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"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Chris Dortch
May 13, 2003
It was only a matter of time before the Internet became a vital
part of golf instruction. That time has come.
Thanks to technology introduced by the Internet Golf Academy, a
student having trouble with his game in California can e-mail his
instructor in New York a digital image of his swing. The
instructor can then break down the swing, dictate his suggestions
into a microphone and send the e-mail back to his student (see
examples at end of this article.)
In more conventional fashion, a golfer can take a lesson from
his swing instructor, then have a distilled version of the lesson,
complete with drills to work on for next time, waiting in his
e-mail box by the time he returns home.
It all works through IGA's website, where students have
"lockers" where their lessons are stored. With a password, the
golfer can download his lesson any time he wants.
Not surprisingly, Chattanooga Golf Center's Zeb Patten was the
first area professional to invest in IGA's professional software
(a cheaper version is available for non-professionals). Patten has
always been on the cutting edge of video and computer technology
in his instruction. He saw IGA's presentation at the PGA
Merchandise show in Florida over the winter and was quickly sold
on the concept.
Click here to register to win this type
of golf lesson free from
Chattanooga Golf Center
"What a great way to get feedback to your students," Patten
said. "You just send people an e-mail as opposed to sending them
home with a [lesson] tape. It might take you 45 minutes to go
through the tape, and you might not always get what you need from
watching it. This way, you know right away what's going on with
your swing and are reminded what the instructor is suggesting you
work on."
As a player dedicated to improvement, I must admit to watching
hours and hours of tape. But as Patten said, wading through an
entire lesson can be tedious. As much as I want to learn from
every lesson, sometimes watching them over again can be
counterproductive.
Not so with IGA's new e-mail concept. Eager to try Patten's new
toy, two of us from this website went to the Golf Center for a
lesson. Mike Jenkins is an experienced tournament player and I'm a
12 handicapper trying to shave off those last few strokes to get
into single digits.
That quest has been agonizingly long-don't you just hate it
when work gets in the way of your golf game?-but after taking a
lesson from Patten and then downloading a four-minute synopsis, I
believe my quest has just reached the fast track. I've found it
considerably easier to have his instruction reinforced. I've
probably watched the lesson file-through Windows Media Player-15
times in the five days since my lesson, and each time Patten's
suggestions become a bit more ingrained. It doesn't hurt that
we're working on just one simple drill-to ensure a downswing
controlled by the big muscles-but there's nothing quite like
having your golf lesson sitting on your computer's desktop,
available any time you want it. My VCR and voluminous
chicken-scratched notes on reams of paper are a thing of the past.
"We've had nothing but positive feedback in the month we've
been doing this," Patten said. "A lot of people on tour are
already using it, guys like Phil Mickelson [and instructor Rick
Smith] and Tiger Woods [with instructor Butch Harmon]. You just
can't beat the fact that these e-mails you get are short, sweet
and to the point."
"The technology is a great concept," Jenkins said. "Zeb's setup
is a real plus. Of course you wouldn't want to take a lesson just
because of the technology. You have to go to a teacher who knows
what he's doing. Chattanooga is blessed with a lot of good
teachers who know what they're doing. And Zeb is certainly one of
them. I was very impressed with the entire process."
Click here to see Mike Jenkins lesson
Click here to see Chris Dortch lesson
Click here to register to win this type
of golf lesson free from
Chattanooga Golf Center
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