Advice from Butch Harmon: "Don't Be A One Trick Pony"

Butch Harmon is one of the most legendary instructors in sports, a gifted storyteller, and, fortunately for us, a thought-leader who shares many of the same philosophies as we do at TPI.

Iona Stephen recently visited Butch at his facility in Las Vegas to interview him while he gave her a lesson.  Iona is an outrageously talented interviewer (and an elite golfer) and this format not only showcased Butch’s coaching gifts, but his wisdom. 

One of the pearls Butch shared is a reflection of our core philosophy. Specifically, if you’re working with multiple golfers, you better be able to teach multiple swing solutions.  After all, you don’t collect a wall of major championship flags by teaching everyone to swing the same way.  As Butch told Iona:

“I’m not a one trick pony.  I don’t believe there’s one way to do it. I believe that everybody’s different.  The way I was taught by my father is you never take away what somebody does naturally, you just make it better.  I think in modern times people have a swing they like and they try to push everyone into that swing, well that’s impossible.”

Jordan doesn’t swing exactly like Justin.  Homa doesn’t swing exactly like Hovland.  Are there similarities?  Or course, but there are subtle uniquenesses which might make their technique favorable for them and unsuitable for another player.

As we say in our Level 1 course, we favor efficiency over style.  How it works over how it looks.  To echo Butch, we believe there’s more than one way to get it done.  Here’s Dr. Rose at Level 1 webinar:

So what’s the best solution for your golfer?  Build a swing around what their body can do. 

“I can remember the 10 years I worked with Tiger Woods.  Everyone who would come take a lesson would say ‘I want to swing like Tiger Woods.’  I would say, no kidding, so do I.  But if we don’t jump in his body, how are we going to do that?”

Butch gets it.  The swings we admire on professional tours often belong to golfers with elite movement capabilities.  It doesn’t mean the mid-handicapper in your gym or on your lesson tee can’t play their best golf without those same movement capabilities, it just means that their technique might need to look a little different than a golfer with elite strength, flexibility or motor control. 

Coaches who want their golfer to swing like major champions aren’t ill-meaning, they just might not have considered their golfer's physical capabilities as a prerequisite.  Would a basketball coach ever draw up an alley-oop without being sure that the player receiving the pass could get above the rim?  Probably not.  As Butch says:

“No coach will tell you something to try to mess you up. What they think they’re doing is right, but they don’t understand the person they’re dealing with in terms of their strength or flexibility.” 

This is precisely why we created the Level 1 screen.  Don’t guess what a golfer can physically do, assess what they can physically do.  Here’s Dr. Rose at a Level 3 seminar:

It’s not a doctor screen.  It’s not a fitness screen.  It’s a movement screen designed to help coaches make better recommendations for technique, and for trainers, chiropractors and therapists to outline more effective programs for training and treatment. 

If you’re not assessing, you’re just guessing.

---

If you are a coach, fitness or medical professional interested in learning more about how to help golfers determine if their body is affecting their swing, check out our newly updated Level 1 online course.

View TPI Level 1 Online Course

If you're a golfer interested in a physical assessment, you can connect with a TPI Certified expert via our Find an Expert page.