Dec11Written by:ehanczaryk
12/11/2011 2:22 PM 
In October, I attended a conference for teachers and coaches in North America. One of the keynote speakers was Chuck Cook, a PGA teaching professional from Texas. Mr. Cook has been a top teacher for many years; his students include Payne Stewart and Tom Kite.
Remember, this is a presentation to people who teach for a living, so he laid out his approach to a successful track record. He began with a quote:
`If it is to be, it is up to me’, Ben Hogan.
· I teach golfers, not golf
· I help them to reach beyond their goals
· Very important: I fix the biggest weakness FIRST. (I call this picking the low hanging fruit: Ed)
· If the student hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught.
· People who hit the most balls between age 14 and 22, are the best players when they reach 23
His teaching milestones:
· What is really a square clubface he learned from Harvie Penick. For an over the top swing, get the clubface shut at the top
· Flat left wrist at impact
· Straight plane line (golfing machine stuff. Cook has a masters in the Golfing Machine, Ed)
· Lag pressure point
Short Game, four ways to hit chips and short pitches:
· Square pinch
· Square sweep
· Cut pinch
· Cut sweep
Full Swing:
· The best drivers of the ball have the club at 48 degrees at impact. (Remember, for teachers. See your CPGA professional for a video check up, Ed)
· The more you lift your arms in the backswing, the more lateral hip slide you need coming down. He learned this from Mac O’Grady.
· Similarly, the flatter the backswing, the less tilt needed coming down.
· If you have lag, there are two ways to square the club. 1) Flip your wrists down the line, or 2) Arms low and around the body.
It was a great presentation. PS, he displayed on powerpoint the details of his projected income this year. $750,000!