A native of Winder, Georgia, Sean Cain has worked in nearly every aspect of the golf business from agronomy to merchandising since 1990. For the past seven years, he has focused on teaching the game of golf and has coached 23 junior golfers to Division 1 scholarships. We sat down with Sean to discuss his teaching philosophy and his future with the Reynolds Kingdom of Golf.
You wake up in the morning – what’s the driving passion?
My driving passion is to make a difference someway somehow every day.
You've had a good degree of success with junior golfers – describe the process you follow.
Developing a relationship of trust is paramount and acts as the catalyst for all future development. I have also been blessed with gifted athletes and that never hurts.
How can golfers go about finding the right teacher for them?
Word of mouth and research. Us instructors carry a reputation with us based on our technical aptitude, instructional style, and personality. If a player consults their peers and does some research, they should be able to ascertain who might be the best match for them based on those factors.
What telltale signs indicate when the student/teacher relationship is working?
The efficiency of communication and trust level will be great both ways. Courteous honesty is essential! One can’t solve a problem unless you’re honest about what it truly is.
What are the signs when it's not working?
A lack of trust on one or both sides. The student not trusting the information or not responding to the style of communication or the instructor not trusting the student is putting in the time and effort required.
When does instruction become paralysis by analysis?
Technical information can be very complicated to the average player, but communicating it should never be. It’s basically what separates someone with information versus someone who has the gift to teach that information clearly and concisely.
Over the last 25 years golf has reaped the benefit in better club and ball technology, but the handicaps for those in the double digit range has remained relatively unchanged. What's been missing in getting these golfers to play better?
I think there are several factors:
- Golf in general has focused entirely too much on the swing and not enough on the other factors of the game.
- Golfers in general would rather focus on their swing rather than the other factors of the game because it is easier and for most more fun to just beat balls off the range.
- Instruction has been largely focused from the tee to the green rather than the other way around.
- We need to focus on a green back to the tee approach and emphasize strategy and creativity inside 100 yards first, before we really dive into the full swing.
If you could change one thing in golf unilaterally -- what would it be and why?
The changes that are coming to the Rules of Golf in 2019 are a good start to making them simpler and easier to implement. I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg.
What golf teachers have served to motivate your approach in developing your craft?
When I attended the BioSwing Dynamics conference with Mike Adams and EA Tischler in 2014.
Best advice you ever received -- what was it and who from?
“Never underestimate the essence of a recovery shot, it only takes one good shot to make a par and remember you can make a putt from anywhere.” Gene Sarazen in 1994This was his advice to me after riding along with me and his grandson while we played 9 holes.
