Trillium’s Approach

My philosophy for teaching is to deliver simple and effective instruction to improve each student’s performance.

I use a combination of core principles from biomechanics, scientific research in motor learning, and educational psychology as a framework. My goal is to maximize the time I spend with students to help them learn efficiently.

DEVELOPING AREAS OF COMPETENCY

All too often players spend more time practicing what they’ve already learned rather than working on the areas that are costing them strokes on the course. A great coach works with a player to identify the areas that need improvement and develop an implementation plan based on how that individual golfer learns new skills. While all of us would love to have unlimited time to devote to the sport, time is limited and, without the right approach, efforts are sometimes misguided.

The three essential parts necessary for a coach and player to develop a clear, actionable, and time-efficient plan to improve one’s golf game are: mechanics, competitive practice, and play.

1) MECHANICS

Sound mechanics are the first things learned in golf. What a player works on should suit his or her own physiological makeup, in other words, what that player’s body is capable of doing. My training stems largely from the laws of physics, cause and effect, and research into what makes the golf swing repeatable and efficient. I use JC Video software, ball flight tracking with Flightscope, a Casio highspeed camera, and, when appropriate, the Golf BioDynamics 3-D system with Rob Neal PhD, for a closer look at kinematic sequencing.

2) COMPETITIVE PRACTICE

While skill building and mechanics are best worked on in a practice area because they require concentration on movements themselves, competitive practice is a way to transfer skills into a real-life playing situation. This is a much like a scrimmage in soccer practice. Game-like practice is the best way to help transfer what you've learned in a practice area over onto the golf course. We call this "transfer training."

3) PLAY

The ultimate goal when training with a coach is to learn to play. Learning this includes how one manages club selections, shot selections, and behaviors and emotions on the course. I like to see my students in action on the golf course as much as possible. A good part of my teaching is done on the course in real playing conditions.