DAVID COLLINS Master Teaching Professional, CGTF

David Collins has been a member of the CGTF for 10 years, and a Master Teaching Professional for nine of those years. At the Level IV course at the Ahwatukee Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona, he was awarded “Best Overall Performance” in his class, and has also been an instructor at several certification courses.

Many Canadian members will remember him at their courses, and will no doubt still be using the short game skills they learned during his short game clinics that week. He has also contributed articles for Golf Teaching Pro magazine over the last several years.

David has been employed for over 25 years as a nuclear operator and is licensed by the Canadian federal government to operate nuclear reactors in the control room of the Ontario Power Generation, Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. This highly scientific background was valuable experience when David decided to enter the field of professional golf instruction.

It is interesting to note the similarities between David and the wellknown teacher Dave Pelz. Both come from scientific backgrounds. Both men are about the same size, 6’ 4”, and both specialize in teaching the short game using science to support the techniques and learning. David is currently the Master Teaching Professional at Fox Run Golf Centre (www.foxrungolfcentre.com), and Fox Run proudly displays the CGTF logo.

His teaching philosophy begins with the fundamentals of grip, alignment, stance and posture, and ball position. As much as each person’s swing has some uniqueness, every swing will need good fundamentals to provide a foundation to the swing and swing movement. David will also take the time to prove to students what makes the golf ball behave the way it does using the ball flight laws and other scientific facts, so that the student has a clear understanding of what caused an undesirable golf shot. This allows the student a clear idea of what to focus on during the next swing to make a correction. It is fascinating to watch David with a student after a mis-hit golf shot. The discussion usually is in three parts:

“What causes a golf ball to behave in that manner?”
“What tendency in your swing produces that particular cause?”
“Fix the next swing!”

The result is always a more successful swing, much to the delight and amazement of the student. This is important to students, as when they go out to practice even after one lesson from David, they are able to correctly analyze each golf swing and have a plan to correct the next swing. Practice becomes much more efficient for the student.

Taking the time to prove the causes of golf ball behavior also allows David to effectively teach very good players. Several very low-handicap players are regulars at Fox Run and will not hesitate to book lesson packages to fine-tune their swings with him.

As much as David’s lesson plan draws on science and detailed fact to support the swing improvements, every student has fun while they learn. It is important also to note that every student learns. David has always adhered to a message that was presented during his Level IV  course in Phoenix by Mark Harman. Written down in David’s note book from that year is this quote: “After each and every lesson, there should be a noticeable and tangible improvement in your student.”

These words have become a mission statement for David in his golf teaching career.

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