Elevate Your Game with Dave's Insights

If I had a dollar for every time a woman called to book her first lesson and said some version of “I just don’t want to embarrass myself,” I could probably retire to a beach somewhere and never teach another grip again. I’m glad I can’t, because teaching golf —...

After more than two decades of teaching junior golfers, this is the question I hear most from parents: what age should my child start golf lessons? It comes at me over the phone, in emails at eleven o’clock at night, and from moms and dads standing at the edge of my...

I’ve been teaching golf in Montgomery County for more than 25 years. In that time, standing on the tee line at Lower State Road Golf Center in North Wales, I’ve watched thousands of golfers walk onto my lesson tee — beginners gripping a club like a baseball bat,...

You’ve done it. You’ve finally decided this is the season you stop guessing and start improving. So you open Google, type “golf lessons Philadelphia,” and hit enter — and what comes back is a wall of directories, five-year-old forum threads, star ratings from...

Golf improvement is not a straight line from lesson to better scores. It is a cycle of learning, practicing, testing, and performing. Students often judge a lesson by how well they hit the ball that day, but real improvement depends on how well the mind understands...

Artificial intelligence and YouTube are everywhere in golf instruction today. They promise faster learning, better technique, and lower scores—often packaged as quick, inexpensive solutions. Watch a video, ask AI a question, head to the range, and suddenly your swing...

By PGA Professional David C. Smith Jr., DCSJR Golf Academy Before the season starts, smart golfers do a quick check—not just of their equipment, but of their swing fundamentals. Just like a physical with your doctor, a few simple assessments can reveal whether your...

By PGA Professional David C. Smith Jr. In coaching, the primary focus should be on creating a plan that aligns with the student's goals and needs. This plan must follow the SMART criteria: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Re­alistic, and Timely. By including these...

Being delayed by traffic before a meeting or overcooking a holiday meal can be frustrating and embarrassing. Similarly, investing substantial time and money into golf and its instruction without noticeable improvement may lead to various negative emotions. My goal is...

Equipment: Does the dress make the woman or does the woman make the dress? It’s obvious—justask Valentino! All kidding aside…Players should evolve into their equipment, and at all times, theplayer and their equipment are a team. Great talent will shine brighter with...