By Kiel Christianson
Jason Sedan is currently the Director of Instruction at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, N.J., in the summer, while he winters at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Jason has more than 10 years of teaching experience, and in 2003 entered the PGA's PGM Program to pursue his goal of becoming a PGA Master Professional of Instruction.
Since then, he has earned his Class A PGA Membership, completed six PGA Career Path Certifications, was appointed to the PGA President's Council for Growing the Game and joined Titleist as a Staff Member.
Jason was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer Five Questions about his teaching philosophy and other subjects:
1. First off, talk briefly about your golf instruction philosophy and how you preach it at your facility.
SEDAN: My teaching philosophy revolves around something I call the “Four Doors to Success.” Door No. 1 involves learning how the club works to create a golf shot. This includes understanding how a club can be applied in a variety different ways with different speeds to create the shot the hole calls for. Door No. 2 involves learning how your body works in the golf swing. This means we need to understand how to coordinate movement with different parts of the body that require either stability or mobility and train players accordingly. Door No. 3 involves learning how your swing works. There are 12 biomechanical features of every golfer that must be taken into account in order for their swing to hold up under pressure and prevent injury. Door No. 4 involves learning how the game works. There is such a focus these days on playing 'golf swing' rather than golf. It is important to remember there are a lot of ways to get the ball in the hole.
2. What attracted you to the SwingFix platform and how effective can this method be for golfers?
SEDAN: I was attracted to SwingFix because of the opportunity to reach so many more people outside of my home club. Many golfers simply do not have the time or money to have a full-time coach. With SwingFix, the ability to communicate quickly and easily with the student makes my job as the instructor really effective.
3. In your opinion, what is the secret to taking the "range game" to the first tee?
SEDAN: I find far too many players beating balls as a form of exercise thinking they are going to be getting better because they have increased repetition. In reality, most have only ingrained poor habits, often with ill-fit equipment. In order to improve on-course results, it is important to focus on the correct drills during practice. Additionally, it is important to practice not only golf shots, but also your routine and evaluation of each shot you hit on the range. It is easy to create games on the range that incorporate pressure and expectation levels to get the competitive juices flowing and ultimately see improvement on the course.
4. Is there a particular training aid that you tend to use most regularly and with the most effectiveness?
SEDAN: A half foam roller has been an unbelievable help in assisting my students with lower body stability. A golfer must create power from the ground up and when there is instability in the feet and knees, we often see the club travels off plane and the body will sway and lift. Standing on a half foam roller with the flat side down is a great starting point. As you progress, you can try the round side down for an even greater challenge. Start with your arms across your chest, turning back and through while maintaining balance. Then extend your arms in front of your body and feel the increased difficulty. Lastly, you can progress to either a weighted ball or holding onto a golf club swinging back and through.
5. Is there a way students who have worked with you most often dramatically improve and achieve that coveted five-shot drop in scores? Power, consistency, short game, management, playing more golf, etc.?
SEDAN: Short game always seems to be a quick route to lower scores. The fact of the matter is very few amateurs know how to practice their short game in a way that is very effective before taking lessons. Every golfer is capable of creating the contact and speed necessary to hit quality shots from a short distance. Many golfers struggle from nerves around the greens because the expectations are to hit the ball close with a technique that has not been refined enough to do so. Once a systematic understanding of creating the shots has been put in place, the insecurities subside, allowing the feel and touch of a player to consistently improve with repetition.
Take a lesson with Jason Sedan.