TAMPA COACH AND CLIENT FIND SUCCESS
Greg Eckels was a 5-handicap golfer — not bad. Now he’s a 0.5 — even better. His Coach, Tony Goff, tells us how they made it happen.
GolfTEC: Let’s start from the beginning. How did you and Greg get started working together?
Tony: Greg first came into GolfTEC around January of 2009. He was very frustrated with his driving, despite being a solid golfer with a 5 handicap. He wanted to get better and he saw his driving as the part of his game that could improve the most. He took advantage of a holiday offer and we went from there.
GolfTEC: So how did the first few lessons go for Greg?
Tony: Greg was pleased with the initial results we had. It was clear that he wanted to keep working on his game after he purchased a three month practice membership. I think he saw that we were heading in the right direction, which motivated him to continue working on his game.
GolfTEC: You mentioned that Greg was frustrated with his driving. What were you able to do to help that part of his game?
Tony: Once we identified the goal of improving his driving, we identified the key changes that had to happen in order to reach his goal. Once we had a plan, we went straight to work.
GolfTEC: What were the specific changes that you made to Greg’s swing?
Tony: The first change we made was creating a more stable base. We got him to stop swaying back by stabilizing his lower body. The second change was shortening his swing to create a better top position. To accomplish this we worked on staying in posture at the top of his swing by eliminating his arm lift. Once he had shortened his swing and created more extension at the top, he was able to consistently swing from the inside out. The third change was getting him to post onto his left side to create better rotation and balance through impact and into his finish.
GolfTEC: How successful was Greg at making those changes?
Tony: Very successful. Greg worked hard and practiced indoors at least three times a week to make the swing changes. He loved to bring up tour video during his practice sessions to use a comparison for his positions.
GolfTEC: We all know improvement is never easy. What was the biggest challenge for Greg?
Tony: It was difficult for Greg to trust the swing changes we had made once he was actually outside on the range or course. Greg had put in the hard work in our indoor hitting bays and he knew what to do while he was inside. But he needed the reinforcement of the outside lesson in order to accept the changes for good. That was the final step — getting him outside to put everything together.
After correcting his driver alignment in an outdoor setting, he was freed up to swing out through the ball. Greg saw immediate improvements in his ball flight. This greatly increased his confidence in what we were working on indoors. The outdoor lesson was the key to Greg building trust in his new swing.
GolfTEC: After that last outdoor lesson, what was next?
Tony: Greg took the summer off to work hard on everything we had covered in our lessons. Greg summed it up when he said, "I’ve been playing over the summer and I now have my handicap at 0.5 [down from a 5]. The swing changes are going well. The biggest improvement has been my driver; so much easier to score from the fairway. Thanks."
