I am a teacher. I always have been, whether in the classroom or on the athletic fields. I have always enjoyed the great satisfaction of helping others to better understand whatever it is they are curious about, from the long-term effects of Marbury vs. Madison to the best possible grips for a change-up. It should come as no surprise that I love to teach folks about the golf swing and am willing to spend time with just about anybody who is willing to listen. 

No sport has revered teachers more than golf. When I was a young baseball coach in the 1960’s, hitting instruction was mostly confined to some coach bellowing, “dammit, hit line drives” as if that were some insight into the complexity of trying to contact a round ball with a round bat and hit it square. Meanwhile, guys who couldn’t break 100 with an axe were talking about pronation and supination because the teaching pro had enlightened them during their most recent lesson. As the years have gone by, I have developed my own sense of what is important to the learning of the game, some of it based on my own observations and some gleaned from the writings of some of the games best teachers.

I am beginning to introduce my 4-year old grandson A.J. to the game and there are two immediate lessons I hope to teach so that he will remember them as long as he wishes to play. The first is to make sure this game is fun for him and not a chore. If you want to make sure your kid hates golf, just make it a regimen instead of a pleasure. Second, I hope to teach A.J. a healthy respect for the course itself so that he understands that we all share an obligation to each other to maintain our golf course, and by extension, our planet. 

I agree with the late, great Harvey Penick that the best way to teach newbies is from the putting green first and the other clubs second.  Let the young player develop scoring skills first, putting in most of the initial practice time chipping and putting in order to learn the ultimate satisfaction of getting the ball in the hole.  There’s plenty of time to learn the full swing but the time spent learning the short game will come back to reward the young player. When they start to swing the club for real, let then swing from the heels.  They will want to hit it hard and they should. Jack Nicklaus says that young players should try to hit it hard because we can teach control later. I agree.

Eventually young players need to concentrate on the basic fundamentals in order to improve. I try very hard to get my students on the Waterford High School golf team to understand that the swing is not necessarily the thing. Even allowing for the fact that the golf swing can contain personal idiosyncrasy, adherence to four basic fundamentals can greatly enhance your chances of consistent ball striking. I cannot overstate the importance of grip as the most basic fundamental to be learned. The modern grip is much stronger than it was fifty years ago, with the v’s of both hands pointing to the right shoulder, but in any case, a good teacher will fix your grip before he/she fixes your swing.

After grip, it is posture, ball position, and alignment that are the basics that determine how successful a swing you can develop.  Most golfers fail to understand how the four basics integrate to define the swing you eventually use and attempt to repeat. Young players should concentrate on these basics and the swing will develop naturally from them.

Older players need to focus on being proper. They need to engage in proper conditioning, play with proper equipment, use their time for proper practice, and play the proper tees. Older players need to pay attention to increasing their flexibility through basic stretching exercises, or if you really are serious, by engaging in things like yoga or pilates. You can extend your golfing life if you are willing to put in a little work.

Equipment has come a long way in aiding the older players. Shaft flex can now be geared to slower swings, and the advent of hybrids has but a new slant on club selection. Even the golf ball itself is an important consideration.  Proper equipment that is properly fit to the players is an advantage of the technological revolution in golf and older players can benefit from that.

Proper practice for older players means devoting more of your practice time to the short game.  Rather than spending hours trying to forestall that inevitable loss of distance, sharpen up the game around the greens, because that’s where the strokes can be gained.

Finally play the proper tees. Park your ego at the first tee and select the tees that allow you to have the fun you deserve, unless you think its fun to shoot scores that resemble your bowling average. We’ve talked all year about playing it forward as a way to get more enjoyment out of the game.  Wearing out your three wood is no way to enjoy this game.

Meanwhile, my off-season program starts today.  Let’s see.  Downward facing dog.  Oooooooohhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmm.

Jim O’Neill is a member and former club champion at New London CC.