The Family Golf Lesson: An Innovation
Article by Herb Rubenstein
Introduction
We know that many golf instructors provide golf instruction to entire families, and we applaud them. However, no article has ever been written in the world titled, The Family Golf Lesson. This article is not only designed to fill this important void in the golf instruction literature, but also is designed to help guide golf professionals, public and country club golf courses, and golf simulator operators expand the number of “family golf lessons” offered in the United States and abroad. Today, when a golf professional finds a family where every member plays golf, at any level, that professional should offer the entire family a “family golf lesson,” or better yet, a series of family golf lessons at an affordable price.
The Underpinnings of This Family Golf Lesson Concept
Many golf professionals provide “group lessons.” However, the prevailing wisdom expressed by David Leadbetter at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida in January 2018, is that “one on one” golf instruction is the “best” way to teach golf. While we have great respect for David Leadbetter, we strongly urge the golf profession to begin to develop a well-designed “family golf lesson” set of protocols for the reasons set forth below.
We know through the Brooklyn Golf Alliance where I serve as Executive Director how to develop a “four-station” – putting, chipping, full swing, and specialty shot - based training system for multiple golf students through our work with junior golf camps for economically disadvantaged youth. The individual golf less and the group golf clinics will always be the mainstay of the golf professional’s revenue-generating lesson. We believe that professional golf instructors can expand their clientele and their revenues by offering “family golf lessons.”
This article builds on several key principles of golf instruction, which are:
1. The professional golf instructor must be well qualified to relate to and communicate with each one of their golf students. Every golf student is different. Every golf lesson is different. Golf students learn in different ways and golf instructors are excellent at figuring out what tip, suggestion, drill, and instruction will help improve their students the quickest.
2. The professional golf instructor must, in a group setting, treat each golf student equally and not favor a man over a woman or an adult over a child if their group golf setting includes parents and children in a family golf lesson.
3. The professional golf instructor must embody the social skills necessary to make the family feel comfortable and make sure that no member of the family feels intimidated or not worthy of the best golf instruction possible.
4. The professional golf instructor must always know the goals of each golf student, be able to assess their physical abilities and limitations, their current level of skill, talent, and interest in the game, and must give always give the best possible golf instruction at the right time to help the golf student improve in golf as quickly as possible.
5. The professional golf instructor must play two roles with the golf student - simultaneously being an educator and a coach. The golf instructor must develop specific teaching strategies and specific coaching strategies for each student not only to give them the technical advice they need to correct a swing flaw or improve an already good swing. They must also serve as a motivator, a role model, and an advisor teaching the golf student how to get the most out of this great game of golf.
6. When a professional golf instructor is designing and delivering a particular “family golf lesson,” the instructor must observe and understand the family dynamics in order to create as much of a “team” atmosphere as possible.
What is a Family Golf Lesson?
A family golf lesson can be designed in many ways. Each one will have its own plusses and minuses, price, its own schedule, and its own physical setting. Below are some suggestions on how to structure “family golf lessons.”
A family golf lesson can be a simple group lesson where two or more family members are given a lesson at the same time, in the same setting such as a driving range, putting green, bunker or short game area. This simple group lesson would have the golf instructor and students all staying at the same place and the instructor would take some time with each member of the family during the one or two-hour session. The length of the session might depend on the number of family members. This form of “group lesson” is pretty standard but does not take full advantage of the family dynamics that can positively impact each member of the family’s experience with the golf lesson and golf itself. In the 1990’s the PGA promoted “couples” golf lessons and usually a “couples” lesson took this form.
A more “intensive” family golf lesson of four people, for example, would include the golf instructor knowing in advance the skills and golf experience of every family member. The lesson format, assuming four persons, two parents and two children, would, if possible, given the physical layout of the golf course, have four separate spaces - putting, chipping, specialty shots (like bunkers, rough, etc.), and full swing. Each family member who is taking part in the family golf lesson would be instructed about what to do at each station, including the planned drills the golf instructor developed for each “station” (which would be given to the family in writing at the beginning of each lesson, or preferably in advance so the family members could study and discuss the drills with other family members before the lesson even begins).
If the instruction is two hours total, the students/family members (and this might depend on their age) would stay at each station for approximately 25 minutes and take a five-minute break before going to the next station. The instructor would walk from station to station so that each person got a lesson at each station during the lesson. While it would be ideal for there to be these stations, family golf lessons can also take place if there is only a driving range, or the family is visiting a simulator or indoor golf facility.
Family golf lessons should be sold as a three pack, six pack or some other multiple set of lessons. Certainly, there should be some discount on an introductory family golf lesson to encourage families to try it.
While this type of lesson for a family where there is only a driving range or one place for all of the family members to hit golf balls might sound like a basic group lesson, we believe the true potential for a “family golf lesson” is how the family spends their time between the golf lessons guided by the professional golf instructor. We urge professional golf instructors to give each family member a set of drills, give each member of the family suggestions on how to help the other family members, and encourage all family members to go the course together, practice together, and help each other.
In addition, if the family wants to have a friendly “competition” in between the practice sessions, the golf instructor should tell the family about ways (chipping or putting contests, bunker or specialty shot contests, and even full shot contests (with proper “handicaps” for the less skilled members of the family to help make the competitions fair) so that family members can compete.
All the activities included in the type of family lesson we recommend would result in a a true “family experience, rather than just giving four family members individual lessons all at the same time.
Is This Really An Innovation in Golf Instruction?
Some readers, including professional golf instructors and those who have taken golf lessons might say there is nothing new here. We believe what we are recommending is new for two reasons. First, there is no literature or articles on “the family golf lesson.” Second, our approach to family golf lessons leverages the special relationship that exists between family members in America and throughout the world.
It is also very telling that for most golfers, golf is not a true family experience. Golf is an individual sport, and often when one person is a golfer in a family, others do not feel invited to become a golfer. This is what we are trying to change.
There are great golf families that have excellent men and women golfers including The Bernard Langer family, the Bradley family, (Pat and her generation and Keegan and his generation), and many other families. However, in general it is only the husband, or maybe the husband and wife, who play golf. If the children play golf, it is pretty rare the entire family will take golf lessons together very often, or at all.
While we want to thank the thousands of golf pros around the world who have taught family golf lessons, and encouraged women, mothers, boys and girls to play golf, we want to see every professional golf instructor and every golf course that offers lessons offer “family golf lessons.”
What we have done in this article is try to develop a “family golf lesson curriculum” that will encourage pros to offer “family golf lessons” where between lessons, and possibly during lessons, every family member successfully helps every other family member learn how to improve their game.
Yes, this puts golf instructors into much more of a leadership role, even beyond being a coach. They must encourage the family to become a “team” where every family member helps every other family member with golf. That will not be easy for some golf instructors and some clubs may not want to offer “family golf lessons.” We understand that, but we believe that now is the time to use this innovation, “the family golf lesson” to help expand the game of golf, help golf instructors earn more revenue, and to help encourage each member of the family equally to become a “player.”
Conclusion
The basic reason Golf Pro Delivered is writing this article is that our mission is to expand the game of golf and create more teaching opportunities for professional golf instructors.
The family unit is the basic, most cohesive social unit in the United States and throughout much of the world. But, the business models of the golf industry and the business models of many golf instructors and their facilities, have not taken advantage of this fact and instead of providing family golf lessons the way we recommend, they just give individual lessons or possibly put on golf clinics.
We hope that Golf Pro Delivered’s writing of this article is a small step towards making the game of golf, the golf industry, and all golf courses in the world much more family friendly.
Today, we have an opportunity to help expand the business of every golf pro who wants to offer golf instruction to families, and not just give individual lessons. We believe that golf will grow more quickly if it becomes more family focused and more and more golf courses and golf pros will prosper serving this “new market” for lessons.
Not only is the “Family Golf Lesson” great for expanding the game of golf, but it can be great for the family. It is especially great for the children. There is without a doubt a correlation between children who grow up playing golf and their success later in life. When we say “success” we don’t just mean financial, we also mean they benefit from the many lessons the game of golf teaches us. In addition to learning physics on the golf course, every young person learning golf will learn the lessons of respect, honesty, patience, independence, and the ability to handle pressure.
This family golf instruction protocol is offered to help golf instructors and golf facilities take this great, and most needed, opportunity to encourage golf to be more of a family sport than it has ever been in the past. We believe the game’s reluctance to embrace entire families has held the game of golf back from reaching its full potential as a wonderful sport for all people, including women and children.
I welcome your comments on this new direction and this article. You may have a better format for “the family golf lesson” and I look forward to hearing it. We certainly hope this article and the golf profession’s response to it increases the number of people who take up golf, take golf lessons, learn to love the game of golf the way we do, and dramatically increases the number of professional golf instructors and facilities who give “family golf lessons.”