To say golf's hottest new teacher met New York society last night may be overstating it a bit, but at least he met Golf Digest.
Sean Foley, our November cover subject, one of Golf Digest's Top Young Teachers, and our newest teaching professional, (and yes, Tiger's coach), spoke to a gathering of advertisers, staff members and guests at Michael's restaurant in Manhattan. He demonstrated that his job, working with stars like Woods, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair, is in equal parts teacher, philosopher, physicist, psychiatrist and entertainer. "Hey, I'm amazed it works sometimes," he said laughing. "It's all creation. You're making it up."
In a game where editors are used to cautious understatement, Foley is a whoosh of arctic Canadian air, brash, self-deprecating, funny and startling in turns. "As teachers, we live in the idea that if I'm speaking, they're learning, but that's just not the case, " said Foley. "My job is to get the lesson across without even saying it." Teachers who try to impress students with all they know just "lose the plot."
Foley is equal parts humility and cockiness. "I told one writer in Toronto my goal was to teach Tiger Woods. I got smoked. Apparently when mediocrity meets confidence, it sees arrogance," he says.
Davis Love Jr., Nelson Mandela, Plato, Ben Hogan: They're all part of Foley's patter, and he's not afraid of critics who say he's borrowed from other teachers -- among them the Stack & Tilt team of Plummer and Bennett. "There are no new ideas," he argued. "Most people who had the original thought and said it were put on a stake and burned. I don't want to be that guy. Yes, I'm far more similar to Andy Plummer than I am to David Leadbetter or Hank Haney. But at the end of the day, who owns anything?"
He also dismisses critics of his most famous star. "Tiger has only been a 'different player' for what, eight months now?" said Foley. "He's won 14 majors in 71 tries. He's only 34. He will break Jack's record. It's a matter of when, not if." By Foley's estimate, Tiger has about 42 more majors to play and he'll win at least 4 of those. "I think he'll win 22 or 23 altogether," he says.
As for Foley's impact on that quest: "Hey, I'm teaching things he's already done before. He's done it. We're talking about a straight-up genius here." It occurs to you that Foley's outspokenness may land him into trouble. He says the prospect doesn't phase him. "It was at the point that I became unattached from the results that I got good at this," he says. "If I can't be myself, I'd rather go back to teaching 10 and 20 handicaps in Toronto."
And what advice does he give those high handicappers? Foley had three pieces of advice, mostly centered around tempering one's expectations -- and all about enjoying the game. 1. Create your own par. "Par is 72, but that's for pros. I told one student your par on the first hole, a par 5, is an 8." It may seem silly, he says, but it takes pressure off. 2. Stop and smell the roses. Most amateurs don't have the time or dedication to make significant swing changes., Foley says. Give yourself a break. "This whole idea of your old swing 'coming out' after you've tried to make improvements -- hey, it never left. Unless you want to give up your job, your family and hit millions of balls, you learn to live with it." 3. Concentrate on the "70 per cent of shots" from 110 yards and in. "My advice is got to the driving range or wherever you practice and take a sand wedge, a pitching wedge and a putter and spend two hours with those clubs. Leave all the others in the trunk."
You'll get plenty more from Foley in the coming months in Golf Digest. Check out his OnDemand clinic at golfdigest.com/ondemand. What's more, Kodak, which sponsored last night's event along with Gentleman Jack, presented Sean with its new PlaySport video camera (photo) and from time to time he and other Best Young Teachers will provide us with the analysis their analysis of student swings. We're looking forward to that.
-- Bob Carney
