“Lot of really bad instructors” – Paige Spiranac releases new video explaining her comment on ‘local pros’
Paige Spiranac released a video explaining the reasoning behind her recent comment that "local pros aren't very good." Her tweet drew a lot of criticism.
In her own words, she "pi***d more people off on Twitter." Having said that, Paige added that she stood by her opinion on local pros.
I once saw a teaching pro tell a guy to keep his head down for an hour while he topped every shot. There’s good and bad. Here’s more insight into the golf instruction world. https://t.co/QGQ6pxYBEK
"This has nothing to do with local pros," Spirinac said. "There are good instructors, and there are a lot of really bad instructors. It can be in person, it can be online and maggies, whatever.
"I think that there's just a lot of bad instruction. And it makes sense, because most people don't even know the difference between a PGA Tour professional and a PGA certified teaching pro."
She explained the difference between a PGA Tour professional and a PGA-certified teaching professional, saying that Tour pros are the ones we see on TV playing on Tour.
"...And PGA Certified teaching professional could be somewhat golf experience, could be someone with little to no golf experience. To get certified, all you have to do is go through the PGA, of course, and there's no regulation. So if you wanted to just start teaching lessons, you could."
Paige Spiranac explained that the certification is not very difficult with the playing test of 36 holes of at least 7,000 yards on a par 72 Championship Golf Course. For women, it is over 6,700.
"So it's not that long of a golf course. And for two days, you have to shoot 15 over or less, 15 over par or less per 36 holes."
Another interesting fact that she revealed was that less than 30% of people passed the test in the first go, and it took an average of 15 tries to pass it.
Paige also touched on the learning variety of the game, saying it would be tough for an instructor to teach them how to hit a low spinner and an inside-out draw if they themselves couldn't hit those shots.
"How are you going to be able to explain them how they need to feel how to do it? It's not going to happen. There are so many amazing instructors out there, and I'm a huge advocate for getting lessons if you really want to improve and you're serious about your golf game, but it's expensive and it's time-consuming and [you] need to go to a lesson at least once a week."
"You can also find some hidden gems," Paige Spiranac on local pros
Spiranac recently launched her website, OnlyPaige, where she will not just post photos and videos but will also offer coaching sessions on golf at a subscription fee of $10 per month. She had her reasons for how she was offering a better and ideal deal than most of the local pros.
Paige said that coaching from local pros was very costly, right from the low end, starting from $50 an hour to the upper tier of $1500.
"You can also find some hidden gems, but again you've got to look at their resume," she said. "What's their playing career? Like who do they apprentice under, what are their swing philosophies? How do they teach if you're a player and you're working with someone who's more visual, you're just not going to mash. "
Spiranac said that one could be the best instructor in the world, but everyone needed to find what worked for them. She concluded the video by advising her fans to be patient with research and finding someone that works for them.