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Casey Eberting Golf Schools and Private Golf Instruction
In Texas Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin, Texas
(35 minutes north of San Antonio International Airport)

Band-aid Golf Instruction

If you've taken a golf lesson, you've probably experienced band-aid golf instruction. It's called band-aid instruction because the symptom is treated, not the problem, and obviously this type of golf instruction is not likely to significantly improve your golf game.

Before I go any further, please keep in mind that this page (and my entire web site) is geared toward the person who wants to become a much better golfer and is willing to put in the time and effort and has the dedication necessary to achieve their goals. I'm being critical of band-aid instruction from that perspective and I'm hoping to educate anyone who wants real improvement to seek fundamental swing changes, not band-aid changes. While it is true that I am being critical of band-aid instruction here, I do believe most golfers should be getting band-aid instruction for the simple reason that so few golfers are dedicated enough to achieve fundamental swing changes.

Here are two very common band-aid remedies with which most golfers are probably familiar. 1) A slicer is told that the slice is caused by an open clubface at impact and that to correct the problem they need to close the face by rolling the arms over or by closing the clubface in some other manner. Rather than find out why the clubface is open and then solve that problem, the band-aid solution is to focus on covering up the symptom (the open clubface). 2) A right-handed golfer who comes over-the-top has a divot that points to the left of the target so the golfer is told to either swing inside-to-out, drop the club almost straight down as they begin the forward swing, or hold the shoulders back at the beginning of the forward swing. The band-aid view—why is the golfer coming over the top? Who cares, just don't do it! The cures are often just as wrong as the problem, but because band-aid instruction is basically a trial and error approach, it is possible to find a solution that will temporarily alter the symptoms, but without fixing the problem.

Band-aid instruction usually focuses on immediate results—trying to get the student to hit the ball better during the golf lesson. Not surprisingly, immediate results are what almost all golfers want as well (not knowing this isn't in their best interest, which I'll get to in a minute). Because most golfers crave immediate results, golf instructors are going to try to give their students what they want. The problem is that by not focusing on the real problems, band-aid instruction can severely limit a golfers potential and tends to give a false sense of hope.

So what's wrong with immediate results? Let me answer that question with another question. When was the last time you tried to learn something that was very, very difficult and found that you immediately did it well? Do you think you could learn to do a flip on a balance beam and consistently land safely on your feet with only a few months of practice (assuming you haven't had any gymnastics training)? The golf swing of a good player is much, much more exacting, but it may not seem like it because the consequences of a mistake aren't as severe—you don't risk breaking your back if you miss!

If you're one of the few who are motivated enough to become a much better golfer, you should improve your golf swing fundamentals and take a long term approach to improving your golf game. The focus should be on developing your understanding of what a correct golf swing is and realize that applying fundamentals to your swing will take time, practice, and determination, and don't be surprised if you get a little worse before getting better. The reason you might get worse is simple, the body looses coordination as it tries to do things it hasn't done before—things that are different from what it wants to do. In a way, it's as if a little war is going on when you try to improve your swing. The mind tells the body to do something new, but the body rebels and tries to do what it already knows (what is comfortable). Most golfers quickly surrender to their body's desire to avoid change because they weren't aware that the fight was going to be so protracted, or that there was even going to be a battle in the first place.

No, real improvement in one's golf swing is not quick, and it's not painless. If you know this going in, you will have a much better chance of succeeding. You don't have to kill yourself with hard work (although the more work you put in, the better you can become), you just have to be smart by being aware of what is coming. Basically, you need to know that it is going to be a long, slow adventure and you will need to posses the fortitude to be able to continue to practice even when you're hitting the ball badly, and take my word for this, if you're making fundamental changes you will go through periods when you do hit the ball badly!

Golf is a challenge and that's its allure. Everyone is searching for a way to improve, but most golfers don't understand what is required to achieve that improvement! If you really want to get better, forget the quick fix and take the long term approach to improving your golf swing fundamentals.

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