A Talk on Golf Basics
Professional Golf Instruction
Arthur C T Wong, Department of PE, Hong Kong Institute of Education
Content:
 | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
The presentation will be in two parts. The first part will focus on principles for teaching and coaching derived from motor learning and sports psychology research. The second part focus on the fundamentals of the golf swing and some related teaching/learning activities. Before we go ahead, I wish to make two remarks. First, golf is a very complicated games, if not the most complicated one. It is very difficult to cover every aspect in one single book not to mention a single session of 20 minutes. What will be presented to you is therefore in no way meant to be comprehensive nor exhaustive. Second, also owing to golf
‘s complexity, many golf pros have been most creative in devising different aids and drills to achieve particular results. One shall not believe that one method is superior to another, eachshold beregarded as different ways to suit individual differences.Golf has rapidly been growing in popularity all over the world and access to golf ranges and courses is easier than in the past. This is also the case for Hong Kong and China. Societal changes such as better education for the masses has led to better economy, more leisure and a greater demand for sport services. Improved provision in sport facilities, and some other variables contribute to the golf boom in Hong Kong (Louie, 1998). People learn golf in many ways. The well to do may learn the game from private instruction by teaching pros at a very young age. Some young people are lucky enough to receive instruction from the public sector such as in schools and organized programs offered by the municipal councils. However, many more others learn the game during adulthood. The latter is more likely the case for a many people in Hong Kong. They are introduced to the game by peers. Once hooked by the magic of golf, their training has many faces. Some have irregular training sessions by hiring a pro, others attend training courses offered by servicing agents or learn from their peers. Thus, it is not uncommon to see peers teaching one another at driving ranges. This is, on the one hand, a very interesting phenomenon that deserves some study. It is also in some sense an effective way of promoting golf ( in fact it is the same for many other sports such as swimming, bowling, snooker etc.). On the other hand, it suggests that most people believe that whoever can perform can teach. Whilst I also believe that teaching sports skill carries a lot of common sense and I have no objection to such a socializing process, I must maintain that skill instruction does have something beyond common sense and it does not follow that being able to do something necessarily qualifies you to teach whether it be golf, medicine, or painting.
General Principles for Motor Learning
Sports pedagogy becomes a popular sub-discipline of physical education at tertiary level education since the 70‘s and has received much attention from teachers and coaches.The large amount of research conducted in the past three decades enable us to know more, if not all, about skill teaching. A rule of thumb for all of us to remember is that skills should be learned in context as far as possible (Siedentop, 1991 and Rink, 1993). Isolated skills are meaningless. A simple observation from golf illustrates this. Have we not seen perfect performances at the driving range disappear all of a sudden when it comes to the course? We all have been so frustrated or seen others experience the same, haven’t we?Motor learning research tells us that skill learning occurs in stages. Schmidt (1991) suggests three. A brief look at these and some major characteristics of each stage will help us to understand how we learn/teach golf.
- Verbal-cognitive stage: The learner determines what to do and what the goals are; improvement is rapid; movements are jerky and fragmented and based on previous learning; decision making processes and self-talk predominate; and attention demands are high.
- Motor stage: The learner begins to develop specific motor programs for the actions; consistency increases rapidly; talk begins to decrease; and gains in performance are somewhat slower than in the first stage.
- Autonomous stage: The learner has become very proficient; attention demands are greatly reduced; the movements and sensory analyses begin to become automatic; emphasis is placed on strategic or stylistic aspects of performance; and continued gains in skill come relatively slowly.
|
Instructing |
Demonstrating |
|
|
1. Verbal instructions are useful in early learning, but only if they are straight-forward and direct and do not present too many concepts. |
Supplement instructions with demonstrations, live modeling, videotape, film, or photographs of effective actions. |
|
|
2. Distribute verbal instructions throughout the practice, emphasizing the most fundamental ones first and the less critical ones later. |
During a model ‘s demonstration, the instructor should cue important points to direct the learner’s attention to the most relevant aspects of the performance. |
|
|
3. Explaining even the most elementary biomechanical, physical, or physiological bases of actions is minimally useful in the initial stage of practice. |
Suggesting what not to observe in the demonstration can be effective in directing attention to relevant aspects. |
|
|
4. When in doubt, usually minimize verbal instructions and substitute active practice; have the student get the idea and try it. |
Alternate short periods of practice with demonstrations, allowing rest while new information is emphasized from the model. |
|
|
5. Use previously learned movements or concepts in instructions to increase transfer to the new skill ( “Imagine that you are throwing a bucket of water with both hands at someone standing right in front of you when swinging the club.”) |
In teaching children, try the simple statement “Do this” followed by a demonstration, minimizing complex instructions. (It often works with adults too.) |
|
|
6. Define key points that the learners can check for themselves later in practice, such as “straight elbows” in the golf backswing |
Employ models and demonstrations to demonstrate common mistakes, ineffective form, or faulty strategy, but probably not in the earliest stages of learning. |
(Remark: Those in italic are the writer
‘s word.) Schmidt, 1991, pp 177 &178 Teaching/coaching is scientific but a many would like to claim that it is an art. The fact is that teaching/coaching is based on scientific findings but the application of these findings requires a lot personal judgement and varies from individual to individual. Some remarks about the above principles will enable teachers/coaches to develop a greater perspective on teaching/coaching.To tell or not to tell
Letting the learners know the results of their performances (Kowledge of result e.g. the ball is distant and straight) and the specific aspects of the performance have been (knowledge of performance e.g. the swing has a good tempo) is important. However, we must not take things too much for granted. Whilst specific and immediate feedback often helps learning, occasional feedback (intermittent reinforcement) is more effective than feedback given on every trial (Schmidt, 1991, p235). I have seen pros providing too detailed feedback (such as the mechanical aspect of a swing) too frequently and others over taciturn.Recent research suggests that immediate and frequent direct feedback improve immediate learning result but may slow down long term learning (Vickers, 1998). On the other hand, allowing the learners to explore all the variables contributing to good performance instead of directly telling the learners the
“criteria performance” leads to quicker and greater improvement at the later stages of learning.Schmidt, in his advice above, emphasizes that telling the learner about even the most elementary scientific information such as biomechamics of a movement is not going to directly improve learning. This is in line with the latest research finding (Wulf and Weigelt, 1997). However, it must be stressed that we are talking about teaching beginners at the very initial stage. The writer believes that understanding of some basic scientific principles will help the learners to grasp the
“rule” or “pattern” of skills. This will enable the learners to progress faster at a later stage and be able to adapt to a new environment which is different from the driving range setting. So, whilst we should not dwell too much on the cognitive elements of a certain skill, particularly during the initial phase of skill learning, some cognitive information at a suitable stage should be positive to learning. Teachers/coaches therefore should have a relatively thorough understanding of the scientific facts about the movements or skills that are to be taught.Demonstrations
We all believe, and it is quite certain, that demonstration of some sort is effective in teaching. However, recently some questions arise as to the effects with, particularly expert, model demonstration which is quite common in golf teaching (Darden, 1997). Whilst demonstration by pros, either live or by animation, is certainly effective way to tell what is right and what is wrong, it encourages imitation rather than true learning. We all know that no two pros are the same. Mimicking discourages the learner from exploring the “rules” or “general pattern” of the movement which enable the learner to apply the skills in context and make adaptations when the context changes. On the other hand, “a variable form of practice within a motor pattern (e.g. practicing different clubface angles in golf swing) facilitates better learning of rules for a movement”(Darden, 1997, p31) . Learners perceive the cause-and-effect nature of movement principles better from these experiences. It is advisable that, whenever possible, mixed expert-and-peers demonstration should be used. My personal experience is that I learned more when I teach students with some very odd problems (even when I was relatively new to golfing). Allowing individuals to try different ways of doing the same thing leads to effective learning. The table that follows shows the long and short term benefits of using expert as learning models.|
Short-Term (Expert, including live and picture/film) |
Long-Term (Learning) |
|
|
1. High Status |
Similar Status (Peers) |
|
|
2. High Level Performance |
Performance just above students ‘ current level |
|
|
3. Repeated, continuous demonstrations |
Varies demonstrations |
|
|
4. Correct performance |
Correct performance + errors |
|
|
5. Verbal cues with demonstration |
Verbal cues + instructor feedback with demonstration |
|
|
6. Identification of model ‘s correct technique |
Identification and correction of model ‘s errors |
|
|
7. One correct technique |
Exploration of several task solutions |
|
|
8. Encouragement of mimicry and exact reproduction |
Encouragement of problem solving and thinking |
Guidance (including aids)
Golf pros are one of the most creative groups that I have seen in devising aids and guidance. Many fancy devises have been created to help students mold their grips, swinging patterns etc. Again, learning aids and guidance are only helpful when applied appropriately. They may depress learning when compared to trial-and-error practice (Kernodle and Turner, 1998). Personally, I believe that guidance may ignore individual differences, deprive the learner from other possibilities, make the learner become over dependent on the guidance/aids. It is advisable that guidance/aids be sparingly used and when used the “fading technique” should be applied systematically (Kernodle and Turner, 1998).An overall framework
One of the unique characteristics of a good teacher/coach is not his/her expertise performance, but the ability to observe and correct motor performances. The first part of this presentation can be summed up by my drawing your attention to some principles suggested by Turner (1998). Turner asks us to pay attention to the object being hit and the instrument hitting it (the golf ball and the club in our case). The movement patterns of these items can be viewed as a starting point. The body segments and their relationship have a great influence on good performance. The position of these body segments, the preparatory movement, the point of impact and the follow-through are usually prime factors for successful performance. Some basic understanding of physics will help greatly enhance our ability to detect errors. In golf, we need to know for example, that curvilinear flight is caused by the spin of the ball which is in turn caused by the path of the club and the angle of the club face at impact. The distance the ball travels is determined by the speed and trajectory of the ball. In turn the speed of the ball is the result of the club head speed (over 110mph for the pros) which is affected by the torque generated out of the difference between the rotations of the shoulder and hip at the top of the backswing (McTeigue, 1996). On the other hand, the trajectory of the ball is affected by the angle of approach and the loft face of the club (which may be manipulated by varying the grips of the club), the construction of the ball such as the dimple patterns, the layers and the materials used for the core and so on. We do not think about all these concepts while we play. However, these ideas show us how complex golf is. So much of these are beyond our scope that I have to turn the attention to those ideas more immediately related to golf swing.The Fundamentals
Although there are many things contributing to a good golf swing, the following five variables (Owens and Bunkers, 1992) are of major importance. An outline of these variables will provide a starting point.
Clubhead speed (CS)
When other factors are equal, distance and the CS are directly proportional. Research suggest that most good golfers swing at 65%-80% of their maximum. Beyond that, accuracy and control may be sacrificed. Older golfers usually have a CS of 60mph or lower; amateur women and senior men 60-80mph; amateur men and senior/women pros 81-94mph; long hitting amateur/pros/very long women tour pros 95-110mph; and the very long tour pros/long drive competitors over 110mph (Adams and Tomasi, 1996, p 14). Among the many variables that contribute to higher CS, there are three major ones. The first is the cock angle and the speed of release. The second is the so called “power V” which is released when your right hand, during the down swing, suddenly straightens (Adams and Tomasi, 1996, p 31). The last one is the torque that is produced by the difference between the hip and shoulder rotations on the backswing as well as the ability to close this gap (McTeigue, 1996). Since maximum distance is often a concern only at a later stage, one does not have to attend to these factors too consciously but just perform the right movement at a good tempo.Clubhead path (CP)
The CP is an inclined plane at about 45% to the ground (Owen and Bunkers, 1992, p 2). If one projects the clubhead on the ground, it should form a sort of in-to-in path. If we impose this on an imaginary clock flat on the ground with the ball seated at center, the clubhead should follow the 4:00-center-8:00 path, although the golfer has to imagine a 3:30-to-9:00 path in practice(Lewis, 1995, p 9 or p85). As you will see later, the CP combines with other variables, mainly the clubface to produce a variety of ball flights which trouble the beginners and many amateur golfers.Clubhead face
The clubface (CF) should usually be square. The level of openness (or closeness) determines the side spin of the ball. This spin will come into play once the ball slows down and produce slices or hooks respectively. In fact, there are nine possible ball flights when the CF works together with the CP (Lewis, 1995, pp 86-88).Angle of approach
The loft of the clubs determines the height of the ball flight. This is why we have a range of clubs with different loft angles. With any one club, however, the angle of approach (AA), which is under the manipulation of a skilled golfer (for example, by placing the ball differently between the bracket of the two feet) also affects the trajectory (Owne and Bunkers, 1992, p 3).Centeredness of contact
Hitting the ball with the centroid, the “sweet spot“, produces solid and straight performances. As the contact moves towards the heel or the toe, errors such as shanking or slicing will occur. We will now return to the essence of golf swing. The following is a brief outline of the components of a swing which is the major concern of most teachers/coaches for beginners. I will not attempt to reproduce detailed descriptions of each of the elements - these can be found in most golf texts. I will try to highlight the important points and abstract for your references some practical suggestions or tips for teaching. I will as well share with you my own personal experience.The pre-swing elements include:
Griping (based on overlap grip)
| the last three fingers of each hand are holding tight whereas the index fingers and thumbs relatively light (Lewis, 1995, p14) |
| a neutral grip will allow one to one and a half of the knuckles to be seen from above (Lewis, 1995, p15) on both hands |
| strong grip tends to produce low and left turn ball flight (Lewis, 1995, p16) |
| weak grip tends to produce high and right turn ball flight (Lewis, 1995, p16) |
Aiming
| adopt a consistent approach that you are comfortable with |
| look at the target from behind the tee off point to formulate the target line |
| make use of divots/or loose impediments that are 10-18 inches either in front or behind (the one I prefer) the teed-up ball to align the target (or use your driver head to point at spot if no divot is available) |
| stand square to the imaginary line formed between the ball and the mark |
Setup
| an adequate stance: shoulder width (see Adams and Tomasi, 1996, p 26 for the foot flare experiment); relaxed forward leaning posture; leg loosely straight, lean forward until weight on ball of feet, knees slightly bent, hands hanging in the front naturally and comfortably |
| hip, shoulder and club head all square |
| weight on midstep to balls of feet and evenly distributed |
| ball placed at mid of the center to target foot (it varies depending of the trajectory expected) |
The in-swing elements include:
Plane of swing
| target hand and arm above the shoulder (in plane) |
| supporting hand‘s elbow comfortably pointing the ground |
The Width of Arc
| this is the radius of the swing |
| generally speaking, the wider the arc, the farther the ball flies |
| both hands extended but not stiff at the elbows to increase the arc width |
| adopt the ‘Y“ or reverted ”K“ stance according to needs |
The Length of the Arc
| the backswing which should normally be directly proportional to the distance desired (quarter swing, half swing, and full swing) |
| a two lever swing position (target hand cocked according to the club used to allow short irons to a point at no more than 45 degrees and driver at horizontal) |
Target hand and wrist Position
| Target hand kept straight but not stiff (better tension and thus power at swing) |
| wrist of target hand square; concaved(cupped) or convexed(flexed) wrist facilitate slice and draw respectively (Owens and Bunkers, 1992, p7) |
Levers
| the target hand and club acts as one long lever |
| the cock of wrist acts as a second lever |
| the bend of the non-target hand at the elbow creates the third lever (this adds potential errors and is not desirable) (Ownes and Bunker, 1992, p7) |
Timing
| send away the club head slowly (left hand and club moving in one piece is recommended for beginners) |
| clubhead stay along the ground until it cross the non-target leg (or horizontally move back for 10-18 inches as marked by some divot or loose impediment I suggested earlier) |
| take the club up and begins to cock and pause slightly at top |
| initiate the down swing with the left leg, hips pressing lightly towards target (the pulling down action of the left hand starts immediately after), shoulders and then the arms (there could be some variations but this order is easy to follow) |
Release
| the non-target hand extends as the target hand approach the non-target leg |
| release (uncock) follows |
| club head stays low after impact and during the throw away |
| non-target hand cross over and goes on top of the target hand at upswing |
Balance
| keep your sight down as the club cross and impact takes place |
| push your buckle (tummy) towards the direction desired |
| the power of the swing should take your club and hands comfortably on top of the target shoulder |
Acknowledgement
I wish to convey my gratitude to Dr. Phil E Lyon, Principal Lecturer of the Department of Special Education, Hong Kong Institute of Education. His interest in golfing enables him to ask many questions which lead to rephrasing many parts of this paper. His proof reading also makes the paper more reading.
Adams M and Tomasi T J (1996). Play Better Golf. Journey Editions, Boston.
Bradbeer R & Morrison I (1991). 100 Golfing Tips. The Apple Press. London.
Cook C and McCleery P (Ed) (1986). Tips from the Tour Pocket Books, NY.
Darden G F (1997). "Demonstrating Motor Skills- Rethinking that Expert Demonstration" in JOPERD. Vol.68, No.6, Aug.
Kernodle M W and Turner E T (1998). "The Effective use of guidance techniques in teaching racquet sports". JOPERD. Vol.69, No.5, May/June.
Lewis B (1995). Golf Clinic: Play Better Golf. Tiger Books International, London.
Louie H T (1998). "Investigationg the acceptance of golf by people in Hong Kong". Hong Kong Recreation Review. Vol.10, January, pp6-13. The Hong Kong Recreation Management Association.
McCleery P (Ed) (1985). More Instant Golf Lessons. Golf Digest, NY.
McTeigue M (1996).
“The Science of the Swing” in Golf Magazine, December.Owens D and Bunker L K (1989). Golf, Step to Success. Leisure Press. Champaign, Illinois.
Owens D and Bunker L K (1992). Advanced Golf, Step to Success. Leisure Press. Champaign, Illinois.
Rink, J E (1993). Teaching Physical Education for Learning. Mosby.
Robertson B (1993). From Tee to Green. Tiger Books International, London.
Schmidt R A (1991). Motor Learning and Performance: From Principles to Practice. Human Kinetics Books. Champaign. Illinois.
Siedentop D (1991). Developing Teaching Skills in Physical Education. Mayfield.
Truner E T (1998). "A concise guide for the teacher-coach to successfully observe and correct motor skills."JOPERD. Vol.69, No.3, March.
Vickers J (1998). Presentations made at the Symposium of Sports Science and Physical Education 98: Teaching and Coaching, CUHK, May.
Wulf G and Weigelt C (1997).
“Instructions about physical principles in learning a complex motor skill: to tell or not to tell“ in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Vol 68.no.4.pp362-367Youngblood J (1991). How I went from 28 to scratch. Foulsham. London
Click here to go
Homepage