Lessons well learned

Men regarded it as the last bastion of the damned - a visit to the pro shop to inquire about lessons. It was only when the quick fixes from colleagues in the Saturday fourball had been exhausted that they sought refuge in the instruction of the local professional.

Women, in contrast, flocked to the professional for tuition after deciding to take up the game, embracing the premise that a decent appreciation of the basics - grip, stance and alignment - would be beneficial before taking to the course.

Sweeping generalisations, sure, but in consultation with three Irish PGA teaching professionals - John Dwyer (Ashbourne Golf Club), Peter Hickey (Cork Golf Club) and Jimmy Bolger (Mount Wolseley) - it emerged that there is more than a grain of truth to the aforementioned gender caricatures. What is also apparent though is that attitudes are changing and the relationships between top players like Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington and their coaches is making tuition more attractive to the Irish golfer.

The high profile enjoyed by Butch Harmon - coaching guru to Woods and Clarke; Bob Torrance ministers to Harrington - and the implicit admission that the top players need weekly or monthly guidance is beginning to have a pronounced effect on Irish attitudes. More people are now receiving instruction than ever before.

The perception of the teaching professional bamboozling his pupil with words like `swing plane' and `reverse pivot' has been replaced by a realisation that golfing speak can no longer be equated to understanding the specifics of brain surgery in half an hour.

There have always been good coaches but there seems to be more nowadays and while understanding mechanics of the golf swing is essential component of any teaching professional's repertoire, the ability to break it down and explain it in simple English is equally important.

Stereotypes

Jimmy Bolger smiles: "Women tend to listen, tend to be more attentive and get a little more benefit because they tend to practice more. Ladies want more distance, in fact I have never given a lady a lesson who didn't want more distance. You are trying to teach them how to generate more power by the turning and coiling of the body.

"For men, it's more a case of shape problems. It either goes left to right or right to left so it's down to trying to control the flight pattern of the ball. In general ladies do not have enough power to get the ball moving right to left or vice versa - their (ladies') faults would be more a case of topping it or hitting it along the ground but when they do strike it well it goes straight.

"There seems to be a certain attitude amongst Irish men - why would I want to have a lesson when I had one of those four years ago? The ladies tend to think they won't improve unless they come for lessons. Ladies go more in groups so we can kind of turn it into a coffee morning or something like that and have a bit of fun.

"Men come with the expectation that you (the professional) are going to change everything. That is not the case. You may look to change a number of things but it will be over a period of time and provided there is consistent practice between lessons the golfer will see an improvement. Guys are more likely to turn to their best friend who might improve their game on a given day but within a week the old problems will resurface."

John Dwyer disagrees: "Ladies tend to expect short term cures. They are not inclined to put in the level of practice to change something or make something work in a golf swing. A generalisation would be that women tend to find practice boring. If you look at a driving range, it is largely populated by men."

Peter Hickey pointed out: "Many ladies prefer the group tuition situations rather than the individual lessons that would be popular amongst the men. Ladies tend to get lessons at the beginning but stop when they were playing on a regular basis.

"I find a common attitude among men starting to play the game is that they'll say to you, `lessons, sure I haven't got that bad yet'. They'll only come back to you when they have really perfected their mistakes."

Common Faults

Bolger: "Grip, stance and alignment would probably cover the majority of work that players require. Obviously the earlier you can remedy the faults the better."

Dwyer: "If you get someone who has played for six months and then comes for a lesson and another who goes straight to the professional, the first few lessons will be much easier for the person who hasn't been playing because they won't have picked up any bad habits. It's an easier process to construct a good swing, rather than first having to deconstruct a poor one."

How Many And How Often

Bolger: "In terms of a beginner, I'd recommend the first three to four lessons take place about a week apart and then space it out to one every two weeks to allow the person to practice. It's not only about hitting golf balls, you can be at home practising your grip and your stance - it's about familiarity with the golf club. If you don't work on those things then it's hard to progress. The professional is not a miracle worker.

"For somebody with a handicap of 1018, once every two weeks for about four lessons should make a huge improvement if they practice."

Dwyer: "It all depends on the individual. If someone comes to me and says that they want to take six, eight or 10 lessons then I now know that I have a fixed number of lessons to get this person swinging the golf club to my satisfaction. Then you'll get a guy and he will come to you a week before captain's day and he's swinging terribly and needs a quick fix. There are varying demands and therefore different methods.

"It's all relative to practice. I advise that they should practice twice during the week so that we can move on when it comes to the next lesson. It's about swing building with beginners. It's important for them not to lose their way, new golf swings are very vulnerable. In the 10-16 handicap category you only see them when there's a problem."

Hickey: "In the case of a beginner, it should be at regular intervals of about a week. A new swing is a fragile thing and you often find that those who are very keen come back to you every four or five days. They are afraid to go out on the course initially until they are comfortable. I suppose the general rule is that those starting off should have four or five lessons and then possibly one or two a month for a couple of months.

"For the more established golfer, it would depend on his aptitude to absorb the advice and how often they were willing to practice."

Practice

Bolger: "You should never be given too many things to work on, probably a maximum of two, for example grip and stance. Hitting 100 golf balls is madness. The biggest mistake on ranges is that guys go and get the largest bucket of balls possible and after hitting 30 wonder how they are going to get through the last 70. It's about quality. Hitting 30 balls is enough if you are practising something specific. Some people can hit more but the average golfer's concentration span does not lend itself to long bouts of striking."

Dwyer: "Hitting for the sake of hitting is a waste of time. Spend time on a smaller bucket. It's very easy to get bored practising. I would recommend 50 balls maximum and spend 45 minutes hitting them. Higher handicappers spend 75 per cent of time on a range with a driver, lower handicappers concentrate on irons."

Hickey: "On average you will use your driver about 12-14 times in a round whereas you are likely to have 34 putts plus. Here in Cork about five per cent of lessons that I give would be specifically on putting; the green is right outside the shop. It should be part of a pre-round routine, two or three minutes spent on the putting green practising from three or four feet. If you can't putt you can't score."

A Funny Thing Happened

Bolger: "Most of them are visual. I've said to people, hit a few balls there and they have just brought the club straight down on top of them as if they were hammering a nail with no thought about hitting it forward. I gave a guy a putting lesson once and had him set up perfectly. I said, `that's great, now bring the head back slowly and he just lifted his head very slowly. I probably should have said putter head, you have to be very precise in your language."

Dwyer: "There was a guy at a group lesson. He was starting out in the game. He introduced himself and I said, `God, I know your face from somewhere'. It turned out that he was the local parish priest and he had christened my niece the previous Sunday."

Communication

Dwyer: "What ever about having a good knowledge of the golf swing, you have to be a good communicator."

Bolger: "Make it as simple and enjoyable as possible, that's what the professionals should be trying to do."

Image

Bolger: "Over the last two or three years look at the relationship top professional players have with their coaches. People are recognising that to be better you have to go to somebody who knows what they are talking about. We are getting a little more popular now."

Golf Magazines

Dwyer: "Golf magazines. A lot of people will mention to me that I was reading this and trying that. Unfortunately more often than not they are wrong as the problem with a golf swing is what you feel you do and what you actually do are completely different. Some people pick up something from a magazine that they can relate to but they may be doing it already and only making it worse."

Average cost of lessons with Irish PGA professional: £20, one-to-one for half an hour.

Do you have to be a member of a club to go to a professional? No. Anyone can walk into a club or driving range and take a lesson.

Head office PGA Irish Region: 042-9321193.