My Golf Lesson with Mike Bender

So I just got back from Florida where I took a 4 hour golf lesson with Mike Bender, who was recently named the 2009 National PGA Teacher of the Year.  It was really a great experience.  Mike is a very accomplished instructor with several tour players and upcoming players being students he works with.

What impressed me most about Mike was that he is a very humble guy and during our discussions, on topics we did not see eye to eye, he never came across as a know-it-all and was always willing to listen, and be open to learning, which I think is a wonderful quality for any golf instructor.

So after I warmed up Mike took some video and we went in and took a look.  I explained to Mike what I saw in my own golf swing and how I was trying to work through the elements of it which I felt were holding me back from improving. What happened next was very interesting – Mike made a diagnosis and a prescription for my golf swing that I would not have come up with on my own if I lived another 100 years! It was so counterintuitive, as golf can often be. What I saw as the cause of the problem, Mike saw as more the effect, which could possibly be why I hadn’t had much success with my approach. But the changes he suggested, as is often the case, required two things to change. If I only changed one, my problem would actually get worse.

We then headed over to the range and Mike put in his MEGSA Perfect Practice Equipment, which is described as “The theory behind the MEGSA system is rooted in physics and the science of motor skill training. MEGSA-which stands for Most Efficient Golf Swing Attainable-is the closest thing to a perfect practice station. The equipment can be set up to counteract any swing fault. Once it is set up, you can hit balls from inside the unit. This guarantees that the golfer will receive proper feedback as to whether or not the prescribed swing changes are occuring”.