So you think you would like to teach golf to young or novice golfers. Most golf instructors will tell you they love what they do, but that's because golf instructors who don't love what they do are not, or should not be golf instructors for long. It certainly takes knowledge, experience and skill to teach the game properly. But it also takes patience and a passion for the game. You must approach your craft with energy and enthusiasm, as well as a genuine ability to like people despite all their faults and inconsistencies.
Knowing the concepts of all areas of the game is vital. There are varying approaches to get to the same point, and it is up to the good teacher to find the path that each particular student can follow which is easiest for them. That requires understanding different approaches to accomplish the same thing, rather than a narrow, one-way fits all approach. Knowing different ways to get the same thing done is something the golf instructor must be able to do that a regular player doesn't have to concern himself with.
Then you need the "people skills". There is the story of Lee Trevino, before he made it has a tour professional, was eking out a living giving lessons, and of course hustling (but that's another story). In getting exasperated with a golfer who was having difficulties, he advised his student to sell his clubs and give up the game forever. Obviously he was a great player but not a great instructor.
Patience is a prerequisite for any teaching job, and it must run exceptionally deep. Whenever you are trying to teach a skill to someone who has absolutely no skill (and probably never will), if you care about them getting something out of the sessions there are going to be frustrations. Having the wisdom to understand what the student is capable of achieving and trying to accomplish that, and doing it with a cheerful attitude does take a special person.
The final point I would like to touch on is keeping a high energy level. Your student may show up at the golf course without much energy, and although it can be frustrating if they are not ready to do the work, the golf instructor has to be ready. Remember back in school when a teacher would walk into the room before class looking like he was hung-over? It immediately sent a signal to everyone in the class that nothing was going to get done that day. Being able to always be enthusiastic about your craft, and then inspire enthusiasm with your student is one of the foundation blocks to teaching.
Being a golf instructor may sound like an easy, fun job, and it can be. But it takes a special type of person. There is an expression which says: Those who can: Do and those who can't: teach. But the best teachers must have some ability to "do", as well as many other abilities that the "doers" of the world don't have to concern themselves with.
A great golf teacher can impress upon his students the way How to Improve Golf by the way he can improve his play as well as respect for the game. He can teach many things, from the use of the driver to How to Putt, and everything in between. Sean O'Kelly is a golf enthusiast and writer living in London.
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