Good Equipment + Good Instruction + Practice = Golf Skill Development
This morning in my semi-monthly meeting with Dave Bisbee, Director of Instruction at Seven Canyon’s Golf Club in Sedona, we were chatting about the state of Golf and what we feel is needed to bring more people into playing golf. This discussion stemmed from the questions I am getting from many business people concerning why people are leaving golf.
There are multitudes of reasons. Naturally the economy can’t be ruled out, but the one issue Dave and I feel is the biggest reason why business people are leaving golf is their inability to improve their Golf Skills.
Many people leave golf due to never getting to a level of of playing golf that makes golf fun, enjoyable or comfortable. Over 33% of the people I interviewed who left playing golf reported they got into golf after buying off the rack golf club, hitting the driving range every three months and then playing golf every other week .
Another 33% said they bought the most expensive golf equipment in the world, went to a golf school and left golf due to not being able to maintain the golf skill they learned.
And the remaining 34% stated they started with great fitted equipment,and went to the driving range each week before they went to play golf with their buddies but left because they didn’t know what they were doing when they got to the golf course.
There are too many people who do not understand the importance of properly fitted equipment, good instruction and practice are all needed to develop any level of golf skills.
You can buy and have fitted to you the best golf clubs made and go to the driving range every other day and pound rocks until you hands bleed, but if you have not received any instructions on how to hit the golf ball you are just going to stand there and bleed to death.
Even if you went to golf school for a week of instruction and practiced religiously every other day, if you do this with golf clubs that do not fit you and your swing than more than likely when you take to the golf course you are going to look like you are swatting fly’s in a phone booth.
The formula to follow is simple:
Good Equipment + Good Instruction + Practice = Golf Skill Development
Removing any of these variables from the equation will result in under developed golf skills, frustration and dissatisfaction with playing golf which will eventually lead to leaving golf.
There are several algebraic equations I built from this basic formula that outlined the rate of skill development based on quality for instruction or time increment available to get good instructions and practice, but they went over Dave’s head so I figured it would blur your vision of the basics. So I left them out of this blog. But Dave and I both totally agree that many people are leaving golf not due to the economics but to the inability to improve their golf skills to an enjoyable or comfortable level. The current economic situation makes for a convenient scapegoat for the real reason people have for leaving golf.
Think about this formula when it comes time to answering the questions Your Are going to ask yourself..
Why isn’t my game improving?
I hope to be back soon with a full menu of things we can offer business golfers to learn how to use golf to their business’ advantage. Make sure to update you Feed to my site and Stay tuned.
