Recently, I had a terrific opportunity. My son, Jack, an assistant editor at GOLF.com, was appointed the head golf coach at Harriton High School (PA). I could not have been more thrilled when he asked me to be one of his assistant coaches.
As a lifelong competitive golfer (not so competitive anymore), coaching was something I always thought about doing but never pursued due to the time commitments of business, family and my own golf. This was the perfect opportunity to experience coaching. After my first season, I’m hooked! Not only was it fun and rewarding, but as part of the golf industry, what a great way to help the game grow at the grass-roots level.
As Jack noted in his recent piece (10 Lessons I Learned Coaching High School Golf), coaching doesn’t mean you’re a swing coach. With a season of only about a month and a half, you won’t turn a 90 shooter into a scratch player, BUT you can really help them learn, and more importantly appreciate and enjoy the game and its many fine points. When that happens, the addictive nature of golf takes over and you’ve helped “hook” a young person on “the game of a lifetime”. Golf is something that my mother and my best friend’s mother both credited with keeping us “out of trouble”.
Like Jack said, we aren’t swing coaches. However, as the father of two (now grown) sons who are scratch (or near) players, I’m sure any father, teaching pro or coach will tell you that (like much in life) making good decisions, avoiding “teenager golf” is the quickest way to improve. Teenager golf is my shorthand for the inclination most young golfers have of always hitting the shot as hard as possible with the shortest possible club and always aiming at the flag, whether it makes sense or not. As Dr. Bob Rotella says, “Golf is Not a Game of Perfect”. The kids that win avoid making those poor decisions. We try to help them make good decisions on (and off) the course.
In addition to helping the kids play golf (instead of “golf swing”), we also share thoughts on staying safe (getting hit by a golf ball hurts), the courtesies that are unique to and so much a part of golf, and the rules of the game, including player conduct. Among my greatest rewards in golf was watching my (then young) sons from the grille room approach their playing partners early in their golfing lives to shake hands after the round. We’re teaching our team the same things. We arranged and sponsored a short game clinic with a local teaching pro and coordinated a trip to a club about an hour and a half away where the head pro, Reed Lansinger, PGA gave an inspiring talk about leadership, and his background and history in the game.
I spent a good bit of time helping our team with chipping and putting. On several occasions after offering a tip on alignment or ball position, I’m not sure who was more thrilled with any resulting success, me or the player. Coaching is very rewarding, but even more rewarding is the relationships developed with these outstanding young people and the prospect that you’re helping them move forward in an ever more complex world. Several, if not many of those relationships are likely to last a long time. I hope so.
I’ve shared my coaching experience with many of my longtime golfing friends. I encouraged them to volunteer as well. I got the notion from a golfing buddy of mine, Dr. Gary Gordon, who volunteered for a number of years as an assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania men’s and women’s golf teams who used to play at our club. The relationships he developed during that time are renewed each year when he hosts the “Doc” Open, which includes not only some of the players he coached, but their parents as well. Fortunate to be included, it’s one of the most enjoyable days of the year for me each September. Maybe someday, Jack and I will coordinate a similar event?
For those of us who love golf and have experience to share, coaching is a wonderful way to give back to the game that has given so many of us so much. One doesn’t have to be or have been a great player. Whether golf, or any other sport or activity, mentoring young people is not only the best way for them to learn, it’s a great experience and very rewarding.