Rich Greenwood's Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy

Swing Philosophy

My swing philosophy is based on having a balanced athletic golf swing so you can "Swing on Plane with Power". I believe the golf swing, a baseball swing and a two hand forehand in tennis have the same basic principles. All three hitting motions need to hit the ball out in front of the body and rotate the body in the impact zone the same. That being said, there is no reason to recreate the wheel. I have had most of my success teaching when a student is able to draw from their experiences with these other sports. In order to achieve the proper swing motion that allows you to "Swing on Plane with Power" I focus in on 5 areas of the golf swing, Ball Position, Body Pivot, Clubface Angle, Plane and Hand Action.

I'm also a firm believer in "Supervised Practice". I think it is real hard for a student to make a positive change while they practice unless he or she is under the watchful eye of an expert. Many times I have students take a lesson and then I won't see them for a month. When they come back we end up working on the same thing or they have over corrected the fix. Either way the process takes longer. Frequency is the key component in a concentrated time period. This way the swing fix is accelerated and it STICKS!

Mental Toughness

I have had an opportunity to play with some of the best players in the world. Through my travels of playing at UCLA, the Asian Circuit and Canadian Tour I had a chance to see and play up close to Steve Stricker, David Toms, Jim Fuyrk, Phil Mickelson, Brandt Jobe, Todd Hamilton, Billy Mayfair, Corey Pavin, Duffy Waldorf, Scott McCarron, Steve Pate and John Daly. All these players have one thing in common and that is "Mental Toughness". They all know how to control their emotions while under pressure to allow themselves to hit the best shot possible. This has to be learned and practiced. It is like forming a callus on your hand. First you get a blister and then it forms into a callus to make the area tougher. I had the good fortune of playing under Legendary Coach Eddie Merrins when I was at UCLA who had a great mental game plan. Plus, I was exposed to Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success which I'm a big believer in. From my background of playing I understand what it takes to play well no matter what level the player wants to achieve. I will teach you how to play the game and cope with all types of situations that golf gives you, from first tee jitters to terrain changes or even how to make that winning putt.

Physical Fitness

Flexibility and strength are keys to achieving a balanced Athletic golf swing. I have access to some of the best people in our area to assess your body and how it could affect or limit your golf swing. Many of them have worked with some of the top athletes in professional sports and are TPI Certified. I can help guide the player to the person that fits the best with what they want to achieve. This is just another component to becoming the best player possible.

Club Fitting

It is important to have the right equipment that is fitted to your swing. You don't want to have your swing adjust to your clubs but have clubs adjusted for the way you swing. That being said, I work with one of the Top Club-Fitters in Southern California. The player will come in and go through a 1 to 2 hour process that will cover getting the proper Launch Angle, Spin Rate, Side Spin, Club Head Speed, Shot Dispersion and Smash Factor. Everything is done on the Trackman Launch Monitor which has the accuracy of up to 1 ft. Once we know what works best for the player we have eliminated another factor that could hold the player back from being the best they can be. We want to give the player the best chance possible to achieve the level of success they set out for.