If you spend any time around golf instruction online, you’ll notice pretty quickly how passionate coaches can be. Passion is a good thing. It shows people care about what they do.

But sometimes that passion turns into something else. And when it does, golfers are often the ones who end up confused.

This is just my opinion, but one of the biggest issues in modern golf coaching is ego, especially when it gets tied too closely to models and systems.

Somewhere along the way, conversations drift away from helping the player standing in front of us and turn into debates about methods, data, and who’s right or wrong. When that happens, the player becomes secondary.

There’s More Than One Way to Swing a Golf Club

Golfers don’t all move the same. They don’t have the same bodies, backgrounds, or learning styles. Yet it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing there’s one “correct” way to swing, or one model everyone should fit.

That’s not how good golf works.

Players arrive at good impact in different ways. Some shift pressure back in the backswing, some stay more centred, some move forward earlier. Some swings look very different on video, yet produce great contact and predictable ball flight.

The goal isn’t to make every golfer look the same.
The goal is to help them hit better shots.

Start With What Actually Matters

For me, coaching starts with outcomes, not positions.

That means asking simple but important questions:

• How is the ball flying?
• Where is the contact on the face?
• Can the player control low point?
• What happens when they take it to the course under pressure?

If a golfer can control low point and produce a functional, predictable ball flight, a huge part of the problem is already solved. From there, you can look at impact factors and, only if needed, work backward into mechanics.

Not every swing needs a rebuild.
Not every issue needs a deep technical explanation.

Models Are Tools, Not Truths

Models can be useful. They help organise thinking, create reference points, and speed up decision-making.

But a model should never become the goal.

When a golfer starts chasing positions instead of performance, or trying to match a framework rather than improve their shot patterns, progress often stalls. Good coaching requires judgement. It requires adapting ideas to the individual, not forcing the individual to adapt to the idea.

The best coaches use models.
They just don’t worship them.

Why Online Debates Miss the Point

A lot of online arguments happen because people talk past each other. Questions get answered with more questions. Discussions turn defensive. Learning shuts down.

There are brilliant coaches and biomechanists who rarely post online at all. They’re too busy doing the work, helping players improve, and having honest conversations behind the scenes.

That’s worth remembering as a golfer.
Loud doesn’t always mean right.

What Golfers Should Look For in a Coach

Instead of asking what system your coach follows, ask better questions:

• Do they help you hit the ball better?
• Do your improvements hold up on the course?
• Do they adjust when something isn’t working?
• Do they listen to your feedback?

Good coaching isn’t about fitting you into a box. It’s about helping you understand your game, manage your misses, and perform when it matters.

Bringing It Back to the Player

At the end of the day, coaching should always come back to one thing: improving the player standing in front of us.

Not defending a method.
Not winning an argument.
Not proving who’s right.

If what you’re working on helps you strike the ball better, control your flight, and play better golf on the course, then it’s doing its job.

Everything else is just noise.