The Real Secret to Playing Better Golfer
by Tom Beeler
I am deviating from my regular column about the Rules of Golf, because I know that sometimes players can only take so much when it comes to talking about the rules.
Most of you know that I am now at Grandview Golf Club in North Braddock, one of the most unique, demanding, and visually intimidating golf courses in western Pennsylvania. Here at Grandview, I hear a lot of people complaining about their golf game. When I ask them if they have ever taken a lesson to improve their slice, hook, short game, or whatever, 98 percent of the time the answer is a resounding “no.”
So I started thinking about why people don’t take lessons. Most of them love to play golf, and they would like to play better, but they balk at working with their local PGA Professional. But why? I could not come up with a good answer. I don’t know why they would not take this seemingly simple step to improve their game.
I have friends who play frequently, and I am included in on their e-mail trash-talking, bragging, and bet-making. Frankly, they all play pretty poorly. Most cannot break 100 on some of our area’s easiest golf courses, and they play for hundreds of dollars a match. They all know what
I do for a living, but only a few have worked with me on their game. Now the players who invested some time and money on instruction can’t get in on the betting anymore because they have an advantage. You see, I do know this. Players who make a commitment of time and who work on getting better with regular instruction and practice will get better and enjoy the game even more. Unfortunately, for some of my friends who chose to elevate their games, they just can’t get a bet with the guys they’ve left behind anymore.
Let’s face it, golf is a hard game. Sometimes it can get under your skin and be very frustrating. Just ask Tiger! Earlier in the year, while giving a lesson, something happened to me that hasn’t happened in my twenty-plus years of teaching golf: I had a female student pick up her bag and quit halfway through her lesson. She never returned. The only thing she said as she left was, “This is too hard!”
Now, before those of you who know me start thinking that I said something off-color to upset her, let me assure you that this was not the case. She just gave up and left. I don’t mean to pick on this particular lady (then again, on second thought, I do), but she left and offered no other explanation. If you know me, you know I have no clue how the female mind works; I just figured she was tired and wanted to leave. I didn’t put anyone else in her slot for the next week and then she never showed up.
A few weeks later, she wanted her money back for the unused lesson. I didn’t quit, she did. I am old enough that I wasn’t just given a spot on the Little League team and presented with a trophy. You know how it goes now: show up, get to play, no score, no winners, no losers, here’s your trophy.
I didn’t make the Little League team the first year I tried out. I spent every chance I got for the next year chasing my grandfather around to play ball with me. My father played catch and hit balls to me, but my grandfather was the ball player in the family. I made the team the next year and played baseball all the way through high school as a starter.
Later as I was playing high school golf, and I was having trouble with sand shots. My grandfather, who had never played golf before, but who knew what it took to be good at something, took me to local PGA Professional, Ed Rack, for a sand lesson. After Mr. Rack worked with me, my grandfather went back in the shop, got more balls for me, threw them into the bunker and said, “Now that you know what to do, stay in there until you figure it out!”
You see, there really are no secrets in golf, just hard work trying to piece together the information you have on the golf swing you are trying to make The problem with golfers is they always offer advice. If you shoot 110 and your buddy shoots 105, he is going to offer you some advice. Why do you think that even the greatest players have instructors? It’s to help them with what they need to know as they go through the learning process of how to hit all the different shots. Can you think of a great player that did not have an instructor? Bobby Jones had Stewart Maiden. Jack Nicklaus had Jack Grout. Arnold Palmer had his father, Deacon. Tiger Woods has had several instructors, starting with his father. Phil Mickelson even has several instructors, and he seeks out the best instructors there are for each different aspect of the game.
If you read this article hoping to learn “the secret,” well, here it is: Find a PGA Professional that you want to work with. He or she will help you understand the laws of motions that, when properly employed, will have you hitting the ball more consistently, and you will have a better idea of where it is going to.
Tom Beeler is a Class “A” Member of the PGA of America and the Tri-State PGA. Tom has officiated hundreds of events ranging from events at the Club level, Playing Ability Tests for aspiring professionals and Monday Qualifying events for the Nationwide and PGA Tours. If you have a Rules of Golf question for Tom, you can send it to him at tjbgolfent@pga.com
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