Golf Training & Instruction

Although both the first golf magazines and the British and American Professional Golfers' Associations appeared early in the 20th century, barnstorming professionals and Bobby Jones would continue to dominate golf instruction right up to the Great Depression. Huge crowds flocked to see Jones and Walter Hagen on both sides of the Atlantic, learning such secrets as Hagen’ straight-line putting: drawing the clubface back from the ball in a straight line rather than a slight arc popular at this time. His innovation was important in the 1920’s and allowed him to win many tournaments - but it is even important today with the increased emphasis on fast difficult putting surfaces.

Golf Training Articles

• Getting Started with Golf Training
• Beginning Golf Instruction, The Approach Shot.
• Warming up for a Round of Golf
• How to Improve Your Golf Swing with Fitness Training
• What Can You Learn From Tiger Wood's Swing
• Golf Swing Aids are Not Effective If...
• Use a Golf Training Club to Improve Golf Swing Speed
• Golf Training Programs for Women

The modern sand wedge and bunker techniques were also a by-product of the era - this popular innovation the work of several golfers, most notably Gene Sarazen. But the Great Depression had a devastating effect on touring professionals, and the age of coast-to-coast exhibition tours came to a close. The years between 1932 and 1956 are not celebrated in golf instruction lore, but that isn’t to say that the instructors of the era weren’t any good. In fact, club-level and local instruction were better in this era than at any time during golf’s history, as aging tour pros such as Tommy Armour retired to club jobs while young pros like Tom Harmon decided not to join the nascent PGA tour, owing to it’s low purses and often appalling conditions.

Ernest T. Jones was at his studio on Fifth Avenue in New York City, preaching the virtues of "swing the clubhead" at five dollars a lesson to all comers. In addition, the best northern pros would travel to Florida in the winter and pick up new teaching styles and techniques in winter teaching meetings, or on the winter tournament circuit. Finally, modern golf range equipment began to appear, eliminating the need for a ball-shagging caddie, and sparked a boom in driving-range construction. College-based instructional programs were also adopted by many major universities during these years, attracting future stars such as Arnold Palmer.

In the mid-1950’s, largely due to television, a new golf boom began, and with tournament purses soaring and golf acquiring a certain cachet, younger amateurs and club pros abandoned careers in insurance, or on the practice tee, for glory on the PGA Tour. Prize money and endorsement income made millionaires out of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and with thousands of dollars now resting on the success of this putt in the Masters or that five-iron in the Open, leading professionals began to openly seek the advice of golf gurus such as Gardner Dickinson, Bob Toski, Harvey Penick, and Jack Grout. In 1957 Ben Hogan's published his book Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf - a classic that has stood the test of time.