Such is the critical nature of some members at golf clubs.

Their resident Professional will have a weakness compared to the above experts which is discovered by a member, who will then quite freely verbalise the poor Pro’s shortcomings.
This is why, in the golfing hierarchy, the players who earn their money through playing are at the top of the tree. They are the envy of amateurs and professionals alike. Travelling around the world earning money.
Second up are the guys (and girls) who earn their money from coaching and coaching alone. They have, at some stage, decided that they need not supplement their income through running a shop, or organising tournaments. They live and die by coaching, building a reputation through helping and improving their players. You’re only as good as your last lesson being a good mantra to live by.
I lived briefly in the first bracket, earning money through playing the game. The problem was, I didn’t earn enough money to cover my outgoings. I now live in the second bracket where I coach for a living. There most probably lives a hierarchy within this bracket too. For example; coaching on a cold driving range in Inverness could be viewed worse than coaching in a studio at Wentworth. Clearly, if you are coaching the best players in the world, find your job rewarding and are being paid handsomely for the privilege, anywhere in the world would be a dream location. But, I hope you get my point. It’s kind of the, “I look down on him but up to him” John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett sketch. Yet where everyone is fundamentally happy with his lot.
Yet sometimes I do have to wonder what kind of world we live in, where I am allowed to make a living from coaching this strange game. Then there are times I have to stand back and realise that I actually serve a purpose; this being to help people out of a self-inflicted mess in which they find themselves.
The perfect case in point occurred yesterday. A client, who is a long-standing member at a first-class course in Nottinghamshire, was giving me a torrid outline of how he has gone from consistently shooting in the low 80’s to now being lucky to play in the low nineties.
His words, “So, I resorted to playing nine holes with an eye patch to try and cure my outside to in move”. “Why would you do such a thing?” I asked. “I did this as a result of playing nine holes with one eye closed - you see I suffer from floaters in my left eye and they really distract me, as well as making me rely on my right eye too much.”
Now, I can totally understand how distracting this might be, having your vision impaired to an extent where you can’t see the ball clearly. But playing golf with one eye closed and then going and buying an eyepatch was a totally new one on me. But looking at his address position it was clear why he was struggling with the over-the-top transition from the top of his back swing to impact. He was standing a good thirty degrees closed to the target. So, his whole move had to move left across himself to just get the ball online.
For the readers out there, who think I am currently writing in a foreign language. The point really is, make sure your basics, the fundamentals, are good before you start looking for more exotic solutions. It will save you a lot of time, your hard-earned pennies, not to mention the odd strange look, comment or laugh from your playing partners.
Just a thought, if you feel that your game has drifted off from form, give us a call at the Golf Integrated Academy on 912 263 555. We are currently ranked the Number One ‘Thing to Do’ in Vilamoura, on Trip Advisor. I am sure we can help.