# Is my daughter getting good instruction or not?



## BillSWPA (Jul 25, 2016)

First post here. I do not claim to know much about golf, but I would like to make sure I am not missing anything important before I find a new golf instructor for my daughter.

My wife has been taking our daughter (age 9) to a local golf course for both group and private lessons. Last Saturday was the first time I came along and had the chance to observe the lesson.

Most of this particular group lesson occurred on the driving range. As I watched my daughter swing I immediately noticed that she was swinging with her arms only. Needless to say, the balls were hardly going anywhere, and she was hitting them all over the place. When the instructor came over, the instructor (I have absolutely no intention of naming the instructor or course) focused entirely on my daughter's starting position, ending position, and whether she was hitting the mat with her club when swinging without trying to hit a ball. No other part of my daughter's swing was the subject of any focus or comment, if it was observed at all.

After the instructor moved on to other students, I told my daughter to lead with her shoulder, so that she was getting some body rotation into the swing. After a few tries, she understood and was applying the concept, hitting the balls 2-3 times as far as before. Although I cannot fully explain why, her accuracy also improved, with almost all balls going straight out in front of her.

When the instructor came over again, she was very happy with my daughter's swing, making very few corrections and generally making positive comments. I then told the instructor about the change I had made to her swing. The instructor was not happy (I would not expect happiness when I am interjecting myself even if only with my daughter), and indicated that at this stage they were focusing on form only.

I understand focusing on form before focusing on power, but doesn't form include the entire swing, not just the beginning and end? The instructor seemed concerned only with my daughter's position before and after the swing, and nothing else. I am also more than a little disappointed that I, with my very limited golf knowledge, was able to diagnose the issues with my daughter's swing and improve it far more than what I saw a professional golf instructor accomplish.

Is there something important here that I am missing as I evaluate what I saw? Should I keep giving this instruction a chance or just look for a different instructor or program?


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## SACgolf (Sep 10, 2016)

At age 9, your daughter will learn primarily from imitation. Filling the the head of a child with swing details won't be very effective. Keeping the lessons simple is the way to go at that age. If she sticks with it, and enjoys practicing on her own, she'll improve, whether she has a great instructor or not.


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