By Joseph Ramos, Rancho Santa Fe resident and golf addict for 50+ years
I have known John Mason, aka thegolfmason.com, for many years now and have enjoyed his impressive ability to develop amazing young players and help them to grow into remarkable young men and women. John has coached his PGA Jr League teams to two National Championships and received numerous awards for developing young players by the Professional Golfers Association of America. Recently I sat down with him to pick his brain about the difference between developing young golfers versus older dogs like myself. I found this to be very candid and enlightening. I hope you do as well.
Joe – “John, the first thing I would like to know is the difference between the information you give to your younger golfers as opposed to the older ones like myself, apart from the obvious physical aging issues that we deal with?”
John – “Well Joe, it has been my experience that most older golfers are more set in their ways and it’s my job to figure out how to improve their golf games with what they have. As you know, this is not always easy, so most of the information I give to them is based on increasing their cause-and-effect awareness so they can self-correct. Younger students, on the other hand, are much more eager to learn the “correct” way, even though we all know that there are many ways to swing a golf club (just look at the different swings on tour), so I give them my interpretation of the “correct” way. Their information is much more “basic” oriented. I have always believed the first lesson anyone receives is the most important one, because everything that comes after that is built on this first block in the foundation of their golf game”.
Joe – “Very interesting. I noticed that you mentioned “basic” for the younger ones, what do you mean by that and what are your “basics?”
John – “My basics for the full swing have always been a neutral grip, an athletic set-up with good posture and aligning the shoulders parallel left of the intended start line. I came up with these by observing the better players I played with, watching the touring professionals at various events and experiencing my own trial and error experiments. My basics for the short game are the same as the full swing plus learning all the shots required to get the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. Since most older golfers are not interested in making drastic changes or learning new tricks, I accept that and do my best to help them lower their scores with what they have.” I also emphasize the need to practice putting, chipping and pitching at every practice session, since the average 15 to 20 handicapper hits only about 5 greens per round in regulation.
Joe – “Wonderful answer, John, simple and to the point. Lastly, why do you feel you have had so much success as a coach?”
John – “Well, I believe playing the sport you coach is a pre-requisite. Not necessarily at a champions level, but enough to be familiar with the intricacies of playing tournament golf. I have been doing that for a very long time and have experienced winning and losing, which has given me insights into the mind of a tournament player. I also believe that coaching requires motivational skills, which I learned by reading books such as “The Strategy Concepts of Bill Belichick” and “Be Quick – But Don’t Hurry” with Coach John Wooden. Working with young people who are interested in learning is so much fun for me and I remind them often of Coach Wooden’s famous words “Success is peace of mind that is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best”.
For more information on John Mason, PGA Director of Instruction at Encinitas Ranch Golf Course, go to www.thegolfmason.com