I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Olin Browne and other top players, club professionals and accomplished amateurs from around the country. Equally important is working with every day players, recreational golfers that play for the love of the game.

This opportunity continues to be an important education for me in that I’ve been able to better define the differences in the way in which competitive golfers and recreational golfers take and apply information from instruction. True change has more to do with a player’s recognition that any change of habit is a process of time, something the recreational golfer does not fully appreciate. A “quick tip” might bring about a “quick fix” but in most cases, the fix is a compensation that has no lasting benefit. Real change -- lasting improvement, is a process that involves changing your subconscious to direct your body to execute a golf swing in manner different than it has been use to.

In order to begin the process of improving, awareness by the student of exactly what he/she is doing is the first thing that must be understood with certainty. In this phase of learning your instructor becomes a mirror, a pair of eyes to make you aware of what he sees that’s causing inconsistencies in your performance.

The golf swing takes less than two second’s from start to finish and it’s difficult to assimilate what you think happened with the reality of what actually happened within that short time. The goal of proper instruction is to make you aware of the reality of what you are doing so you can begin to correct the problem yourself. Matching-up feel with shot outcome will help build confidence in the things your working on. Moreover, it is essential because you will do far more work on your own than you will do in the presence of your instructor.

The next step is choice. In this phase the coach feeds you information based on a specific sequence. The information is meant as a conscious change your approach and create different/better subconscious habit. It then becomes your choice to change. It is most important that you understand the specifics of the change needed and effort required on your part to make it happen. Then you can accept the change and implement it with 100% confidence. That said, implementing significant change takes time – I can’t emphasize this point enough. The conscious mind can focus on only one thought at a time thus one must conquer a single issue at a time. The degree to which your golf swing needs to change and your inclination to affect that change by practice, will determine how long the process will ultimately take.

The last step, and for most people the most difficult, is trust. You must practice what you have changed so that your new move becomes subconscious. It is important that you have an increased awareness of how it feels when it is right, then and only then, can you trust your golf swing.

Your golf swing is a subconscious function. The more subconscious trust you have in your move the better you will perform. To that end, a good coach is important and in order to improve the student must have trust in that coach. However, in order for the student to reach his/her full potential, they must learn to trust themselves more.