The hidden dangers of teaching golf on social media: The ‘epidemic’

Jonathan Yarwood has noticed a troubling pattern.

Yarwood is a GOLF Top 100 instructor at Alpine Country Club in northern New Jersey, and he has a great career to go on. He has taught many major winners, USGA champions and top-level novices throughout his decorated career. These days, however, most of his time is spent inside the studio on a course with recreational golfers. And recently, a curious theme has emerged.

“Something new,” Yarwood said. “About 90 percent of new golfers now come in and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve consumed so much golf content, I’m completely confused.’

“It’s an epidemic.”

Somehow this should not be surprising. Social media scrolling has become an automatic game, perhaps i spontaneous hobby. Increasingly, our spare moments are naturally filled by reaching for our phones and letting the algorithm take over as we mindlessly consume content tailored specifically to our liking.

To me, and maybe to you, that means golf. Mainly, swing tips and techniques.

But lately I can’t escape the feeling that this corner of the internet feels overcrowded. Any cultured golf-swinger can open their app and see what I mean.

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Scroll for a while and you might see two videos in a row offering conflicting advice (in fairness, the content of written instructions is sometimes guilty of the same thing), each with hundreds of thousands of views.

It’s easy to understand the appeal of this type of content. Videos are short and digestible. They are simple, refined and promise fast results. Best of all, the “expert” tips are free. And, yes, there is something the chance that they will help you. If they don’t leave you lost in the wilderness.

Golf is an imperfect game, but that hasn’t stopped generations of players from chasing improvement. You shouldn’t either! There is nothing like ringing a bell, sending a personal best or writing to a bird. The game is endlessly addictive, and has a way of taking the mind like no other.

So when a social media video promises to help with that quest, it serves as catnip for the golfer’s soul. But when all the video is correct, a very important question arises: How do you know that scrolling helps your game . . . or damage it?

A new era of golf education

Like so much else in modern times, golf instruction has evolved along with technology.

There used to be limited options when it came to finding quality golf tips. You can go to a PGA professional at a local club who, if you’re lucky, has a proven track record of turning out successful students. Or you can rely on the written word, stick your nose into golf lessons like Ben Hogan’s “Five Lessons” or Harvey Penick’s “Little Red Book” or download the latest issue of GOLF Magazine.

But since society has become so tied to phones and screens, it’s possible to get your instructions from a well-packaged tip on social media.

Today, if you want to fix a piece you can find hundreds of options in seconds, each promising to guide you. The same goes for a stubborn hook, chip yips or lack of power. Whatever ails your game is only a quick Google search – or a few scrolls – away from the promised cure.

From the outside, this change seems very good. Golf instruction has long been expensive, and the Internet has greatly lowered that barrier to entry. But affordability is not the same as quality.

“I actually think golfers are more educated now,” said Tony Ruggiero, a GOLF Top 100 instructor who splits time between Alabama and Florida. “They understand the terminology better and look for more guidelines than before. But they’re not as good at understanding what’s causing their dynamic problems. They’re chasing effects instead of causes, and they’re going down rabbit holes.”

There are different incentives at work here. Social media rewards simple explanations and promises instant results – but content creators don’t have as much pressure to deliver results to any one person. Effective training requires proper diagnosis and context, and focuses on the most important part: results. If those elements are missing, even well-intentioned advice can send golfers looking for answers in all the wrong places.

More harm than good?

Yarwood, who is headed south to teach in the winter, says her anxiety about mental swings is confirmed every time a confused player walks through her door. “You get coaches who can make a theory and look good online,” he says. “But like social media in general, you only see the highlight reel. It has very little history, very little use.”

Ruggiero has seen a similar pattern during his days on the course at Montgomery Country Club in Alabama and Old Palm Golf Club in South Florida.

“It’s changed a lot,” said Ruggiero. “If you would have asked me that three, four, five years ago, I would have said, ‘Yeah, I get it sometimes.’ But now, in almost every subject.”

Therein lies one of the biggest problems with social media golf education: the lack of personalization. There is no guarantee that the tip delivered is correct you actually needed.

Take the over-the-top swing, for example. One of the most common ailments among recreational golfers – and, not coincidentally, one of the most popular “fixes” offered by social media coaches. But here’s the catch: not all top moves are caused by the same fundamental error.

For example, many times the cause of an overswing is an open clubface caused by a poor grip. But if that’s the case and you start making changes to turn more inside-out, you’re going to hit it hard. What you should really be doing is adjusting your grip and clubface, which will naturally improve your clubface and allow you to swing more inside.

Most golfers don’t see that — or at least they’re willing to roll the dice on whatever video they see next that promises to cure their problem. Unfortunately, often the repairs offered have nothing to do with the fault.

“If you don’t address the cause, you can make things worse,” said Ruggiero. “There are many different causes of something like swinging. Information may be true, but it is not always helpful yours problem.”

It’s a vicious cycle. A new feel makes things worse, so the golfer looks for another fix. That fix may help temporarily, but it may also lead to more problems, so they will seek another fix. Before long, the brain is overloaded with information, and the pretzel is spinning.

“It’s like walking into Walgreens,” Ruggiero said. “Everything that exists can help you – if It really is the wrong treatment for you. But if you take one thing in every way, you will end up in the hospital. That’s what golfers do. They take everything for granted, even though most of it has nothing to do with their real problem. “

Don’t mistake popularity for genealogy

One of the hidden dangers of online golf instruction is that appearances are often mistaken for professional. Put differently, social media is a different skill set than golf coaching. Algorithms reward engagement, but they don’t always (if ever?) ensure that information comes from a reliable source. As a result, some of the most popular swing tips on the Internet come from instructors who have little track record of producing measurable results with real students.

“Watching these videos can be dangerous because many people consider themselves to be experts when in fact they are not,” said Yarwood. “If you’re going to look online, you have to look for people with a real track record – people who can show results, not programmed content, not heroics.”

In traditional training situations, credibility is built over time. A coach’s reputation is tied to the players he has developed, the success of those players and the progress they make over time. On the Internet that accountability is disappearing a lot. A bowling tip can garner millions of views without the coach improving any notable players or reducing handicaps.

That disconnect can be frustrating for teaching professionals, and it’s especially dangerous for casual golfers. A teacher who “looks the part” and speaks with authority may be mistaken for an expert, even if his or her real-world teaching resume is small.

That doesn’t mean all online instruction should be dismissed. Far from it, in fact. Many of the world’s most successful trainers – those who teach great masters and elite novices – regularly share thoughtful, high-quality digital content. Heck, you can even get great instructions directly from great champions, like Bryson DeChambeau and Padraig Harrington.

But it’s important for buyers to go through the vetting process. Before accepting a swing tip, golfers should ask a few simple questions: Does this coach have a history of improving players? Are their students successful in competitive golf? Do they explain WHO tip is to, rather than say it’s to fix everyone? The answers to those questions are more important than fan counts or views.

“If you want help, you have to ask: ‘Who is this person? What is his record?,'” Ruggiero said. “It’s no different than medical advice. You can get it online from someone who isn’t a doctor, but you don’t really know.”

In the end, the platform is not the problem. The problem is the confusing accessibility of the results – and the mistaken popularity of the genealogy.

The right way to get better online

Social media itself is not the problem. And it’s not a desire to read online content.

For golfers, social media has lowered the barrier to entry, providing access to some of the sport’s brightest minds. For teachers, these forums provide a way to share ideas, showcase expertise and reach players who may never set foot on a course tee. Most of that content is thoughtful, honest and really helpful.

The key, however, is to use these tools responsibly. That means resisting the urge to mindlessly scroll from one to the next, accepting every new idea as if it were equally good and equally valid as the one before it. Progress does not come from collecting swinging thoughts. It comes from understanding where advice works yours the game.

“Teaching shouldn’t be fun,” Yarwood said. “Watch the PGA Tour if you’re looking for entertainment. The instructions aren’t like Spotify. Otherwise, you end up with too many thoughts, like shuffling through your music library.”

In a game where progress is built on commitment, the smartest golfers aren’t the ones chasing all the new stuff. They’re the ones who know which voices to trust – and when to stop scrolling and start practicing.