Teacher guys at range

[Rohlio]

I just look at them...I don't even say anything... I just look at them til they stop talking. Then I put my head back down and go back to hitting balls.

If you are lucky you will see them shank one or skull one at their own station before you leave. Then take this as your opportunity to walk over and launch into "The reason you shanked that was..."

I am more than happy to get involved in a conversation with another golfer about what I am working on, or a swing methodology or just why I like golf, but unsolicited advice on the range is insanely rude.

[g8a_golf]

[quote name='Kansas Bound' timestamp='1300995095' post='3084720']
[quote name='PatScan' timestamp='1300993408' post='3084612']
Not only have I had a guy do this to me, I've had a guy interrupt what I thought might have actually been a productive little session to hand me his business card and mini biography. He also, unbidden, started hitting balls next to me with my sand wedge.

Uncool. My dad, however, thought he was Hogan himself with his "rotate through the ball schpeel." Does anyone's instructions to a family member/friend fall on deaf ears, but then when they hear it from somewhere else, it's a "game-changer"?
[/quote]


What, he started hitting balls with one of your clubs? LOL who the hell did he think he was!! That is hilarious
[/quote]
If someone grabbed my club and just started hitting it, I'd probably start the first fist fight at that particular driving range

[tembolo1284]

[quote name='larrybud' timestamp='1301056764' post='3086779']
The problem with unsolicited advise is that the person comes into your practice session totally without context. What I mean by that is that if you just go walking by someone and watch them hit 3 shots, you have NO IDEA what they are trying to accomplish.

Probably 8 years ago I had this old crusty pro at the range walk by me, then start giving me advice on how not to slice... problem is, I was TRYING to hit big cut shots. I immediately stopped him and told him that... "oh".

Another time I was in my local dome trying to hit the bottom of the two targets they have on the back wall. The wall is 94 yards away, and the target is maybe 25 feet in the air. So I'm hitting punch 5 irons nice and low with a 1/2 swing. Someone came up to me and told me I needed to make a bigger turn so I'll hit it harder and higher... idiots!
[/quote]


Good Post sir.

[gizzardman2]

Same thing happened to me very recently with a nice twist. I was hitting balls on the practice ground at my home course and from up the fairwar walks this old guy who stood and watched me hit a few. As he came past me he said 'You're not keeping you're eye on the ball through impact' and then began to talk about which was my dominant eye and how Nicklaus' was left eye dominant that's why he moved his head to the right and followed the ball with his left.
Anyway's i had a chat with this guy and gave him some respect but all the time i was thinking i bet he hasn't ever broken 90!.
Later on that night i kept thinking about how i recognised this guy from somewhere else apart from being a member at my club that i very occasionally saw. After a couple more hours i realised the guy's name was Dave Musgrove who caddied for Seve and Lyle when they both won the Open. He's also caddied for Tom Watson and was recently (stll maybe?) Lee Janzens bag man. It was pretty coold to be honest and i'm glad i gave him the time.

As a bonus the tip helped me straighten out my shots almost instantly!

[tembolo1284]

crappola that's cool. If only I had such an experienced dude come up randomly to give me advice.

[BPSCHMID]

Had a guy at my range tell me that my wrists should act like a door hinge through impact...they should flip towards the target...my answer of, "So, you're pretty much teaching the EXACT OPPOSITE of what any golfer should do?!"...didn't faze him in the least. His proud demonstration included 3 relatively straight 150 yard tee shots...with a driver! "See...wouldn't you rather be in the short grass?" The topper was his handmade business card: Larry Gr****L, "Experienced Teacher of Golf". We parted ways with his admonition of, "When you're really ready to get down to business, you'll give me a call." I mean hey, aren't we all looking for a solid 150 yds. off the tee?

[AP2 712]

This happened to me last week... the guy actually pointed out something in my swing that I found useful when applied to my chipping and putting.

After a while I was asking myself what I did to deserve this but if my chipping and putting improves due to him going over the top to point something out in my swing.... It's a victory!

[Dill Pickleson]

you should've started intentionally shanking every shot once he started his teachings

[cardoustie]

I've been the recipient of this two or 3 times and just look up with the "are you freakin kidding me glare". Though I must say I did have this happen once and the guy turned out to be a solid instructor and fixed me in two swings so you get the crap to hopefully find one nugget

However, 3 weeks ago I had to give the dude beside me some help at the indoor dome. Only because he kept watching me and blurting out after his shots "what am I doing wrong"" .. All this with his wife giving him a different wrong tip after EVERY shot, it was all i could do not to burst out laughing. The tips were hysterical / way off base and she was a 30 capper at best

I simply said "do you really want to know what is going on?" He nodded and I said "go look up XXX on YYY website " and you will see what you need to work on. Good luck

[JP101]

This has happened to me on occasion. When I go to the range I take my camera and work on certain things. Sometimes I exaggerate a move to get it right which produces bad shots very often. Well of course people come up on occasion and try to give me the magic fix. Nothing is more annoying. I usually just ignore them.

[freshprince99]

Had a guy at my range tell me that my wrists should act like a door hinge through impact...they should flip towards the target...my answer of, "So, you're pretty much teaching the EXACT OPPOSITE of what any golfer should do?!"...didn't faze him in the least. His proud demonstration included 3 relatively straight 150 yard tee shots...with a driver! "See...wouldn't you rather be in the short grass?" The topper was his handmade business card: Larry Gr****L, "Experienced Teacher of Golf". We parted ways with his admonition of, "When you're really ready to get down to business, you'll give me a call." I mean hey, aren't we all looking for a solid 150 yds. off the tee?

 

hahahahahahaha!

 

that line killed me!

[QuadzillaXXX]

i'm not very good and i hope around to different ranges so it's happened to me quite a few times.....i have an instructor i really like but i didn't go very often, maybe 1-2/year until recently

it seemed like it was usually someone who worked there and probably trying to drum up business, which i can understand, so i just said i was already working with someone and they'd leave me alone

the ones i don't like are the guys in the bay next to me or something who are watching me hit and have to comment....i just say i'm not interested, thanks....i'm a pretty big, mr clean looking guy so they usually get the hint lol.....my swing must be terrible though for them to take a shot at talking to a guy who doesn't generally look all that friendly

[JohnMar]

[quote]i usually fake a hand sign like i cant hear and they go away immediately [/quote]


Haha, I do this all the time at the range. I pretend I'm deaf at least once a week .

[fats]

[quote name='JohnMar' timestamp='1301102275' post='3088809']
[quote]i usually fake a hand sign like i cant hear and they go away immediately [/quote]


Haha, I do this all the time at the range. I pretend I'm deaf at least once a week .
[/quote]

ROFL...Good one ... me at 75 I almost wouldn't be lieing...LOL

[98brg2d]

The context thing is absolutely correct. I go to the same driving range all winter (dome actually) and summer and see the same people all the time. This one older guy that works there, I think he used to be a pro but is now retired, watches me, knows my routine and doesn't say a word to me until it is clear that I have finished my routine and have just started playing around. He was super helpful the other day and I am very appreciative of the advice he gave but if he had interrupted my routine I wouldn't have listened to a word he said. FYI my routine includes a warm up with some wedge shots, then 5 iron shots, then I "play" a course in my head, including strokes for what I would consider OB for that hole, approach shots into bunkers etc. which is very frustrating to interrupt, even to the point that I make sure I have enough balls before I start so I won't have to walk back to the bin to get more.

The only time I ever gave advice was to a few teens/early twenties guys that were beside me shanking everything and I was honestly afraid I would get hit. All I did was give them some tees to put in the mat to help them visualize where the club head should be, not the best drill to cure shanks but it got the ball straight enough that I wasn't sweating with fear anymore.

[socc62]

[quote name='jon2' timestamp='1300992249' post='3084538']
Was this guy a pro or just a random tool?

I usually hit with headphones in and people generally leave me alone.
[/quote]

I do this too, but at times it doesn't deter people!

[Artin]

[quote name='Redjeep83' timestamp='1300991689' post='3084513']
So Im at the range hitting great shots, tiny draws. It was an inside dome so there was only a few guys there. A teacher comes in and was watching me, He comes up to me and tries to get me to shift my weight to my back leg on my backswing. I told him I like to keep it centered but he was like just try this, lol. He proceeded to give me a lesson on shifting my weight back, and then watched me for the rest of my bucket to make sure I was, lol. As soon as he stopped looking I went back to my normal way and was hitting it great.

Anyone else run into the teacher on the range giving you a lesson when you dont ask? I think he was bored.
[/quote]


This is the NUMERO UNO breach of professional etiquitte. We have a PGA life member that walks the tee line all day poaching like that. Never bothers to ask the question: " do you currently work with an instructor?" Especially at a facility that has several teachers on staff. You never know who's student you're poaching. I teach at dome in Chicago and I'm about to go postal on this guy. You try to respect all your fellow PGA members. He's a life member meaning he's 50 years+ as a PGA member so I gave him the benefit of of doubt- the first 20 times I saw him doing it. Our GM is a great guy but he's not PGA and doesn't see it as a problem.

I'm pretty much the new guy so I have to bite my tongue. But he's poached on my clients on more than one occasion so I'm more than over it. The reason it rubs me wrong in particular is because I have NEVER taken on a new student anywhere where I didn't ask them if they were currently working with a teacher in the section. If they say yes I call that teacher first to find out what the problem is. If there is one. Often times students will teacher hop and I don't allow it. If they want to make a break with a teacher that's fine but I make damn sure I know all the particulars. Why? Because it's in the students best interest number one. They hop because they think that the next teacher can provide that elusive " magic bullet" Which doesn't exist. Two, students will come and go and my reputation is all I have in this business and I have to co-exist with my fellow PGA members. Most students won't think twice about throwing you under the bus if they didn't get better under your tutelage. If they will hop they will rip you all over town. You never know who you might need a job reference from.You never know who you might be working with or for in the future. I'm not going to compromise my reputation over a few $$$ just to get a lesson. I don't need the money that bad. The only worse than being a poacher in our business is a cheater or a thief.