Eighteen years on the lesson tee

I grew up on a nine-hole municipal course in eastern Ohio, where my father dropped me off on summer mornings with a sleeve of balls and no particular instruction. I learned the game by watching people who were better than me and copying what looked repeatable.

That is still roughly how I teach, except now I can explain why it works. I earned my LPGA Class A certification in 2007 and have spent the years since in Arizona, mostly working with adults who were told golf would be relaxing and found the opposite.

What I care about is whether you leave a lesson understanding something you did not understand when you arrived. Not a longer list of swing thoughts — one clear idea you can take to the range. Most of my students come every two or three weeks and improve steadily for years. A few arrive convinced they are hopeless, and watching that belief fall apart is the best part of the job.