Why this Top 100 teacher’s childhood swing advice still resonates today

At last week’s GOLF Top 100 Teacher Summit at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz., one question we asked nearly everyone we talked to was: What’s the best advice you ever received?

The answers were varied, but all of them shared one commonality: They remain relevant, regardless of the number of years that had passed since the teacher received it.

One such tip from Top 100 Teacher Trillium Rose has truly stood the test of time. She estimates that she received it from her father at around age 7, when she was first starting out in the game.

Rose’s father suggested that instead of hitting balls on the range, Rose should practice trying to hit the same spot on the ground over and over until she could make contact in the same place consistently.

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“That was critical advice, because that gave me some awareness of where the clubhead interacts with the ground,” Rose said. “And then I was much better at knowing where that club needs to hit the ground when there’s a ball.”

Rose joked that her father’s tip may have been a money-saving measure, since each basket at her local range only included 25 balls, but the advice remains resonant to this day.

“In hindsight, it was a critical lesson, and one that everybody needs to work on,” she said. “Not just when you’re learning golf, but when you’re really trying to chisel your game down, it’s all about contact, even for the best players.”

Another benefit of the drill is its inherent positive reinforcement: Because there’s no ball, you don’t have to judge yourself by where it goes.

“It may not be completely clear to some players how low that club needs to get,” Rose said. “The club really needs to interact with the grass in order to hit a solid shot. Many players are thinking, ‘Hit ball,’ but it’s really ball and ground.”

For more tips from Trillium Rose, click here.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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