I recently had the pleasure of sitting down for a cup of java with Sue Kaffenburgh, New England PGA Teacher of the Year, 2000. She was very generous with her time and with sharing some of her great tips for playing the game of golf.

Sue has been teaching and coaching for over thirty years and is one of only a few who is both a PGA and an LPGA Member. Known as one of the best teachers in the country, Sue has been recognized for her unique approach to teaching, winning awards in the region and nationally. Sports Illustrated has called Sue “…one of the game’s Top Twenty Teachers.”

Sue’s philosophy is totally different from that of other instructors I have experienced. She writes in her brochure: “If you’re looking for the same old, same old… don’t come here.” And the head of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference concurs: “…our participants learned more from Sue Kaffenburgh in one session than they had from all other golf professionals in the past.”

Each session with Sue focuses on four main principles: consistency, drills, management and simplicity of thinking. She understands that, as she puts it, “memorized learning does NOT hold up on the golf course!” Her approach is to get the golf student to become an active participant in the learning process, not just someone who passively listens to instruction and tries to implement it.

Myth Buster: She believes in busting all the old myths we may have about how to play the game, how to hold the club, how to move and turn and swing. Her philosophy is to see the entire process as one of “cause and effect.” Like dominoes, each movement is part of the whole, and it is critical to see each component not as a separate entity but as part of an entire process. Every small adjustment, the first movement that begins the sequence, is as critical to the whole as the last.

She has a particular interest in teaching women the game of golf, and encourages all her students to ask questions and probe for understanding. “If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. Too many women take golf instruction and don’t fully understand why they are being asked to do a certain thing. My job is to be sure my student understands and participants in the learning process.”

Joanne Carner, LPGA Tour Player and Hall of Famer writes of Sue: “…I have never seen an instructor get such immediate results for her students. Her method of getting the clubhead to perfect impact immediately brought my distance back and gave me a feeling like ‘Days of Old’….”

Sue teaches at Bayberry Hills Golf Course in West Yarmouth, MA and is available for Trio Private Lessons, Semi-Private or Private Lessons. Click here for more information. And watch for the upcoming schedule of FREE clinics and lessons Sue will be conducting this spring.