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Johnny Goodman
PGA Professional |
Golf is often perceived as a very difficult game to play. In magazines there are many articles that deal with swing extension, swing plane, width, leg drive, shoulder and hip turn, and hundreds of complicated mechanics. There are so many theories, methods and swing philosophies that it can be quite confusing for a golfer. During my 40 plus years as a PGA Professional, I have heard instructors tell students that hitting a golf ball “isn’t rocket science,” yet they often teach as if it is. In contrast, I believe in keeping it simple. There is no single blueprint for the perfect golf swing. Everyone is different and capable of doing different things with their bodies, depending on personal health and fitness. I like the advice Harcey Penick provides in “My Little Red Book” when he says, do what comes naturally. You need a fundamentally sound grip and a few fundamentals, but then do what comes naturally and feels comfortable.
I was introduced to the game at an early age and was named after the last amateur to win a major, Johnny Goodman, 1933 US Open Champion. My Dad was a golf professional and as a youngster I was able to observe the great swings of his generation including Bryon Nelson and Sam Snead. Golf has been my life's passion and I have been fortunate to observe those great players from the past to the present generations. I have studied the swing for many years and although they may look quite different individually they all have common fundamental skills.
My competitive days included playing with Tom Watson in Kansas City Junior Golf to qualifying and playing in two PGA tour events. I spent a year on the mini tours and although I didn’t meet my expectation I loved the competition and challenges. My best finish in a PGA Section Championship is third and I have a low competitive round of 63.
I have been a PGA member since 1973 and I spent my apprenticeship at Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois where I began to learn my instruction skills from Hubby Habjan, National PGA Pro of the Year. My favorite place working was at the LaJolla CC in California where I was fortunate to have as a member Gene Littler and Craig Stadler. It was a real joy to observe and play with those players. I then spent fourteen years in Tucson working and developing golf courses in Green Valley Arizona before my move to Battlement Mesa in 1992. I have moved to Utah and live just north of Salt Lake City in Farmington.
I have developed a teaching philosophy that coaches you in developing the motor skills necessary to play the game competently. My favorite quote is from Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Therefore I have developed golf instruction programs to improve skills in the seven fundamentals of the game one step at a time.
The fact remains that golf is a motor skill that is learned like all other motor skills. One step at a time until the skill is perfected and learned. If we would go to the Golf Hall of Fame you would see pictures and videos of all the great players and although they look so differently they all have the fundamentals in common. In golf I have broken it down into seven fundamental skills and it is these that determine success or failure. These skills when learned correctly in the proper order make the complicated moves become automatic.
I was introduced to the game at an early age and was named after the last amateur to win a major, Johnny Goodman, 1933 US Open Champion. My Dad was a golf professional and as a youngster I was able to observe the great swings of his generation including Bryon Nelson and Sam Snead. Golf has been my life's passion and I have been fortunate to observe those great players from the past to the present generations. I have studied the swing for many years and although they may look quite different individually they all have common fundamental skills.
My competitive days included playing with Tom Watson in Kansas City Junior Golf to qualifying and playing in two PGA tour events. I spent a year on the mini tours and although I didn’t meet my expectation I loved the competition and challenges. My best finish in a PGA Section Championship is third and I have a low competitive round of 63.
I have been a PGA member since 1973 and I spent my apprenticeship at Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois where I began to learn my instruction skills from Hubby Habjan, National PGA Pro of the Year. My favorite place working was at the LaJolla CC in California where I was fortunate to have as a member Gene Littler and Craig Stadler. It was a real joy to observe and play with those players. I then spent fourteen years in Tucson working and developing golf courses in Green Valley Arizona before my move to Battlement Mesa in 1992. I have moved to Utah and live just north of Salt Lake City in Farmington.
I have developed a teaching philosophy that coaches you in developing the motor skills necessary to play the game competently. My favorite quote is from Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Therefore I have developed golf instruction programs to improve skills in the seven fundamentals of the game one step at a time.
The fact remains that golf is a motor skill that is learned like all other motor skills. One step at a time until the skill is perfected and learned. If we would go to the Golf Hall of Fame you would see pictures and videos of all the great players and although they look so differently they all have the fundamentals in common. In golf I have broken it down into seven fundamental skills and it is these that determine success or failure. These skills when learned correctly in the proper order make the complicated moves become automatic.