Henry Stetina, a four-time Sun Country PGA Section Jack Hardwick Teacher of the Year, a two-time Section Youth Player Development Award winner and the 2019 Section Player Development Award winner, is the PGA of America Director of Player Development for the PGA Golf Management Program at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Henry Stetina on the importance of switching things up when coaching:
As anyone who has gone through it knows, the Playing Ability Test (PAT) is one of the most stressful parts of becoming a PGA of America Golf Professional. Having to hit or better that target score becomes everyone’s focus, and at times, a major stressor. So, for my PAT class, I try to change it up from time to time. We recently did an odds/evens challenge (where you could only hit an odd-numbered club or even-numbered club on a hole), a round with no woods available and – what I’m focusing on here – a 4-club challenge. My hope was this would make them more creative, and kid-like, seeing shots with different clubs, and so forth. That happened, but something surprising did, as well.
Henry Stetina on the business impact of switching things up when coaching:
A lot of players said their expectations were better, their swings smoother and more controlled, and they fought to save par (even sometimes without the club they’d normally be hitting a chip with.) Something impressive: their scores were similar to their rounds with their full bag. This was awesome and great to hear. That was the intended purpose of this challenge. But unexpectedly, not only were they hitting knock down shots from 100 yards with a 7-iron or learning to control distances better, they were also having more fun, and were more relaxed. This brief respite from the rigors of (full bag) PAT practicing won’t last long, but sometimes not having a swing thought and swinging freely because you have to is the best thing for you. Smiles instead of being transfixed about a number, it changed up the mental component and gave these students a really fun afternoon. Feel free to switch things up when coaching. You never know what you might stumble into.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email hstetina@nmsu.edu.
