As I sit here and write this blogpost, I am reviewing my year of coaching which has been overall a fantastic one. Things like what I did well and what do I need to improve to make me a better coach in 2017 are going through my mind.
I am extremely lucky in doing what I do and wake up everyday ecstatic in the fact that I am doing something that I absolutely love...... teaching people the game of golf and coaching them to enjoy the game more. The smile and satisfaction on a golfers face when they hit the sweet spot and see the ball heading high and straight is a sight to behold.
However, when a golfer hits a bad shot, as any human would do in whatever walk of life, they get upset. Information overload is what a player seeks in Golf to try and rectify a barren phase in their game, whether it be on the course or on the driving range.
With readily available information in our fingertips, YouTube and other such sites are places to go to rectify these bad habits and golf shots that make a scratch handicapper look as though they've just taken up the game.
However, BE WARNED ABOUT THE INFORMATION ON THERE!!!
It goes back to that adage...... don't believe everything you read (or see).
Even Facebook are now realising the fact that there is so much useless and false information out there in their new drive to clamp out untrue news items.
Let me give you an example. You play a game of golf on Saturday. The previous week your game was tip top, couldn't put a foot wrong. You were hyped up for the monthly medal the next Saturday, confidence was brimming. Until the first tee! Bosh....... out of bounds! Bosh........ second in the same place, high right and slicing. And it continues throughout the game leading to an inevitable handicap rise.
That night you go home and type into YouTube search 'cure my slice' and 30,500 videos come on under that search subject. You choose the top one. You go through the 5 minute video, understand it, get excited for Sundays game to put it right....................but the same thing happens!!!
What happened? You were certain you found the answer, certain you performed the swing as you had to so why did it still go wrong?
Has this happened to you?
This is information overload. And information overload that is irrelevant for us!
The video might have been bang on correct but it might not have been the exact fix you needed to cure the rare slice you have. All it did was add conscious thought into your brain and the brain tried to process a lot in a short space of time during the swing...... never a good thing when you are trying to perform a consistent and fluid movement pattern that the golf swing is.
I have just finished reading a book called 'Content Inc' by Joe Pullizzi and in it he talks about the relevant content that experts in their field must put out there and it got me thinking there is a heck of a lot of content out there but not all relevant to you and your needs.
Don't get me wrong. I think there is a huge demand and need for items such as YouTube videos and blogs to help us get better. But please don't desperately search for the absolute fix of all fixes when you're golf is not going so well. Choose your content wisely and spread it out over time so you develop knowledge over years as opposed to cramming the entire physiology of the golf swing in one night before the monthly medal and expect to go out and play your best.
Below is a list of Golf pro's I believe have the best content out there currently. Seek them out, learn from them, question them even:
- Mark Crossfield. He hasn't got 200,000+ subscribers on YouTube for nothing.
- Andrew Rice. Fantastic coach who keeps all aspects of the game very simple
- Adam Young. Superb young coach who has written the best selling golf book (The Practice Manual) this past couple of years. Seek out his blogs and read his book (and then re-read it).
- Michael Hebron. A veteran coach who has committed his time to the process of the brain and the way humans learn new skills. Written numerous books that need to be read by any golfer of any ability.
In my mind, there are many more out there, too many to list, but these are the most relevant for you, the club golfer out there wanting to get better.
Learn from them as they are the experts in their field. Don't take everything as gospel, especially when it comes to your own game. But this is what is so good about their content....... it's relevant to the majority of golfers. Not just a 'one size fixes all' mentality, a true learning curve about how to get better at this game we love.