They may also work for your students and help to build a long-term player-coach relationship.

Attention over intention

Golfers will invariably arrive at a lesson with lots of intentions, but the reality is that they can only devote their full attention to one thing. It’s important that they understand the difference so encourage them to focus their sole attention to one aspect of their game during the lesson so they leave better-equipped than when they arrived.

Control you, then the club

Watch Rory McIlroy swing a golf club and most golfers will marvel at the combination of speed, power and balance. As PGA Professionals we cannot be expected to get everyone swinging like Rory McIlroy but we can put them in a starting position that will give them the best chance of making their best swing. I might say the word ‘balance’ 20 times every lesson because without it, we can’t control what the club does on a consistent basis.

Care less, but don’t be careless

Anyone who swings a golf club has a 50/50 chance of achieving one of two results; hitting it where they want the ball to go, or not. And if it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world. Encourage that mindset within your lessons and you will see a significant increase in their rate of improvement.

Consistent actions, not consistent results

Nine out of 10 people who come to me for lessons want to improve their consistency. The issue I have with that is that most golfers don’t do enough things consistently within the golf swing to generate consistent results. The most we can ask of our students is to concentrate on being consistent in their setup and their thought process; the results will speak for themselves.

Leave with confidence

Most golfers think that once they leave a lesson, the magic stays behind. I stress to my students that whatever good shots they hit, whatever progress they make, is completely their doing. The bad shots? They’re on me. Whether I am standing beside them or not, they are now more capable of hitting better golf shots after the lesson than they were before. That should fill any golfer with confidence the next time they play, and make them want further lessons in future.

Andrew Thomas has been a PGA Professional for the past 30 years. He teaches at Wembley Golf Course in Perth and was named the 2022 WA PGA Game Development Coach of the Year.