Claiborne G Reed Golf Instruction

NEW STUDENTS:

1hr-1.5 

Obviously, you are looking to begin playing or maybe you are a low handicapper looking for specific needs. Either way, I want to learn about you & what you want to accomplish, potential goals, any injuries, successes or failures, anything you want me to know & of course I’ll have some questions of my own. Also, this is about you! So any questions regarding how I do things, my background, & anything you might want to know. From there, I’ll have students hit 5-10mins of balls. I’ll get some video & observation. From there I’ll have questions & you may think of new ones to ask me. I’ll assess you & begin making some recommendations & adding drills. By the end of this we will have a plan moving forward & I’ll be sure to send a recap of the lesson to you & our plan moving forward. 

This my general approach. If you have other ideas, needs or concerns....By all means, I’m here to help you get better! As long as you put the practice in, I can promise that will happen. 

15 Years as Professional Golf Instructor 

Lifetime of playing experiences jr tour Arkansas, including Division 1 NCAA ARKANSAS Razorback Golf 4yrs

Professional Caddie Experience 10yrs

Pga Instructor

JR Golf teaching, women, kids & all types

Worked at Redstick, Johns Island West, Hawks Nest, Started the first middle school golf program in Flordia

10 yrs working with Kids via Indian River Golf Foundation

4yr Bachelor of Sciences in Finance & Investments University of Arkansas 

Age 38 & been around working, teaching, & playing my entire life 

Initial Lesson will always be 1.5 hrs 

-takes time to get to know, assess & begin working on a plan with 1st time students. I make sure that the student is aware of where they are trying to go & what type practice it will take to get there

Regular Lesson 45mins-1hr

Getting to the point where I wanted to teach, knowledgeable & able was a very long process. Beginning from age 5 my father encouraged me to play & seeing him play was not only inspiring, but some big shoes that I always wanted to fill. I was not always good at golf & experienced some embarrassing, trying & deeply discouraging times. I really wanted to be competitive from a young age and spent my summers in Arkansas practicing, playing tournaments & any instructional time I could find. This continued into college. But I had experienced the lows of having played very well for weeks & having confidence going into a tournament only to completely self destruct. I was very hard on myself and for some reason never gave up. Memories of playing with friends, teammates, opponents, & working as a caddie are what I hop to pass on. The “AHA” moments of doing what you never imagined possible is amazing. The unpredictable nature of the game where sometimes you just get lucky or catch a bad break. Golf is a gentleman’s game where you are taught to respect your oppenents & be of good character are just a few of the similarities between the game & life. As I started teaching my son, I was looking at myself again 25yrs back. I’d volunteered for many of the junior golf events he was involved in & was spending a lot of time at the Pga learning center. Often people would ask me for help or my opinions on what they were struggling with. Having had a lot of good teachers & experience from college golf, I had a fairly good amount to draw from. The more I realized that I was pretty good at this, it became apparent that I should at least give it a try. I had spent too many hours in an office and gave a lot of free lessons before I decided I needed to make a career out of it! 

Male, Female, All Makes & Models from 5-95yrs old, I seem to have a lot of Jr Golfers & primarily people between 45-75. Golf doesn’t have to be performed along the strict traditional approach. Everyone is different and has unique limitations and strengths. The main thing is that we find a consistent approach that fits the individual and build on consistency. 

Most recently I’ve been working with a young fellow that’s been struggling. He appears well when practicing but would fall apart under pressure. So I tried to create pressure situations, games & various competitions in practice sessions in hopes that would translate into his tournament play. I can’t say I solved all his problems but I went to a tournament to watch him play and he was awesome! It was his day & really special to see him find that success and confidence and win an event. Those are the type experiences that translate over into the real world as kids get older.

I would ask them what they believe makes a good golfer? Are they more traditional, in between or totally new age. How much technology do they implement in their lessons? I also like to take size into consideration. If you are 5’3 & stocky, I wouldn’t go with a 6’5 lean instructor. How do you feel talking to this person? Do they seem interested in you, are they appealing to you when you have conversation & are they making huge promises that seem far fetched? 

Think about where you are trying to go & how hard you are willing to work with your goal in mind. Let them know where you struggle, what the best parts of your game are & ask them what it will take to get you to the level you want to achieve. Obviously, only so much improvement can be made over time but within reason. Ask if they are confident in being able to take you to the next level of your game? Also, what do they expect from a student & let them know what you expect from them.