Are PGA qualified teaching pro's obsolete?

With every player on tour now favouring specific teaching methods and the huge rise of coaches now being qualified for different methods like stack and tilit, plane truth and golfing machine. Does this mean PGA teaching methods are outdated and a thing of the past?

All top coaches now seems to have there own way of doing things Sean Foley for e.g seems to teach slightly different methods to a lot of other coaches and seemed to have integrated different methods into a single swing. Almost all good coaches in my area are qualified to PGA and at least one other method. The second method generally being the preferred method to teach. So what was the point in them getting there PGA badges when they could have just trained in there preferred method????

Personally I've had no luck with lessons from a PGA pro, the things they have taught me have made me a worse golfer, taking the club straight back at takeaway, getting the weight on the back foot when driving, extending down the line at follow through or even worse to 1 o clock, transferring the weight in the back swing, getting my head behind the ball in the backswing. All killer moves for me but regurgitated multiple times by multiple PGA coaches I have visited.

I must confess I'm a plane truth advocate and can honestly say 1 lesson with a plane truth coach and reading a short book that cost me £3 have done more for my golf game than 20+ hours and nearly £1000 spent with so called PGA professionals.

Obviously this is my experience and I would assume if you were what some people may refer to as a 2 plane swinger a PGA pro would likely do an excellent job but for me it's not worked. I'm wondering if any other golf shakers have had similar experiences to me?

I think all the methods have plenty of merit when fitted to the right person. I prefer the plane truth philosophy as I don't get a lot of time to practice and its one plane system is very simple and pretty easy to get consistent action without a lot of practice. The hitting method in the golfing machine looks really interesting I'd love to have the time to look at that, but to me it looks like it needs a lot of work and timing which without hours of practice could be off.

I think its good that the many pro's now look at more than one method as shoe horning every player into a single way of swinging is absolutely insane if you ask me.

Obviously a little different in your field when trying to hit long there are a certain set of characteristics that will work best so its more specialised but I would imagine if you hit it far enough to consider taking on long drive your probably doing some of the things anyway.

This was a topic on another golf forum either last year or the year before. As I understand it unless you have the PGA qualiication many golf clubs wont touch you as an employer/pro

I would guess once the PGA badge has beenn gained then teaching methods cn vary from pro to pro.

I have used three different PGA qualified instructors, in my opinion each had their own merit.

Having used a few coaches i think it really is down to just finding a coach who works well for you whatever the method. I have now been using the same guy for about 18 months and we have a really good relationship. As a coach myself (all be it in a different sport) I can take changes and methods on quite quickly. I was massively impressed with Craig tried, practiced and played with a different pitching method himself to see if it would suit my game better! A friend of mine uses the same coach as his son (13), the lad is now down to an 11 hcp and playing for the county, my friend however has hardly progressed. Horses for courses. If you find something that works for you then stick with, this theory is mirrored in the professional golf game and in my own cricket coaching.

The thing with lessons is that you must be prepared to get worse before you get better, and you have to dedicate time to practice changes. I am now starting my third season with my pro, and my handicap has come down from 22 to 8 in my time with him. There most definitely is a time and a place for a PGA professional...and there will continue to be so for a while yet!

Well, it's like most things innit. Having a badge that says you are a PGA pro does not automatically mean that you can teach, neither does the fact that you can play the game to the highest level. Similarly, you don't necessarily need to be a really good player to be able to teach. I've spent time with pro's who were more interested in showing me how good they are and trying to show me how to hit a ball which, at my age and physical ability I could never hope to achieve. On the other hand I've also had lessons from someone who realises what my potential is realistically and works with that - the fact that he is also a very good player is almost incidental.