A Humbling Experience Revisited

Filed in archive Golf Instruction on May 2, 2007

Last week, I wrote about my "tune-up" lesson with teaching pro, Mark Greenwood of Swing Machine Golf Canada.

It elicited a few interesting comments from readers.

Dave wrote:

"That's the problem with most recreational golfers, even the ones that consider themselves "serious players"; they would not be able to stomach the pain of stripping it all down. Mentally or physically. The ego says, 'Hey, I know what the deal is here, one little tweak and I'll be fine'. Well, if more people were truly dedicated to improving their game, they would not be afraid to do what you are doing."

Trust me, Dave, I rarely know what I'm doing!

R.T. had this to say:

"Chris: I'm in the midst of trying to find a regular instructor to work with -- just to get my head where I need it to be. Big changes could well be in place -- if I want to get back down to the 2 I used to be."

Another golfer willing to put in the effort and get his game back in shape. A two handicap is an excellent goal. R.T. is obviously a golfer with some ability. For me, a goal of a two handicap is a little excessive right now. Low double digits is a good first step and I think it's important to set reasonable goals. If they're too lofty, it's easy to get discouraged.

And, then, from Mark came this:

"It seems that most amateur golfers do not truly believe that they have a problem swinging the club correctly and consistently. That is proven by the number of balls found on the right side of the range compared to the left. As with anything one wants to get proficient at, golf takes proper technique and the willingness and time to learn that technique. The average golfer does not want to or cannot spend the time and effort it takes to learn and the golf industry LOVES it. Why spend money on lessons when you can buy a 300 yard drive down the pipe every time at your local golf store for $600-700? I can never figure out why all of us from age 5 to 17 are forced to attend a silly institution we call "school" to learn to read and write etc. when we could have just purchased that ability at our local pro shop."

A touch of cynicism, maybe, but it's a point well-taken. In 1978, Scott Peck wrote "The Road Less Traveled".

The first sentence sets the tone: "Life is difficult".

Peck goes on to argue that, if that's the landscape, at least you know what you're working with and you can stop complaining about life being tough. Instead you can do something about it.

But the road less traveled means doing the hard work. The road most traveled is the one many of us tread. It's easier. It's the $600 Nike Sumo 2 that will guarantee straight drives every time.

Here's the opening sentence of my book (if I should ever write it): Take lessons and play better.