Dear Golfer,
Michael, a long time friend, came to me for a lesson the other day. He admitted that his game was “lost” and he didn’t know what to do.
Michael was expecting a technical lesson. He thought I was going to change his grip, stance and golf swing. I think this was also what he wanted.
But I didn’t change a thing. As is my thing I try and find a golfer’s natural swing first. This I believe is going to allow him to play better golf immediately – not confuse him more. Usually I have to break down some resistance to change and deal with some strange looks when I ask “strange” questions, but I get there in the end.
Michael was surprised and pleased at once. He came to me with a problem of hitting behind the ball. Early on in the lesson I could see this was a problem. But I didn’t talk about it or mention it. I stuck to my guns and followed a process that seems to work every time. By the end of the lesson he was hitting at 9.5 out of ten (his ranking not mine). At the start of the lesson his best shot was rated at 5.5.
He made some huge steps in this lesson. He relaxed and his golf swing started to flow. He definitely was not hitting behind the ball.
From now on I’m going to call this a Banana Golf Lesson. Kendal McWade says that you can’t describe to someone what it’s like to eat a banana. You have to experience it for yourself. Golf is no different. You can try and tell someone HOW to play golf – or you can let them experience it for themselves.
I like the second option. It works well and opens up a new world of possibilities.
Good golfing,
Cameron Strachan