21
Nov '11
Five Questions: Getting to know Brett Packee
By Swingpal.com staff
Brett Packee has been accomplishing great things in golf for more than 30 years now.
Those achievements started primarily as a player in his youth, but in recent years, despite more than 50 tournament wins as an amateur and a professional, Packee has proven to be arguably even more impressive as a teacher.
The Libertyville, Ill., native was honored by the PGA of America as his state’s Teacher of the Year in 2008 and on two other occasions he has been a finalist for the award.
He also has had more than 20 talented juniors that he has worked with go on to play college golf, and Packee, who founded CORE Golf in 2001, knows a thing or two about what college golf is all about, having spent three years coaching at Northwestern University.
We caught up with Packee recently to find out more about his thoughts on the golf swing, his teaching philosophy and other subjects for this new edition of Five Questions:
SWINGPAL: How would you describe your teaching philosophy to a potential student?
PACKEE: Each student has different goals, athletic ability, strength/flexibility and time availability to spend on the game. Keeping all of these variables in mind, I do not have a single teaching philosophy but many based on what we want the outcome to be. There are many ways to swing the golf club and get great results. A teacher needs to figure out the best plan for each student to achieve the desired results.
SWINGPAL: What would you consider to be some common myths about golf instruction?
PACKEE: Without a doubt the biggest myth is that a student will get worse before they get better if they take a lesson. I cannot stress enough that this is simply not true. I break down students and lessons into three categories of which I discuss with my students at the beginning of the lesson: Overhauls, slight swing adjustments and maintenance mode. Sometimes with overhauls there is a time of adjustment in feeling comfortable but with slight adjustments or maintenance-mode lessons, a student should get better immediately.
SWINGPAL: What are some of the most common swing issues you see from the higher handicap players you work with?
PACKEE: Most high handicappers grip the club incorrectly, causing the face to be very open or closed during the swing. Open or closed club faces lead golfers to swing left or right of the target line, creating large amounts of curve on the ball. High handicappers should work on their set up and grip, and in most cases they would see immediate positive results.
SWINGPAL: You work with a lot of talented juniors. Is there a different approach that you take when you work with a junior as opposed to adults and if so what would the major differences be?
PACKEE: My approach to their golf swings is the same but there are two major differences between teaching juniors and adults. 1) With juniors, we need to determine goals and how hard they are going to work at the game. What is their golf lifestyle going to be? If a junior plays three sports, is active at school and has a part time job, his lesson plan is going to be different than someone who golfs full-time. With most adults, we already know that golf is part-time at best. 2) What I try to provide each junior is a golf education, a "Masters Degree in golf" is what I like to say. No matter what they accomplish with their golf careers, juniors of mine will have learned a game they can play well the rest of their lives.
SWINGPAL: What is the most valuable aspect of the lesson process for most golfers?
PACKEE: Each golfer, junior or adult should take at least one lesson to learn about their swing. Why would you ever want to hit golf balls without knowing what you do right or wrong in your golf swing? I see the same people hitting balls three-to-four times a week without any idea of what they should be working on. Even if I only work with a student once, at least they receive the correct analysis of what to focus on so each trip to the range is a beneficial practice session.
The Libertyville, Ill., native was honored by the PGA of America as his state’s Teacher of the Year in 2008 and on two other occasions he has been a finalist for the award.
He also has had more than 20 talented juniors that he has worked with go on to play college golf, and Packee, who founded CORE Golf in 2001, knows a thing or two about what college golf is all about, having spent three years coaching at Northwestern University.
We caught up with Packee recently to find out more about his thoughts on the golf swing, his teaching philosophy and other subjects for this new edition of Five Questions:
SWINGPAL: How would you describe your teaching philosophy to a potential student?
PACKEE: Each student has different goals, athletic ability, strength/flexibility and time availability to spend on the game. Keeping all of these variables in mind, I do not have a single teaching philosophy but many based on what we want the outcome to be. There are many ways to swing the golf club and get great results. A teacher needs to figure out the best plan for each student to achieve the desired results.
SWINGPAL: What would you consider to be some common myths about golf instruction?
PACKEE: Without a doubt the biggest myth is that a student will get worse before they get better if they take a lesson. I cannot stress enough that this is simply not true. I break down students and lessons into three categories of which I discuss with my students at the beginning of the lesson: Overhauls, slight swing adjustments and maintenance mode. Sometimes with overhauls there is a time of adjustment in feeling comfortable but with slight adjustments or maintenance-mode lessons, a student should get better immediately.
SWINGPAL: What are some of the most common swing issues you see from the higher handicap players you work with?
PACKEE: Most high handicappers grip the club incorrectly, causing the face to be very open or closed during the swing. Open or closed club faces lead golfers to swing left or right of the target line, creating large amounts of curve on the ball. High handicappers should work on their set up and grip, and in most cases they would see immediate positive results.
SWINGPAL: You work with a lot of talented juniors. Is there a different approach that you take when you work with a junior as opposed to adults and if so what would the major differences be?
PACKEE: My approach to their golf swings is the same but there are two major differences between teaching juniors and adults. 1) With juniors, we need to determine goals and how hard they are going to work at the game. What is their golf lifestyle going to be? If a junior plays three sports, is active at school and has a part time job, his lesson plan is going to be different than someone who golfs full-time. With most adults, we already know that golf is part-time at best. 2) What I try to provide each junior is a golf education, a "Masters Degree in golf" is what I like to say. No matter what they accomplish with their golf careers, juniors of mine will have learned a game they can play well the rest of their lives.
SWINGPAL: What is the most valuable aspect of the lesson process for most golfers?
PACKEE: Each golfer, junior or adult should take at least one lesson to learn about their swing. Why would you ever want to hit golf balls without knowing what you do right or wrong in your golf swing? I see the same people hitting balls three-to-four times a week without any idea of what they should be working on. Even if I only work with a student once, at least they receive the correct analysis of what to focus on so each trip to the range is a beneficial practice session.