"Golf can't be taught, it can only be learned." (from 'Zen Golf', by Dr. Joseph Parent)
The point of the statement above isn't that we can or should do without teachers and instruction - the point is that the instruction/teacher is only as good as the effort put forth by the student to learn. I have always envisioned my golfing formative years (as pompous as this may sound) to those of players that I could best relate to... Ben Hogan and Lee Trevino. I haven't mentioned Mr. Trevino anywhere in this site that I can think of but I will say this... watching Lee win 3 Open Championships in 3 weeks on 2 continents and 3 different countries - in back-to-back-to-back weeks in 1971 was the major motivator in my decisison to devote a large part of my life to the pursuit of great golf (hence, he was my first true golfing hero - along with brother Joe). Both Lee and Mr. Hogan were from less than priviledged backgrounds and both of them went on to become two of the best golfers/ball-strikers in the history of the game... by "digging it out of the ground".
Ben and Lee both developed very different ways to get the job done, and done well. They sure serve to reinforce the belief that there are many ways to "arrive correctly" at the moment of truth - impact. They are proof positive that maybe it is meant to be that the game's greatest ball-strikers will always be individuals who rejected the cookie-cutter method so prevalent in today's game and, instead, went with their gut and their natural instincts - even though it may have taken longer than hoped and tested their resolve to the limit.
I was always a "dig it out of the ground" kind of guy - more out of ignorance and lack of money than anything else. Early on, the only "golf professional" I knew was the aforementioned Jack Robinson and it never occured to me to pay good money for a lesson... a cheap book and lots of hard work would suffice is how I justified my pursuit. When Jack did graciously and informally offer to help me out, well, of course, I listened with an open mind and a willingness to do as he suggested. I never really thought about it till now but, perhaps the early seeds that Jack sowed became the building blocks that helped me come out of the gate pretty darn fast and shoot scores that many golfers with a lifetime of playing experience couldn't shoot. The drill where I tried to hit the ball under the string three feet in front of me and about a foot off the ground - innately, I knew that the only way this could be done was to get my hands into a powerful hitting position (as Hogan called it "supination" - at impact, the back of the left wrist is in the lead and the closest thing to your target). There is no hope for hitting consistently solid golf shots if the left wrist breaks down... this leads to a whole host of problems; topped shots, slices, scooped shots, pulls, pushes, inconsistent distances etc... the only thing that "might" be perceived as a positive with this type of impact position is something I witness in almost every casual round I play with some of my higher-handicap friends - the ability to hit certain clubs on a much higher trajectory than the club was designed for.
I have literally seen some of my buddies hit 4-irons and 5-irons over trees that I would not try to hit over - with anything more than a sand wedge. If you are lucky enough to time it just right, slow down the left hand somewhere near impact, let the left wrist pronate and have the right hand perform almost a scooping action through the shot - do all of this perfectly and correctly timed - and you just might hit your shots unbelievably high - JUST LIKE NICKLAUS... well, not quite.
Jack always felt that his advantage over most 'mortal' golfers was that he could hit his 1-iron higher than they could hit their 6-irons, but I can guarantee you he did not do it by allowing the left wrist to break down and "artificially" adding loft to his clubs/shots. He did it through a combination of raw power, an upright swing action and the fact that he hit all of his best shots with a slightly "open" clubface - imparting a slight cut action to his shots. The combination of all of these swing elements that Mr. Nicklaus mastered was what put him head and shoulders above his contemporaries... the ability to hold greens that no one else could hold, U.S. Open type greens or the greens sometimes found at Augusta National or the Open Championship - especially if there was a lack of moisture on said greens.
The point is, what we as golfers are trying to do is consistently create a repeatable and powerful position at impact - and there are a variety of ways to accomplish this task. The ABSOLUTE truth is this though... consistently solid golf shots can only be hit when the hands and wrists are 'correct' at that split second of impact between clubface and ball. As I matured and found myself hitting plateaus in my golfing development, I finally resigned myself to the fact that perhaps a lesson or two could help get me over the hump - in essence, I was admitting that I had exhausted all avenues that I could think of to get me to my desired destination. This admission was always a little humbling to me (oh, what arrogance!). I kept hearing Old Lee, when asked why he never had a formal teacher, he said, "I never met one who could beat me". There was a man who knew his game (and himself) better than anyone else ever could. Had Lee gone to a teacher, he quite possibly may have never been heard of and never become a Hall of Famer. I justified my decision on the fact that unlike Lee and Ben, I was not a true full-time golf professional and with the constraints of working for a living and helping to provide for my loved ones, well, the only way to speed up the process was to get myself under the trained eye of someone (or several someone's) who I genuinely thought could help me attain my goals.
Here is a list and a little bit about the teachers who had an impact on me - not just as a golfer but also as a person. This is, as near as I can recall, a chronology of my "formal instruction" experience and my thoughts regarding some pretty amazing individuals.
1967 - 1972 - Jack Robinson - my first "golf lessons" - Jack was obviously a good player in his own right and when he spoke, I understood enough to know that he was speaking the truth - based on his own personal playing experience. As I said before - I think Jack helped get me on the right track much faster than if I'd not gotten to know him.
circa 1977 - Ralph Hutchinson - Mr. Hutchinson was the head professional at the Saucon Valley Country Club (a phenomenal golfing mecca located in Bethlehem, Pa.) in the 60's and 70's (I'm not sure when his tenure ended). I first read about Mr. Hutchinson in Jack Nicklaus's book "The Greatest Game Of All". In one section of this fantastic book, Jack gives the blow-by-blow about winning his first Master's in 1963 and he describes his triumphant walk up towards the 18th green and Mr. Hutchinson, who was the 18th green announcer at the time implored Jack... "if you win, why don't you take the winning ball over and give it to Mr. Jones" who was sitting nearby. I did a little research on Mr. Hutchinson and decided he was a person I wanted to get acquainted with. Since Saucon Valley was only about 45 minutes away, I decided, in about mid-winter to give Mr. Hutchinson a call and try to set something up for the Spring figuring that once the weather got decent, he would have a very full schedule.
To my shock and disbelief (I think I called on a Tuesday), Mr. Hutchinson said "can you come on Thursday" - 2 days away. Well, of course, I said yes but had no idea what to expect... were we just going to talk - set up a future plan??? I had no idea. To be on the safe side, I took my clubs and shoes and when I arrived at Saucon (I'm pretty sure it was late February), here comes Ralph Hutchinson, a couple of buckets of balls in hand. We exchanged the standard formalities and he spent a few minutes wanting to know where I was golfing-wise and where I wished to be. He had me hit those balls... for almost 2 hours. It was somewhere in the high teens or low twenties and there was a pretty stiff breeze blowing to remind us, in case we didn't already realize, that we were in the Northeastern part of the country - in February - trying to assess my golfing ability.
To my delight (and amazement), I was hitting my shots very well. Ralph asked me to hit some intentional cut shots and draws and they all seemed to come off pretty well (who had taken over my body, I wondered, as I never considered myself a very good cold weather player?). As I remember, the only advice that Mr. Hutchinson gave me was to "sort of" cock both of my knees a little towards the target - sort of pre-setting a good forward-swing start... that was is it! At the end of the two hours, I took out my wallet and asked Mr. Hutchinson how much I owed him and his response (whether sincere or sarcastic - I chose to believe the former) went something like this... "when you start winning those big checks, you can pay me what you think is fair".
I was in a state of shock. This gentleman spent 2 hours in below freezing weather with me (at least I was swinging which produced a little inner warmth) and he wouldn't take a cent from me... additionally, he invited me back to his home which was right on the golf course proper and introduced me to his lovely wife who whipped up some hot chocolate for us and he then proceeded to show me around the house - focusing most of his time in what was obviously his favorite room - his golf shop which obviously took tons of work to make presentable (the home was very old). He was very proud showing me some of the trophies, checks (Ralph was a pretty successful player in his own right) and a myriad of golf clubs. The whole day was rather surreal to me and I went as far overboard to express my gratitude as possible without sounding patronizing. Whenever I am really full of self-doubt or questioning why I continue this quest, I think back to that numbing day with Ralph Hutchinson at Saucon Vallley and a warm glow envelops my mind and my soul and my internal golfing compass once again points the way to true North.
1977 - 2002 - As I stated throughout this site, these were the years where golf, although still very important to me, was not the ruling force in my life. Still, there were a handful of instructors that I worked with (most for only an hour or two) and without meaning any disrespect to any of these fine pros, nothing of any true substance was ever uncovered and to be honest, some of the names elude me at this time... let's move onto the "Big Guns"...
June - 2003 - Jimmy Ballard
My one day lesson began in Jimmy’s office where he had tons of pictures on the walls of several famous golfers posed in some stage of their golf swing. We looked at the videos that Steve, one of Jimmy's assistants (he took some video of me before Jimmy arrived) had shot earlier and I noticed Jimmy and Steve studying them very intently. Both Jimmy and Steve would comment about certain aspects of my swing – almost in a type of language only they knew – Jimmy said I was obviously a good athlete and I did some really wonderful things in my swing. I should say at this point that during the introductions, I told Jimmy that I knew I had some flaws in my backswing that were leading to my inconsistency and I also expressed the desire to know his true assessment of my abilities or lack thereof. I told him that I would like to play in some senior tour events but only if I had a legitimate chance of contending. He promised to give me an honest appraisal at lesson’s end.
Jimmy complimented me on being one of very few people who knew exactly where their trouble's lie. He said he could see how I was capable of hitting great golf shots and shooting some great scores but also said he could see immediately, the reasons for my inconsistency. It was, in fact, my backswing that was killing me. (Forgive me if the following is too technical for you but writing about it helps burn it into my brain). I was taking the club back all wrong. I had a tendency to keep too much weight on my left side at the top of my swing – almost a reverse pivot – and I also took the club too much “around my body” instead of straight back and then up. Jimmy’s teaching tenets are based on “loading up the power on the back foot – right foot if you are a right hander – and unloading that leveraged power through the ball and onto the left side after contact”. The key thought is to keep the elbows pointing down at all times and to keep the “connection” in the left shoulder area at all times – never let the left arm get out away from your body. Because of my backswing, my follow through would often appear forced and out of balance.
I notice now, if I swing the correct way, my body automatically balances perfectly at the end and I find myself holding the follow through almost until the ball has landed – without even thinking about it. He made some minor adjustments in my address position as well, making sure my left toe pointed out and my right foot was totally square at address (something I thought I had always done but had somehow let slip a little). I’ve worked with one or two other teachers and I can tell you, no one holds a candle to this guy (said in 2003 - not necessarily true today). He could so clearly explain what he was teaching, why it worked and how to make it work for me. As human beings are all basically built with the same parts, there was no denying any of Jimmy’s swing keys – they made perfect sense – both by the laws of physics and laws of human anatomy.
Jimmy would get very animated in his instruction – almost hyper-excited – like he was meeting someone from outer space and telling them all about this wonderful place called earth. It was so obvious to me that here was a man with a very special gift. Not only had he discovered the keys to great golf (which, he is quick to point out, are not all that difficult and not that abundant) – he also had an honest love and dedication in sharing those keys with someone starving to understand.
At one point, I hit probably a hundred balls with a towel under my left arm to drive home the point about not letting the left arm get out and away from the body. Another hundred or so were hit with a device wrapped around my upper left arm and chest (a device that Jimmy designed and sold tons of back in the 80’s – he promised to send me one when I got home). This device makes it difficult to swing “wrong” – it forces your left arm/shoulder and trunk to work correctly. As long as the stationary stuff is right (your address and grip), you almost can’t go wrong. At one point in the lesson when I really seemed to be getting it, Jimmy sort of let me alone and I started hitting 8-iron shots to a flag about 150 yards away. I swear, out of about 150 shots, I don’t think more than one or two ended up more than twenty feet from the pin – I was in golfing heaven. Of course, in order to bring me back to earth a little bit, Jimmy told me that for some players it might take as long as three to five years for a major swing change to become second nature. I’m hoping it takes only three to five weeks (OK, maybe months) for me. He assured me that I was much closer than I may have realized and he didn’t consider any of this a major change for me. He didn’t consider my changes as drastic and he seemed to think I would pick them up faster than most people (why, I don’t know… well, maybe he knows how determined I am and knows I’ll hit a zillion balls until I get it right).
Towards the end of the lesson, I told Jimmy that I wish I had taped the entire session so I would be sure not to forget anything and could go over it again and again as the need arise. He said don’t worry – his wife Laurie was going to tape us and he could condense into about 5 or 10 minutes all that he had taught me. Well he did just that and Laurie managed to then get me swinging on one shot with a 5-iron. She came out about 10 minutes later and said it was the best swing she had ever captured on video by one of Jimmy’s students right after taking a lesson… I was bursting with pride but trying my best to hide it. The best part of the lesson came in the last few minutes. As Jimmy had promised earlier, he gave me this assessment of my game – it went something like this…
“Nick, you have a lot of talent – just take a shot at it and see how far you can go”… Other than “I Do” and “It’s a girl”, they were the sweetest words I have ever heard!!!
Fall, 2004 - Ben Witter* - It will help to understand my work with Ben when I tell you my pet name for him... SUPERMAN. I could easily do an entire web site just on Ben, but fortunately, there are already several sites that speak about Ben and I would suggest that if you want to truly understand what an amazing human being Ben is, do yourself a favor and Google Ben Witter and prepare to be astounded.
I went to Ben (I should have gone a lot sooner) because I was getting ready to go back out and tackle the mini-tours. Realizing that I was not quite at the level I needed to be to compete against some of the best senior golfers in the world, I sought out the very best that I could find... enter Ben Witter.
It is my contention that Ben is the largest diamond in the rough just waiting for the golfing world to discover. Don't get me wrong - Ben is known far and wide for his ability to hit the ball phenomenal distances and his skill at performing trick shots that human beings should not be capable of doing, are the very thing that legends are made of. Try just kneeling on a physio ball sometimes and maintaining your balance - well, Ben stands on one, with an extra long driver in hand and hits a ball teed about 3 feet off the ground - and hits it a mile - if that is not enough, he will then stand on the ball, driver in one hand and bouncing a ball up and down off the face of his wedge (ala Tiger Woods) until just the right moment when he flips the ball up, drops the wedge and smashes the ball out of thin air with the driver... (these are just a few of the 'superhuman' feats Ben excels at that demonstrate what uncanny hand-eye coordination he possesses and what is probably a better sense of balance than any high-wire act).
Besides his wonderful physical and athletic prowess, two of Ben's greatest achievements are winning his battle with Adenoid Cystic Carcenoma, one of the rarest forms of cancer, and being a great husband to his sweet wife, Ann and devoted father to 5 wonderful children. For specifics on my work with Ben, click here ==> Ben W. notes
After 2 months of working with Ben (it was now the holiday season and I was anxious to get back out onto the mini-tour), I had a very tough decision to make. If I had let my brain and my intuition, instead of my ego, make my decision for me I would have said... "OK, I have a good thing going here with Ben... let's forego the tour until Superman thinks I am ready to go back out". I knew IN MY HEART that this was the right way to go. The money that I was paying Ben was insignificant when I look back at the amount of work and effort Ben was putting out to help me. Additionally, Ben had a very nice setup, with his own driving range, a room full of workout equipment (a lot of it geared strictly to golf improvement) and a large room with a state-of-the-art golf simulator (especially handy when we had brutal weather).
Ben had offered ALL of this to me - to use whenever I wanted, as often as I wanted... he went so far as to say that he "wished" he would see me there everyday... and this is the exact formula that leads to the development of world-class athletes. Ben had even suggested that I might want to look into renting a small place nearby so that I would have easier access to his facility, and believe me, a large part of me wanted to take him up on his offer. There were a couple of things that came into play in my mind while assessing this opportunity... number one, I was anxious to get out and compete again... my wife and I had a nice house that was, unfortunately, about an hour and forty five minutes from Ben's facility. I also knew that at any time, I could drop in and see my daughter or she just might drop in and see us - I didn't want to miss out on those opportunities. I was 52 years old and if you remember early on how important family was to me, well, I would be sacrificing all of those "out of the blue" get-togethers with brother Joe, my sister, my nieces and other relatives - my MOM.
Well, all in all, I made the decision that gave me the most immediate gratification (staying close to home) instead of a path THAT WOULD HAVE ALMOST ASSURED MY SUCCESS ON THE CHAMPION'S TOUR. Yes, I am that convinced. Had I continued working with Ben and followed the plan he had laid out for me, I have not one iota of doubt that the success I so dearly wanted would have been mine. Had I been 23 instead of 52, it would have been a much easier decision to make and that would have been to work my butt off with Ben. I had started on the same path blazed by hundreds of successful athletes before me... gymnasts, ice-skaters, skiers, GOLF PROS, boxers, wrestlers, bowlers etc... I wasted that great start and instead chose the "cushy" and "safe haven" path - instead of devoting myself totally - mind, body & spirit into my craft.
The results were not unexpected. Several more years of mediocre golf... being one of the "fish" lining the other pro's pockets with money while I was left to ponder "what if"? Fortunately though, through all of this, I got to spend time with a most amazing individual, to see what made him tick, to feed off of his spirit and zest for getting the most out of himself, and the most out of every blessed day we are granted on this earth. So in the end, how could I view my time with Ben as anything but a truly blessed time in my life. I may have gotten as close to greatness as I ever will in my life because of my work with Ben and for that I will forever be grateful.
2005- David Glenz
David Glenz is one of the most respected teachers in the country. He is number one in New Jersey and always ranked in the top fifty in the country. I looked forward to our lesson on October 12th and hoped that I might find another missing piece of my golfing puzzle. The day finally arrived but it was rainy, cold and just plain miserable. Despite the weather, David spent well over two hours with me – hitting balls outside off of a mat and thankfully, with protection overhead. David basically said that I had a good golf swing but I needed to get myself into a more “athletic” posture (this was getting to be an almost recurring theme with some of my coaches). He videotaped me and showed my swing side by side with Fred Couples and believe it or not, there were a lot of similarities (despite the fact I was built like a fireplug and Fred, well, he was taller and thinner). I immediately noticed some things I needed to work on and David pointed them out as well.
The best thing that came out of the whole experience (besides meeting and working with a coaching legend) was being introduced to the Flexor training system. This is from the Flexor web site…(I don't even know if it still exists) - "The Flexor Revolution is a sport-specific training program that re-programs the central nervous system to make a better golf swing. The Flexor Revolution’s unique exercises extend well beyond traditional training methods by utilizing reactive neuromuscular training while mimicking proper golf swing positions "...
I've performed the 12 week Flexor program several times in recent years and will often practice while standing on the two inflatable discs and have been very pleased with the results. I view my day with Mr. Glenz as one of my best bargains in golf. David normally charges $200 an hour but since I was a "pro", he charged me $100 - and he spent well over 2 hours with me. Time will tell whether my day with Mr. Glenz had a positive, lasting affect on my game.
2006 - Present - Chris Lebiedz
I could not come up with a better way to describe Ms. Lebiedz than these words from Mr. Ward.
Chris is a graduate of the University of Florida and was a member of the Lady Gator Golf Team and is now a class A member of the LPGA teaching and club professional division. Chris has been in the trenches as well, playing for 3 years on mini-tours and caddying for over 10 years on the LPGA Tour, where she helped touring pro Sherri Turner garner 3 LPGA Tour wins. Additionally, Chris is the first certified "Plane Truth Instructor" (Jim Hardy's Plane Truth For Golfers) in the Northeast.
One of the smarter decisions I've made regarding my golf game, was to find a good LPGA teaching pro. There were several reasons for this decision. I have a very bizarre theory (totally unfounded, I guess, based on the men I worked with) that a 'man' helping a 'man' creates a sort of "underlying sense of dominance establishment" - especially if both teacher and student are Type 'A' personalities or view themselves as Alpha Males (which I do). I can't abandon my belief that we are NOT REALLY that far removed from our prehistoric ancestors and if something deep inside of you, that even you can not understand, wants to help me - BUT ONLY TO A DEGREE THAT WILL NOT MAKE ME BETTER THAN YOU - well, I told you it was bizarre.
Now, some of you may argue that following that logic and our progression (or regression) as a species, well, a female might have even more of a desire to "put a man into his place"... what with all of the battle of the sexes stuff, the commonly held belief that women are not treated as fairly as men, are called "the weaker sex", can't compete with men, physically, athletically, in the work place etc... (this is being disproved more and more as time goes on and that is a good thing). Fortunately, for me, when I had my first contact and conversations with Chris, all of that stuff went right out the window. Chris immediately came across as the consumate professional... totally selfless, EXTREMELY well versed in everything golf, a phenomenal listener and an exemplary purveyor of thoughts and ideas... indeed, as GREAT as Chris is with the physical aspects of the game, some of my greatest advances came while sitting and chatting with her.
When you are paying for a one hour lesson and you realize that two and half hours have passed - and you haven't hit a single shot - but you feel like you know yourself and your game ten times better than you did before the discussion... well my friends, you are truly dealing with a very special, one of a kind instructor. I first spotted Chris at the Rossi Golf and Sports center. She was working with a student and I was immediately impressed by a couple of things... Chris had a great video/computer setup (the best teaching tool in existence IF THE ONE USING IT KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT)... Chris knows what she is talking about and you can take that to the bank. I also noticed how animated Chris became when interacting with her student (it was a woman). You would have thought Chris was working with Tiger on the eve of a major championship - such was her level of committment - when in fact, the woman's greatest accomplishmnet was finally getting a shot airborne.
That is the essence of true professionalism - giving 100% to whomever you are working with and understanding that their "little victories" are your victories as well. I have gotten to know Chris very well and I only wish time and money would allow for many more hours spent feeding off of her energy. I know that I will visit Chris many more times down the road, God willing and when we come face to face and she smiles that dazzling white smile and gives old Nick a little hug and says "how have you been", I'll know that I am in for a day of learning and a time of pure joy - with a phenomenal human being whom I love as if she was one of the family.
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Teachers I've worked with
