How do I choose a golf Coach or a Golf Teacher?

Is there a difference between a Coach and a Teacher? 

The simple answer is there's a Massive difference, so let's look into this subject a little deeper. 

How do you react when you are told to do something? Would you react differently if you were made aware that doing something different would really benefit you?

You see teaching is mainly one sided, the teacher tells you what to do, where as coaching is a two way thing.

I love this quote " Awerness  Cures , trying fails" 

A great coach will have a whole host of clever questions in his armoury, all to make you think differently and create Awerness. 

Here's a simple example of what a coach will do differently to a teacher..

We know that tension is the killer of golf swings, but how would a coach approach this differently to a teacher? 

Teacher  " you look tense, relax a bit " 

Coach  "if on a scale of 1-10 10 being the most tense you could be what number would you give yourself ? " where abouts in your body do you feel most tense? Can you reduce your tension by 1 or 2? How does this feel now? 

By asking a question it involves the other person and gets them to really think about something, creating that awareness. 

Involving a person is so much more powerful that telling someone what to do. For many years I was a teacher, thinking I was doing a good job when in reality I never made the difference I could have done had I known about coaching at a much younger age, I truly believe that anyone who is trying to help another professionally should learn about coaching, the difference is unbelievable. 

If your reading this and thinking of seeking help, make sure you ask the professional if they are a Teacher or a coach, a teacher won't know the difference but a coach will, and if they reply teacher make your apologies and carry on your search for a coach. 

Please don't take my word for this, do some research, have a look on YouTube for a start and look up Timothy Gallway he is one of the best coaches ever, also Fred Shoemaker the practise of practising and Brian Sparks the easiest swing in golf, Brian doesn't speak on his 4 minute video just demonstrates, you get drawn into the simplicity of the swing and begin to notice all that he does which is coaching genius. These people don't tell you what to do, they simply make you aware so that you can make the changes required.

Becoming a Positive Impact Golf Coach is one of the best decisions of my life, being part of a family of coaches has been a game changer, im now certain that I can help any golfer and its given me so much more confidence. There are a lot of brilliantly clever teachers out there who fully understand their subject but are they able to transfer this knowledge in an enjoyable and understandable way? 

From a personal point of view I sought out a so called brilliant teacher,  I was at a  loss with my swing and everything I tried didn't work, the lesson went on for 2 hours, I hit just 4 balls in that time, I don't think I spoke for more than 5 minutes in total and left feeling confused and useless. The teacher seemed helbent on telling me how much he knew about the swing, but didn't seem to worry if my shots got worse. This too me was not an outcome I had expected, and needless to say I never went back for another lesson. 

If this has made you question things in a different way then I think I've done my job, as always if I can be of any help and you want to ask me a question, please feel free to leave a comment 

Happy Golfing 

Julian Mellor 

PGA Professional 

Positive  Impact Golf Coach 

Stoneleigh Deer Park Golf Club 

Julianmellorpga@icloud.com

07595 157 452

Dreaded card in your hand

Handicap Reduction Starts in the Mind – Think Like a Better Golfer

As you may know I’ve been coaching golfers for 25 years now, and there are many reasons why my clients come to me for help. Some simply want to hit the ball more consistently, some want to work on a specific part of their game like chipping – and some are looking to totally improve the overall way in which they play.

However, one thing established golfers all have in common is that they all want to lower their handicaps. Many might feel it’s their driving that lets them down and others their putting, so they’re keen to work and improve – but the very first thing I’ve always found they need to do is to make a change to the way in which they think.

One question I always ask a player is what they currently play off and what would they like to get down to? Commonly, they give me the answers but when we actually go out and play, mentally they are still playing off the handicap they hold today and not thinking like a better golfer and one who plays off the handicap that they are trying to attain.

It goes a little like this, for arguments sake he/she currently plays off 20 and when we arrive at the stroke 1 hole out on the course you can almost see a smile on their face as they know they normally have 2 shots on that hole. This gives them the mental right to take their foot off the gas and think it doesn’t matter if they play a bad shot, does this sound familiar?

Well my take on this is that your current handicap is just a number to be removed from your gross score at the end of the round. Just think about this for a second. Imagine you have no handicap, not one single shot anywhere.

Imagine now that every loose shot you play has a consequence. Does this start to focus your mind? Now every shot matters, imagine how determined you will be on each hole when that 2 foot putt is a must make to save par.

Imagine learning the skill required to get out of a green side bunker first time every time. Imagine practicing the shots you’re weak at instead of the same old routine – like learning how to pay from the rough, semi rough and off different lies.

You see if you really want to lower your handicap you have to do more than you’re currently doing and that means getting better at the shots you don’t like. Ben Hogan once said he would never try a shot on the course that he hadn’t practiced a thousand times!

If there are shots you can’t play don’t be afraid to ask your PGA Professional to show you how to. Don’t be afraid to ask how to hit low shots, high shots, draws, fades, pitch shots and short putts, for its having these extra skills that will really make the difference.

So my advice is simple, play your next round without any safety cushion where every shot does matter and learn to take away your current handicap at the end of the round – instead of on every hole. Once you’ve made that shift in your head and change the way you think your handicap is bound to fall.

Please, if you ever want any advice on anything golf related don’t hesitate to contact me

Julian Mellor PGA Professional 

Positive Impact Golf Coach 

www.julianmellorgolfschool.co.uk

Julianmellorpga@icloud.com

07595 157452

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