One Swing: Two Sexes

Filed in archive Golf Instruction on January 7, 2007

Behind every great professional golfer, you'll usually find a great teacher. Jack Nicklaus had Jack Grout and went back to him at the start of every season for a swing tune-up.

And the results weren't too bad!

So it was with distinct pleasure that I posed a series of questions recently to Anne Chouinard.

Anne Chouinard is Lorie Kane's swing coach and Director of Instruction at the Canadian Golf Academy in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. And Lorie Kane, of course, is a veteran LPGA player with four victories and 17 second-place finishes in her 10 years on tour.

I began by asking Anne if women learning the game needed a different swing from men because of, er, their anatomy.

Anne said that she doesn't teach a different swing to women at all. But she did say, "I look at strength limitation in some areas of their body and try to find ways to get around the problem. I also have to do the same with men who lack flexibility or have back problems". In other words, she said, it's really an individual approach.

Fair enough. Then what about fundamentals? Does she emphasize certain fundamentals with women that she might not emphasize as much with male golfers?

Nope again. "I find the same fundamentals apply to women. There might be some differences but they relate more to individual characteristics than to gender based issues', she said.

By now I'm getting the impression that there is One Swing and only One Swing. But, I try again. "What about when a female student asks you about how to hit the ball a long way?" I think I've got her now!

Well, Anne had a sound answer for that, too. To hit the ball a long way requires a certain physical strength and ability to produce speed, she said. If a woman can't THROW a ball any distance then there's some strength work to do. But she was quick to point out that women CAN hit the ball a long way - especially for their size.

"I weigh 120 pounds", she admitted, "and I can hit the ball between 245 and 250 yards".

I want that swing.

So, for distance, Anne said she looks at technical factors, physical factors and equipment which she called "a big factor". And we know how much equipment has helped the pros. Michelle Wie may be tall and her "technical factors" are pretty much perfect but she's about 300 plus yards off the tee!! And she's a skinny teenager!!

I had one final question for Anne. Maybe it was a plea. Can we humble amateurs come anywhere close to the kind of game a touring pro plays?

Short Answer: Forget it (I paraphrase). The pros practice 8 hours a day for years to get where they are, Anne said. But every amateur can improve dramatically with practice and reap greater rewards from the game. "I have students who went from a handicap of 22 to 8 in three years. It required dedicated practice, training and coaching. They had a ball getting there and have a ball playing on the course now".

And that, my fellow hackers, is what we all want, isn't it?