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Tossing it out there - why unlike other sports does golf seemingly NEED instruction ?

I think golf is a game of intricacies. There are so many little things that goes into a golf swing, so many things to manage and remember. Even if it is in your muscle memory it can still be a difficult game to master.
 
I have yet to come across a sport that didn't need instruction. I played soccer from age 5 to 24 and had instruction the entire way. I played baseball and basketball, both had instruction. I took up diving one year in high school and had instruction.

People say you don't need instruction to golf. I disagree with that statement on so many levels. Slashing about on the course is not fun to me, to golf you need instruction. Whether it's direct from instructor or indirect from watching some one else swing, some sort of direction is needed. I understand that some just don't care and just like swinging hard and that's fine. But it requires so sort of instruction like every other sport.
 
You play......And you have to ASK...??????
 
I think there is plenty of sports where you need instruction. Snow boarding, skiing, hockey, surfing, boxing. The list is truly endless.
 
Can't believe I missed this thread until now. Some pretty funny posts....

I think skiing is a sport where you absolutely need lessons to even function while on skis, while golf falls into the category of sports where you likely need instruction to improve, just like you would in tennis, baseball, basketball, etc.


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moosejaa said:
I hate to say it but if you're a good athlete golf will usually come easier to you than others. Taking it to the next level will still require instruction.
Watch the Reno/Tahoe open. Some of these former pros are really good and they probably didn't even get into golf seriously until after they retired.
Aaron Rodgers was not so good the first time he participated. Look at him now. Of course Charles Barkley ruins my whole theory :)
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Don't forget that professional athletes have two things that many of us don't. Time and money.
 
Tadashi70 said:
I have yet to come across a sport that didn't need instruction. I played soccer from age 5 to 24 and had instruction the entire way. I played baseball and basketball, both had instruction. I took up diving one year in high school and had instruction.

People say you don't need instruction to golf. I disagree with that statement on so many levels. Slashing about on the course is not fun to me, to golf you need instruction. Whether it's direct from instructor or indirect from watching some one else swing, some sort of direction is needed. I understand that some just don't care and just like swinging hard and that's fine. But it requires so sort of instruction like every other sport.
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I am not sure what the OP means by "instruction."

For instance, I dont think golf requires professional lessons. To be a pro, sure...but I'm a 7 hcp and I have never paid for a lesson. Paying for lessons would help I am sure, but at this point in my life I dont have the time or money.

But if "instruction" includes that old guy at the driving range giving you a tip, that golf digest article you read, the golf channel academy episode you watched on demand or the many tips from Freddie on THP then yes, golf needs instruction. I have capitalized on all of those resources and I have no doubt that they have made me better.

Freddie is spot on here IMO.

I believe in those other team sports you mention, you receive defacto instruction just based on the fact you make a team and have coaches who teach you how to get better.

I dont know if golf is harder than the other sports. I know you can typically play golf to a much later age due to less stress on the body than the other major sports. Not sure if that means it's easier but that's certainly one of the things I love about golf!
 
sparksjr said:
I am not sure what the OP means by "instruction."

For instance, I dont think golf requires professional lessons. To be a pro, sure...but I'm a 7 hcp and I have never paid for a lesson. Paying for lessons would help I am sure, but at this point in my life I dont have the time or money.

But if "instruction" includes that old guy at the driving range giving you a tip, that golf digest article you read, the golf channel academy episode you watched on demand or the many tips from Freddie on THP then yes, golf needs instruction. I have capitalized on all of those resources and I have no doubt that they have made me better.

Freddie is spot on here IMO.

I believe in those other team sports you mention, you receive defacto instruction just based on the fact you make a team and have coaches who teach you how to get better.

I dont know if golf is harder than the other sports. I know you can typically play golf to a much later age due to less stress on the body than the other major sports. Not sure if that means it's easier but that's certainly one of the things I love about golf!
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I don't think you need someone standing over you to learn golf. Like you said, the old guy, the quick golf digest read, the airport sand save video, your buddy on the course, 'that guy' who offers tips all the time and one finally makes sense...what ever there is direction of some sort. And the same holds true for other sports with some exceptions of course. But I couldn't become a running back at 43, or an nba guard and more then I could play tennis at a high level with out some serious instruction.
 
I think that no matter the sport - we have been receiving instruction or lessons our entire lives. Whether it is little league, playing football in the street, your Dad teaching you how hold a baseball bat in the backyard or an uncle teaching you how to shoot a puck - we have all gotten instruction along the way in every sport. How we are able to translate those lessons/instructions comes down to an individual's athletic ability and how that person can translate what they have learned.

Hitting a ball has never been an issue for me, and for the most part of hitting a golf ball for me - was pretty easy. But making a golf ball go where I wanted it to go and getting it to land where I wanted to land - that was a different beast all together. In other sports I have been very fortunate have people in my life that taught me early on the ins and outs of most sports - golf wasn't one of them. While I could survive on a golf course, I knew that if I wanted to get better and appreciate it more - I had to take lessons.
 
moosejaa said:
I hate to say it but if you're a good athlete golf will usually come easier to you than others. Taking it to the next level will still require instruction.
Watch the Reno/Tahoe open. Some of these former pros are really good and they probably didn't even get into golf seriously until after they retired.
Aaron Rodgers was not so good the first time he participated. Look at him now. Of course Charles Barkley ruins my whole theory :)
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I beg to differ that logic. Because there is far too much technique in golf to just say its easier for one who is athletic and generally may have picked up other sports easier than the average person.. I dont think that applies to golf. Many very athletic people who it never and doesnt come easier for while many others who are not athletic picked it up easier and became better much faster. I believe golf is a sport that may come easier or harder for anyone regardless whether or not they are athletic or naturally better at other sports.

I just think golf perhaps comes easier for certain people simply buy pure luck in a way. I believe the way one moves and flexes and thier natural gate (if we can call it that) or thier physical blue print just so happens for some people (whether athletic or not in other sports) to be more consistent with what is required to obtain good ball striking. Of course this is nothing at all have to do with thinking they dont require lessons to improve. I would never imply that. But over all the game comes easier for some and I think that is a big reason. Having everything line up and come together at point of impact is simply easier to do for some people simply by default of how they are built and move.

All kinds of different swings out there. Why? Imo because we are all so very different in the way we move, the way all parts of our bodies flex, twist, balance, reach, and pull combined with all very different sizes and shapes. I feel that for some people all that stuff just so happens to allow for and is simply more consistent for what is required to obtain better ball strikng more easily than others and that also allows for them to also be more consistent at doing it. While very many people and I believe most (due to thier physical blue print) need far much more amounts of tweaking and adjusting in order to obtain what is required for that same better and more consistent ball striking regadless of how athletic they may be at other sports or not. Thier physical characteristics are just not as naturally consistent with what is required for things to come together at point of contact as easily vs some others. It is much more of a struggle for them to have it all come together at one precise place and time (point of contact) and is sort of always a battle because it simply works more against their natural physical blue print with only the very tiniest room for error while attempting it. One may be very athletic in other sports but simply not built as well for more eaily obtained ball striking while one may also not be athletic in other sports yet be built more consistent for golf ball striking. And i belive that is most people and why i believe golf is harder for the average person.
 
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Rollin, I don't disagree completely with what you said but I would bet that 90% of the pros and even low handicap amateurs are "natural" athletes and probably have or could excel in other sports. I'm not saying they don't need instruction too but probably less than the average person. Athleticism is a factor in every sport, even golf.
 
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I just dont know if that would be true for golf. Other pros in other sports have also excelled in some of those other sports. Their gifts of speed , stregnth, agility, drive, and motivation do allow for it But I just dont think i could apply that same logic to golf. Imo I feel that its just too differnt of a type of thing vs the other sports and natural athletisism. But thats just my opinion which you all know can be a bit crazy at times. :)
 
rollin said:
I just dont know if that would be true for golf. Other pros in other sports have also excelled in some of those other sports. Their gifts of speed , stregnth, agility, drive, and motivation do allow for it But I just dont think i could apply that same logic to golf. Imo I feel that its just too differnt of a type of thing vs the other sports and natural athletisism. But thats just my opinion which you all know can be a bit crazy at times. :)
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We've all seen less athletically coordinated people struggle with just making contact and advancing a golf ball. More sports oriented / naturally athletic people won't have those issues due to inherently better coordination. I think the point being made is that naturally athletic people are more inclined to excel at any sport, especially those like golf that require very good hand eye coordination. We can surely agree that lessons can take a moderately coordinated person to a higher level (if they are dedicated to practice) than a naturally gifted person without instruction.
 
BTW "intehole" Never took notice before but that avatar is awesome. makes me kringe
 
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As a friend of mine says after the purchase of a new club, when asked if he was trying to buy a game he said "I'm trying, but this club didn't come with any instructions"
 
Because it is more of a game than a sport. When a fellow player who was a collegiate hockey star told me this I could make sense of it better. In most sports if you train harder, are bigger, stronger and faster you most often can end up the victor. You can be all those things and lose to an out of shape person, a women, a child and an elderly person in the game of golf. Frustrating but often that is the reality of it.
 
Didn't read the whole thread, just a couple pages. There are more "professional" instructors of amatuer participants in golf than all other sports combined, easily. Nobody has a pro softball coach, or a pro bowling coach. Either that speaks to the difficulty of golf or the incredible range of abilities that all of us hackers have...
 
Golf is the hardest sport I've ever undertaken, and I've participated at the highest amateur level in several different sports.

Without instruction, I would have never broken 80. Could I have played a round every week with my mates and enjoyed the game? Sure. But the level I WANT to play, requires instruction.
 
DaBuckBoys said:
Didn't read the whole thread, just a couple pages. There are more "professional" instructors of amatuer participants in golf than all other sports combined, easily. Nobody has a pro softball coach, or a pro bowling coach. Either that speaks to the difficulty of golf or the incredible range of abilities that all of us hackers have...
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I think it plays to how fickle golfers are and how we will look in any direction for help with the game of golf. Golf seems to foster the need for a guru or teacher. I think this stems from golf being a solitary sport and wanting someone to help or blame for our shortcomings. Golf also has several different successful ways to play it and most everyone thinks that way will work for them. It's kind of like a diet, they all work but is it something you can live with or in golf is it something you-can-continue to repeat.
 
Because it's really difficult.
 
Name another sport that requires you to swing a stick that's moving at 100mph+ at a ball that small that requires you to make contact with an area the size of a dime on the end of said stick, all while being sure to account for multiple different elements and how much to square the face, to get the desired outcome. Which is to put that small ball in a 3ish inch wide hole that starts off over 400 yards away....... I think that gives good reason.

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