Welcome to Matt Saternus Golf.
I'm Matt Saternus, and I'm a golf instructor in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. I will be using this site to share my thoughts on golf and golf instruction.
Thought #1: If you are taking lessons from someone who can't explain the D-Plane to you, you need to find a new instructor.
If they don't understand the basic physics that explain why the ball does what it does, there's no way they can help you hit the shots you want to hit. Period.
Disagree. They may not be able to help you as much or to the level that someone with expansive knowledge of the golf swing has. However lots of strokes have been saved by simple fixes that "strike a cord" with the golfer that they keep forever.
ReplyDeleteSure. As the saying goes, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes."
ReplyDeleteI would argue that lots of strokes (and frustration) have been added to golfers by instructors who teach things that "seem" right.
Here's the more important point: would you go to a doctor who got his medical license in 1965 and hasn't done anything in increase his knowledge since then? I wouldn't, because clearly that doctor does not take his craft seriously. This is the attitude of most golf instructors: "I have my PGA card, I don't need to learn anything new."
The D-Plane is not new and learning about it is free. If you, as a golf instructor, don't think it's worth understanding, then I would suggest that you are not worth your students' time or money.
One last thing: you mention "simple fixes" as if the instructions from a D-Plane savvy teacher need to be complicated. They don't. The drills I use are the same drills that other instructors use, I simply use them better because I understand how ball flight really works.
ReplyDelete