John Ray Leary
During my junior
years I grew up working with Eddie Merrins.
Mr. Merrins has worked with countless PGA touring professionals and
gave me the basic understanding of life long fundamentals. As my career progressed, I was blessed to have Chi Chi Rodriquez
take me under his wing and teach me
lessons on how to play.
As I moved into my professional career, I was fortunate to have
Dennis Sheehy oversee my short and long game.
Dennis has had the great pleasure of working with Stephen Ames, Ian
Wossnam, Seve Ballesteros, and Nick Faldo.
The endless hours I spent with Dennis, gave me a solid technical
understanding of the golf swing.
For the mental side of my game I sought the help of Alan Fine, coach to Players Champion Stephen
Ames.
With sound advice through mental exercise, Alan and I have worked on
maximizing one’s ability to perform at the highest level.
What is your
coaching / instruction philosophy? Using playing experiences to help further my
student's games, whether beginners or professionals. Every aspect of my teaching is set for
measured improvement. Rather than saying
“this looks better”, we need to prove where the improvements are and how to
repeat them. I incorporate the physics and geometry of the swing, in order to
relate them to the feel of the shot.
We also want to take it to the course, through on course playing lessons. This allows us to introduce these measured improvements into real situations. We can then, promote greater playing benefits and
scoring.
What methods and /
or tools do you employ in your teaching? I am a method teacher, and some
might be scared to say that. The method I prefer is the method of trying to take a player’s natural ability and add to it,
as well as, bring up aspects that might be lacking.
One swing does not fit all. I'm not into making massive overhauls,
but if a player wants to do that, that can be done as well.
Again, changes should also be measurable. In today's competitive
teaching market you cannot just say " it looks better". I employ the
latest in measuring technology, using Trackman, which measures what the club is
doing at contact, in addition to tracking the ball throughout the flight. If we
are making changes in your swing, you should be able to see the numbers change
as well. Putting a feel to the numbers is a highly effective way to teach.
If you are refining your game, the technology provided by Trackman
helps to solidify the feel of the shot with real time data.
Who has influenced
you in your teaching? I have been blessed and fortunate to work with so many different
teachers throughout my career. I have worked with sports physiologist, that
have taught me how to see the game, and how it's played between the ears.
Physical trainers that have shown me how to prevent injuries and how
the body should move throughout the golf swing, along with scientists that
describe how motion is created during the golf swing.
One the greatest influences has been all of the golf instructors
that have shown me how to communicate a message to a student. We all have our
special ways of saying something that creates a feel in a student. They have all
influenced me today in how I teach the game of golf.
For additional information or to schedule a lesson you can reach John at 310-621-6388
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