08/04/2026
I've been sharing a series of thoughts on LinkedIn called "Lessons from the Lesson Tee."
The idea behind the series is simple: after 25+ years of teaching golf, I've learned that many of the lessons we discover on the golf course have very little to do with golf.
I thought I'd start sharing them here as well.
This first one is about something every golfer experiences: the moment when we realize we have more to learn than we thought.
Lessons from the Lesson Tee #1
Why I Don't Start with the Golf Swing
Over the past few weeks, I've been spending some time thinking about a simple question:
Why do I teach golf?
After more than 25 years as a PGA Professional, I realized the answer surprised me. It isn't really about the golf swing.
When a student walks onto the lesson tee, they're often carrying more than a golf club. They're carrying frustration, confusion, advice from five different YouTube videos, a tip from a buddy, something they saw on television, and maybe even a little anxiety about taking a golf lesson in the first place.
That's why I don't start with mechanics. I start with a conversation.
I want to know what brought them to the lesson. What are they working on? What do they enjoy about golf? Have they played other sports? Those answers help me understand not only the golfer standing in front of me, but also how they learn.
Almost every lesson begins with the same three words:
Relax. Relax. Relax.
I'm usually talking about physical tension. Relax the hands. Relax the forearms. Relax the shoulders. Relax the body.
Something interesting happens when the body relaxes. The mind usually follows.
One of my favorite moments is hearing a student say, "That felt like I only swung at about 60%, but the ball went farther than it usually does." That's when they begin to understand that swinging harder isn't always the answer. Sometimes the answer is simply removing the tension that's been holding them back.
I've never been the instructor who's going to tell someone to put their hands at ten o'clock, wiggle their right pinky toe, and blink their left eyebrow three times. There are plenty of talented instructors with their own approaches. Mine has always been a little different.
I try to simplify the game.
My goal isn't to build a swing that looks like someone else's. It's to help each student understand their swing and discover what it feels like when everything starts working together.
If someone leaves after thirty or sixty minutes feeling more confident, more excited about practicing, and with a clearer path forward than when they arrived, I consider that a successful lesson. Golf is a difficult game. I don't believe instruction should make it more complicated.
One lesson rarely transforms a golf swing overnight, but it can transform the way someone thinks about learning the game. To me, that's where real improvement begins.
I'd love to hear from fellow PGA Professionals, coaches, golfers, and anyone who enjoys helping others learn.
What's one simple idea that has helped you make a complicated skill easier to understand?
