This month we interview Christopher Smith, recipient of the 2023 PNW PGA Teacher of the Year award. With a distinguished career spanning local, regional, and international facilities, Christopher has honed his teaching expertise, boasting an impressive roster of students, including PGA and DP World Tour players, Division 1 golfers, and successful local adult and junior players. Christopher is a trailblazer in educating fellow PGA Professionals, sharing his entertaining and enlightening insights that benefit both players and coaches alike.
Facility: Eugene Country Club
Hometown: “Track Town USA,” Eugene, OR
PGA Member Since: 1999
Who or what inspired you to become a Golf Professional?
CS: I was largely self-inspired, wanting to be part of a group of individuals who shared the same passion, energy and goals as I.
You actively engage with professionals outside the golf realm, including neuroscience, doctors, and trainers. How would you describe your teaching philosophy?
CS: I’ve learned a lot about helping golfers from experts & specialists outside of the golf realm. My philosophy? I believe each and every one of us is a wonderful case study of one, and hence must be treated that way. No “one size fits all,” no methods, no models. Sure, I have my preference and biases like us all, but I’m always looking for how the individual in front of me can best swing a golf club, play and enjoy the game.
My friend, mentor and golf icon Mr. Jackie Burke, Jr. just passed at the ripe young age of 101 years old. One of Mr. Burke’s mantras in putting was: “The best way to putt is the way you putt best.” I take this to heart when teaching, coaching and guiding others; I firmly believe that the best way to swing a golf club and play the game is the way the individual swings and plays best.
Before winning the 2023 PNW PGA Teacher of the Year Award, you won this award in 2004. How has teaching golf changed since then?
CS: Ha! The more things change, the more they stay the same… I realize as well that the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know… I’ve learned so much in the past two decades – I hope to win this award in 2045 or thereabouts and be an even better teacher then!
Obviously the tech we use today is superior to that of 20 years ago – but – the physics of what makes a golf ball do what it does, has not. We tend to forget that at times. Nor the fact that students come to us for a lesson to hit it better – not have indecipherable and irrelevant data flung at them from machines that measure. Live lessons are largely about human interaction; this is where observation, communication and coaching are essential. AI, tech and machines cannot replace this.
Sure, the ability to measure so much has improved vastly, however, our “golfy” tech is not as accurate as what we often believe (sorry to disappoint some..), and must always be used in a manner to help the student hit it and play better, not just to “impress” them.
As author David Epstein said, “It’s all backwards: it’s making something important BECAUSE we can measure it, it’s not measuring it because it’s important.”
And for those who espouse the statement: “why guess when you can measure?” I often counter with:: “why guess if you can measure inaccurately?” And inaccurate numbers, data and metrics are much like “bad” information: ruinous to progress.