The idea that a golfer can learn a new skill in a controlled environment (during a coaching session, supervised with instant feedback from the coach) and then take that learned skill into a situation where the golfer is under ‘stress’ i.e. playing on the golf course, immediately is a completely flawed idea yet one employed by a large number of amateur golfers.

Many coaches will tell you that change takes time, it really doesn’t, you can change something very quickly.  In fact, I would expect to see my students make changes as quickly as in a 30 minute session.  What takes the time is being able to use the newly learned skill when the body and mind is under ‘stress’.  This stress is directly related to the fear of a negative outcome (poorly hit ball, bad direction etc.)

‘Stress’ can take many forms in golf and for some it can start before even setting foot on the golf course.  It’s important to understand that as soon as we experience stress in golf it becomes extremely hard to trust any kind of new skill or movement pattern.  A long time mentor of mine, Hall of Fame Instructor once said “First the golfer must be able to make the change, once you see that they CAN it’s about whether they WILL”

The ability to learn new skills has never been so much in the forefront of my mind as much as when my son was 3 years old.  Watching him learn his daily skills is an ever-evolving process of trial and error with the instinctive inquisitive mindset that comes so natural to young humans.  Let’s make a comparison here – My son was learning to ride his bike.  Well sure as the day is long he will not be jumping on a pedal bike and riding on the road.  He learns the concept of riding his bike by having a balance bike where his feet touch the ground and he can scoot himself along without the worry/stress of any particular negative outcome – he feels safe and in control.  Once he gets the concept of riding the bike and is confident in steering he starts to take his feet off the ground and coast for a while – it’s at this stage I can see he has the ability to balance on his own without the aid of his feet.

Next comes the stage where he will learn to pedal. While he is learning a new skill he needs support in the crossover so he has a bike with stabilizers.  Again he feels safe to learn his new skill because he knows he is stable, safe and in control while he learns to combine pedaling and steering at the same time.

After a while Grayson says “Daddy, take these off” and points to the stabilizers on his bike.  He feels ready to be able to balance like his balance bike while pedaling and steering.  So I take off the stabilizers but replace the aid of balance by holding Grayson and the seat as he pedals.  He feels some wobble but knows he is safe.

Finally, during mid ride I let go.  He finally is riding his bike on his own, all the learned skills are blending together and although he may have some conscious thoughts at this moment he is in control of his destiny and maintaining his form.  As time goes by and the more practice he does, the easier and easier riding his bike becomes until he no longer needs to think about any of the individual skills that got him to this point.

So how does this story apply to golf?  Well I believe, like Grayson learning to ride his bike, making a change in any part of your golf game is a journey through 4 key Phases.

The phases of game improvement

Phase 1 – Practice facility with coach

This phase is the starting point for any new skill being learned.  The golfer is in need of a change to improve his/her technique and once the coach identifies the fault and diagnoses the cause, they will start the process of teaching the new skill.  This may come in the form of visual or feel, maybe a combination of the two.  The golfer learns that feel and is able to make the change with the coach watching on for guidance and support.

Phase 2 – Practice facility without coach

The golfer practices this skill in the same environment as where the skill was learned (practice ground) and is able to successfully execute it without the coach present and with only his/her feelings to give feedback.  This is probably the most difficult phase as if the golfer drifts away with other swing thoughts not relevant to the new skill being learned then the new skill will not be learned.

Phase 3 – Golf course in practice

The golfer now takes their newly learned skill into a ‘stressful’ situation (the golf course).  There is now an outcome associated to failing.  However, the golfer is still in practice mode, there is no score associated to the game but the golfer is focusing on executing the skill in the environment that he/she is ultimately wanting to perform in.

Phase 4 – Golf course with scorecard

This phase is the final step.  Being able to perform the skill under the ‘stress’ of not only an associated outcome with the shot in hand, but with the overall score of the game, the outcome of the result and whatever may lead on from this round of golf (winning the club championship/making the cut in a tour event/winning a major championship).

As a parent coaching a child to ride a bike, we wouldn’t jump to phase 4 – riding a bike on the road without stabilizers!  Yet as golfers, we expect to be able to go from phase 1 to phase 4 within days or weeks. 

Of course not every new skill will take the same time to progress through the 4 phases but the important thing to understand it that these phases exist and there’s no short cut.

How you practice throughout the 4 phases of game improvement will determine how quickly and if even you can go from phase 1 to phase 4.  Many amateur golfers never truly learn the skill they have been ‘trying’ to learn for a very long time.