Lessons from the Tour

Jeff Fisher
Director of Instruction
Fisher Bryan Golf Academy at Longbow Golf Club
Mesa, AZ
jfisher@obsports.com

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Most of us tend to think that golf is easy for the professionals. I have two words to say that will make you realize otherwise, Kevin Na. Kevin is a world-class player and a PGA Tour winner, good enough to be in the last group at one of the toughest events on Tour. Yet, swing changes with a new instructor have created uncertainty in his mind to the point that he has trouble pulling the trigger on shots. Change is a difficult thing in anyone’s game, but especially when you are on the biggest stage playing for your livelihood. Still, he knows that the changes were for the betterment of his game and that he will come out better in the long run, so he works through the rough patches with determination and class. I wish the same could be said for the fans who heckled him.

Change is uncomfortable, yet necessary. I have never in my career gone up to a random player and offered advice. Every lesson I have given has been because the player sought out my help. As a student, when you enlist the help of an instructor, it is your job to be open to that instruction. You have gone to him because you were unsatisfied with the current state of your game. Rarely is there a tiny tweak that will miraculously shave strokes from your score.

Change also takes time. Tiger Woods mantra in recent months has been that he “just needs reps”. If possibly the greatest player in history needs time and repetition to master a swing change then the rest of us certainly do as well! The old adage “patience is a virtue” is never more true than when you are trying to improve your golf game.

Golfers are always searching for the one tip or secret that will make them the golfer they want to be. Here is the best tip you can get. Find a good instructor who will help you make a solid plan for improvement and then follow that plan. When you do that you will be on the road to better golf.

Jeff Fisher is the Director of Instruction at the OB Sports Golf Academy at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. Jeff can be reached at 480.414.9330 or jfisher@obsports.com.