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A couple years ago a national golf magazine invited teaching professionals to analyze Phil Mickelson’s swing. At the time, the San Diego native had yet to break through and win his first major, and some analysts were attributing his struggles to a swing flaw. The instructors looked at everything from head to toe, and each one saw a different ailment. The main lesson learned, however, is that different teachers see different things. They’re all individuals with different points of view and philosophies about the swing. Like a doctor prescribing medicine to a patient, golf instructors offer different cures for what ails you. We asked 10 area instructors if they adhere to one teaching philosophy, and, if so, what it is. Do they teach everyone the same way? Do they value one part of the swing over another? How do they communicate their methods? All have been influenced by different experiences, including stunt flying, tennis, amusement parks and tiny electrodes embedded in shoes. One commonality, however, is that the best teachers never stop learning. They’re good at what they do because they’re students, too. Mardell Wilkins Communication is key to Mardell Wilkins. It’s a lesson she learned early in her golf career. “[The pro] couldn’t put his ideas into any language that I could understand, and I left that lesson very frustrated,” Wilkins said of one of her first experiences on the range. “When I started teaching, one of my main goals was that I didn’t want anyone to feel that way.” The Mission Viejo Country Club pro and former LPGA Tour player often talks about the golf swing in non-golf-related metaphors. When talking about swing plane, for example, Wilkins refers to amusement park rides to help students visualize what she’s talking about. In Wilkins’ world, golfers shouldn’t swing upright like a Ferris wheel or flat like a carousel; the swing should be angled like a Tilt-a-Whirl. Wilkins starts each lesson package with an interview to discover who the student is and what he or she does for a living. Delving deeper, she uncovers what kind of learner they might be. “An analytical person wants to know why things happen; an artist wants to see the big picture,” she said. Regardless, the lesson should be kept as simple as possible. “We [instructors] tend to make this game way too difficult,” she said. Scott Mahlberg Quick and productive are buzzwords for Scott Mahlberg’s teaching method, which is why the Stadium Golf Center and longtime San Diego teaching pro relies on video. “I don’t give a lesson without it,” he said. While some people are verbal learners, the majority need visual reinforcement, Mahlberg said. His students leave each lesson with a DVD of their session that includes their swing, an audio track and close-ups of important fundamentals, such as the grip, so they can reference what was worked on. When the student returns, Mahlberg adds the next lesson to the disc so progress can be monitored. “It’s all about creating the best learning environment,” he said. David Wright Proper setups and clear heads are crucial for students at David Wright’s Balance Golf Academy in Arroyo Trabuco. “Golf is two things: mental and physical balance,” Wright said. “Neither are what they appear to be. All I do is work on the fundamentals of both.” Wright, who holds two Ph.Ds in the field of psychology, has spent a lot of time researching how the smallest physical imbalance (foot flare, head position, etc.) affects the golf swing. He also has logged hundreds of hours at Dr. Frank Jobe’s biomechanics lab at Centinela Hospital in Los Angeles where his students wear shoe inserts with sensors to determine their balance points. “All these factors will change a player’s setup and balance,” Wright said. “And balance is equal to path.” Glenn Deck One thing leads to another. It’s more than a cliche to Glenn Deck. “My big thing is cause and effect,” said Deck, an instructor at Pelican Hill and Oak Creek golf clubs. “If you change one thing in your golf swing, it affects everything past that point.” Deck takes the lessons he learned from Jim Flick and Butch Harmon, as well as the many instructional books lining the shelves in his house, and applies them to his students. “The unique thing about golf is there’s not one model golf swing,” he said. “It’s like cars. Someone might drive a BMW and another person might drive a Yukon. They both go from Point A to Point B, but you have different parts for it to work. And that’s the biggest challenge for me. I don’t teach one certain style. I believe the danger of working with one certain style is that not everyone is going to fit into it.” Eddie Merrins Eddie Merrins flipped the golf world on its ear when he introduced “Swing the Handle” in 1973. At a time when most golf instructors and books focused on the hands and clubhead, Merrins likened the golf swing to a two-armed, backhand tennis stroke, and he still uses a tennis racket to drive home his point. “I’ll hold a tennis racket and golf club at the same time and swing them simultaneously,” said Merrins, who teaches at Bel-Air Country Club. “All of a sudden, you’re making a perfect golf stroke.” While that seems odd, it’s a simple method that is easy for students to understand, he said. “That’s the key to teaching and playing,” Merrins said. “If you complicate things, you make the game that much harder to play.” Rick Sessinghaus As a teaching pro, certified trainer and Ph.D candidate, Rick Sessinghaus offers instruction in the technical, physical and mental aspects of the game. “I like to help students understand that they’re not bad students because they can’t perform certain moves,” he said. Sessinghaus, who teaches out of Sessinghaus Performance Systems in Burbank, delves into the mental side of the game by asking each client why they play golf. The answer helps him evaluate their motivation and commitment. From there, a course of action is devised. But Sessinghaus admits he doesn’t have all the answers. “I don’t even try to pretend that I know the difference between shafts. I outsource that to clubfitters,” he said. “I want my golfers to play better golf and enjoy the game more. The more they enjoy it, the more they play; the more they play, the better they get. It’s a nice circle.” Jamie Mulligan Early in his teaching career, Jamie Mulligan emphasized feel and rhythm. These days, logic and physics have entered the mix. “I look at everybody’s body like it’s a machine,” said Mulligan, who teaches at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach. While acknowledging that “everybody’s anatomy is different,” Mulligan emphasizes that a golfer’s body must work in conjunction with the motions of their swing in order to work properly. “I look at a student’s legs as their stability system, the upper body as a pivoting motion and the arms and hands as the shaping,” he said. “Then it’s sequencing those things in the right position and on the right planes.” Glenn Monday Glenn Monday had an epiphany about the golf swing a few thousand feet above the ground a few decades ago, and his career has soared ever since. While attending a precision flying school in 1974, Monday was seated in front of an instructor who had his own set of controls. He told Monday what was going to happen and then steered the plane accordingly, so Monday could experience the maneuver. “It occurred to me. If somebody can teach you how to fly an airplane that way, why can’t you teach someone how to swing a golf club that way?” said Monday, who applies that hands-on approach with his students in the Los Angeles area. His methods seem to work, as evidenced by the nearly 90,000 half-hour lessons he has given since 1969. His busiest year was 1987 when he gave 3,122 lessons, or close to nine a day. But he doesn’t want students practicing between sessions. “When a teacher tells a student to go work on things, they inevitably work on flaws,” Monday said. “I don’t want to deal with flaws.” Kip Puterbaugh Kip Puterbaugh knew early what he wanted to be when he grew up. “When I was 13, I had a two-foot high stack of golf magazines,” said Puterbaugh, who teaches at the Aviara Golf Academy in Carlsbad. “The only ones I kept were the ones with swings in them. I thought Mickey Wright had one of the best swings I’d ever seen.” It took Puterbaugh, one of Golf Magazine’s Top 100 instructors, “thousands of hours looking at swings” to find out what works best for his students. “There’s so much that happens off the setup that I can almost tell how a person is going to swing,” he said. “Ninety percent of the people who play the game have no idea how to stand to the ball.” Jerry Elwell Three dinners with Byron Nelson influenced Jerry Elwell’s teaching methods. Talk about food for thought! Elwell, who teaches at Max Out Golf Labs at the SCPGA Course in Beaumont, wouldn’t divulge any of the tidbits he received from Nelson, but he did stress the importance of clubhead position. Elwell likes to teach short swings that emphasize the location and angle of the clubhead during the swing. To help people understand weight shift and proper release, Elwell encourages students to release the club — literally — by letting it go, when no one’s around, of course. “I’ve seen scratch golfers quit golf because they want the perfect swing,” Elwell said. “Forget it. There’s nobody on tour with a perfect swing. Look at Tom Purtzer or Steve Elkington (known for their beautiful swings). How many tournaments have they won? They give the check to the guy with the lowest score, not somebody who hits it onto 18 and three-jabs it.” N Tips for choosing an instructor Before you sign up for a golf lesson, figure out how much you want to spend, how far you’d like to travel, what you want to accomplish, if the pro’s methods suit you, and if their teaching facility has the resources you’ll need to achieve your goals. Here are some tips: 4 Gas prices are high and the freeways are congested. Visit scpgalessons.com to find instructors in your area, or talk to friends who have taken lessons recently. Referrals remain a popular way to find instructors. 4 Compatibility is key to good instruction. How an instructor teaches is often as important as what he teaches. Everyone wants results, but if you can’t figure out what your instructor is trying to say, the relationship isn’t going to work. 4 Private lessons can cost more than $100 per hour. Some instructors offer package deals, which lowers the rate, but fees can be substantial, especially if you’re just learning the game. Don’t assume that the most expensive instructors are the best. Shop around. 4 An instructor should ask about your goals before starting a lesson. This will determine the areas of your game that need the most work and how much time should be spent on each. Be committed to a game plan and stick to it. 4 If you want video and some of the latest gadgets to help straighten out your swing, make sure your prospective instructor has these things at his disposal. Is there a short game area to work on chipping, pitching and putting? How big is the driving range? Will you hit off grass or mats? These questions need answers before you sign up. If practice makes perfect, you should have a perfect environment for your practice needs. — CHARLIE SCHROEDER Different strokes for different folks Private lessons aren’t the only way to learn the game. Many instructors hold clinics, camps, group lessons and multiple-day schools. Knowing what each has to offer can save you time and money while helping you shed strokes. Here are the most popular methods for teaching the game: • The one-to-one ratio of private lessons can’t be beat. But you must be committed to practice and willing to dig deeper in your wallet if you go this route. • Schools can be a fun way to learn. But they can be expensive and there’s always the threat of information overload in an intensive weekend of instruction. But all areas of the game are typically covered, and people who love being in a group environment often have fun and thrive in this type of atmosphere. • Camps are typically reserved for juniors, especially in the summer, and tend to cost less than schools. • Group lessons often have the highest student-teacher ratio but offer the most affordable rates. If the group is especially large, don’t expect much one-one-one time with the instructor. • Clinics are mostly a spectator sport and often held the week of a professional tournament. But sitting in the audience can be beneficial, especially if you pay attention to what’s being said. Also, visit the driving range during tournament week and study the swings and practice habits of the world’s top players. It couldn’t hurt. — CHARLIE SCHROEDER |
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