Why do so many golfers have such unpredictability with their game? They can shoot the best score of their lives one day and 100 the next.
It comes down to the 12 most important letters in golf:
F-U-N-D-A-M-E-N-T-A-L-S
Every proficient player and teacher in the 500-year history of the game agrees on this: A correct grip, combined with a properly aligned athletic stance and good balance, are paramount to golf shots that fly as intended.
Grip. Stance. Alignment. Balance.
Claude Harmon
1948 Masters winner Claude Harmon – one of the last full-time club professionals to contend in a major golf tournament (until Blockie in 2023, of course!) - reminded his son, Butch (Tiger Woods’ future teacher), daily of the core concepts of the game: grip, stance, alignment, balance. This daily mantra reiterated that these factors should be the first things to check when the ball starts to go sideways.
Photo by Paola Andrea on Unsplash
Modern driving ranges and practice facilities, including the totally reimagined golf entertainment venue TopGolf®, in no way service this part of the game for their customers. Where is the sharing of the core tenants of golf - the basics, the history, the connection to the actual game? When facilities don’t include this information, they seem to be saying, “Here is a mat, a ball, and a field. Good luck!”
This attitude doesn’t make for a great customer experience. Where is information to help golfers actually get better? This is the same nonsense the bowling industry went through a decade ago: spend a bunch of money to add flashy technology, a DJ, and some giant TVs, then double the price! Unfortunately, this is what happens when big money enters the equation and doesn’t consider the customer. Instead of thinking deeply about helping the customer improve at the skill, facilities find easy places to throw money that don’t really serve the customers that are there to improve.
Our goal at FGL is to make sure everyone, at every golf practice facility in the world, knows the basics of grip, stance, alignment, and balance and how to apply them. We want to reinforce those concepts every chance we get. Everywhere you look, you should be reminded that those fundamentals are the key to both playing better today and to fixing things tomorrow. Golfers, aspiring and established teachers, practice facilities, retailers and manufacturers: We all have a part to play in the future of the game, and it starts with helping people play better, find more enjoyment in the game, and continue to make our great game a part of their lives.
Join the mission today at:
FromGolfWithLove.com