In December 2004, Golf Monthly chose to celebrate genuine coaching talent. The aim was to recognise the achievements of those who rarely capture the limelight but whose tireless work maximises the enjoyment of all their pupils. So Golf Monthly’s Top 25 UK Coaches list was born and since then these carefully selected experts have provided the core instruction for the magazine.
Back in June an appeal in Golf Monthly, empowering readers to nominate their favourite local and national coaches. A huge response gave us a broad spectrum of highly regarded and extremely well-loved pros to choose from. But how can you truly tell if one coach is better than another? Judging the merits of a good teacher is often largely subjective and it was felt that for the list to really work it needed some strict direction. So they turned to Dr Paul Schempp, the laboratory director at the University of Georgia’s Sport Instruction Research Lab. He was the brains behind the American Golf Magazine’s top 100 coaches and he also helped Golf Monthly devise there own original Top 25 UK Coaches list back in December 2004. His influence was to give the whole process a profoundly scientific framework. Based on his extensive research into what makes a good sports instructor, Dr Schempp compiled a questionnaire that was sent to all our nominated coaches. Their answers gave them the criteria and information that they needed to judge their capabilities. To help decide the final 25, they put together a panel of judges comprising representatives from the golfing unions of England, Wales and Scotland, as well as the Ladies Golf Union. However, before the judging began, Dr Schempp offered the panel some crucial advice on the specific points to look for. This provided the structure around which the applications were judged. The panel outlines the advice Dr Schempp gave.
What makes a great coach
Knowledge
Extensive knowledge of golf, students, and golf instruction
Avid and enthusiastic listener and learner
Experience
Extensive teaching experience (minimum of 10 years)
Extensive playing experience
Teaching
Significant portion of lesson devoted to learning about the student
Sets only one or two goals per lesson
Analyses strengths and weaknesses, but only tells student what they do well and what they can do to improve
Finds the single, most important thing to tell a student that will make the biggest difference to the his or her performance
Uses few words, but can convey a single idea in many different ways
An intuitive decision maker
Has highly developed routines and rituals
Closes the lesson with:
– student success
– a review of important learning cues
http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/instruction/toptwentyfivecoaches/340843/steve-north.html