 3274

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 15,000 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 3000 members/teaching pros to the first LIVE forum at the PGA show. This year is number 3 and should be worth checking into. 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 2014 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)

Josh Jeffers, Corey Lundberg, Megan Padua, Josh Spragins, Eric Corgorno, Tim Cooke, Scott Chisholm, Tom Stickney, Cameron McCormick, Adam Ohsberg

Thanks so much for reading and feel free to share!

Guru @golfgurutv 17.6K

Golfers….Stop Majoring In the Minors!! Keys To Being A Better Student

December 23, 2013

I haven’t posted anything new in a while and received an excellent topic from one of my twitter friends, Blaze Grinn (click to follow him on twitter), which is “How to keep your students on task?” I know I post a lot about how we can get better as coaches and teachers but this is about the students and ” How To Be A Better Student.” If you are out there trying to get better at this crazy game, how do you do it? This is an important question that you need to ask as we get ready to start a new year and golfing season. We all set goals and expectations but I can tell you that you must assemble a quality team to have any chance to achieve them. The first person you need to hire is your golf teacher. One that you trust, has the knowledge and expertise to answer your questions but more importantly is willing to be a part of your plan to achieve your goals. So here are some important ideas that have to be considered before you take a lesson.

A Commitment Level That Matches Your Goals

1. Expectations Must Match Commitment – One of the first questions that I ask every student after establishing a specific goal is “How much time do you have to practice and play?” For example: If you are a 16 handicap and want to be an 8 handicap by years end and you are able to practice once a week and play once on the weekend then you are not being realistic. It’s like myself starting to work for your sales force and wanting to break all of your records but only wanting to work the standard 40 hours a week. It isn’t going to work, so be realistic and share BE HONEST with your coach so you can set goals that you can achieve.

2. Trust Your Coach No Matter What – Your coach has your best interest at heart and I would encourage him to lay out the plan for your improvement and be specific. If might look like, (takeaway, pivot, path) = push draw that doesn’t cross target line (goal). Or it may be a short game or putting specific plan. Whatever it is, you must stick to the plan. If it is not on the list, don’t waste time worrying about it because YOU think it is the right thing. (you are not the expert)

3. Looks can be dangerous – One of the things that I have learned from teaching with Trackman is that impact alignments are always more important than the look of a swing. I understand that there are position changes that often need to be made in order to change ball flight but it is about a repeatable impact condition that is important. It is up to the coach to discern whether you can achieve the goal with your individual move and if it is worth changing. Don’t change for a picture but rather a result that will hep you play better. Most of the time students fall into the trap of trying to look like someone they saw on TV or in a magazine or better yet one of their playing partners. Clarification by the coach is important is this respect and is necessary to make sure you are working on what is important instead of what is perceived to LOOK good. Example: If some coach would have tried to change Jim Furyks’ position at the top, we may have never heard of him. It is a good thing that his father figured out that he was repeating where it is important and didn’t change it.

4. Stay Focused On The Majors – When taking a lesson it is important to not try to get ahead of the teacher of out think the process. Stay focused on the couple of things that the instructor has you working on and that’s it. Typically lessons fail because the student has a hard time letting go of what they thought they should be working on instead of focusing on what the teacher is trying to get you to focus on. STAY ON TASK! This is why video can be dangerous for some students because they try to pick apart what they had in their mind as the perfect swing. Your coach must guide you to look at ONLY what is important (Major). If they don’t mention it, let it go!

Give Constant Feedback

As much as your instructor is trained in reading your body language, your verbal feedback is crucial to the success of the team. (you and your instructor). It starts with sharing your injuries, past surgeries and aches and pains. I love it when I ask this question at the beginning of the lesson and I get nothing, only to find that the student had surgery on their left knee. No wonder they were having trouble getting their weight forward at impact. Even though you think it is not affecting your motion, let your coach decide as he evaluates your move. Most of the time it matters and you don’t realize it.

5. Share Feels and Observations – There is nothing worse than a quiet student in a golf lesson. Whether the shot is good or bad, giving constant feedback on how you liked the shot or what it felt like is valuable information for the coach. Otherwise we are only assuming and trying to read body language. The words that you use to describe each shot and how it felt gives your coach a clear indication on your learning style and what drills, type of language or external cues to use for your progression.

6. Keep a Golf Journal – With all the technology that we have to help us play and learn better, I still see value in the “old school” act of journaling. I encourage my students to get a notebook and write down everything from: What they took from each lesson (confirm with your coach), what drills they did in practice and how did they feel, to what didn’t work in their practice session. Failures can teach us some very important lessons that will help us improve. I believe that writing can help organize your mind and help you to stay on task which will help you……….wait for it…….

Major In The Majors!

Stick to what is important and stop worrying about what isn’t part of the plan. Lets have a great 2014 and I hope you all reach your golfing goals.

Please leave you comments below with your thoughts and don’t be afraid to share and follow me on twitter @golfgurutv

Merry Christmas,

Guru