Gary Shankland

Teaching Philosophy

My whole philosophy comes down to one idea: make golf simpler and easier to play. The game is hard enough without overcomplicating it, and I've seen firsthand what happens when a student finally understands a concept in a way that sticks — it changes everything. I focus on delivering straightforward, actionable improvements across the full swing, short game, and putting, using real data from launch monitors and high-speed video to back up every lesson with evidence you can see and feel. I'm a firm believer in both block practice and randomized practice — you need to groove the movement, and then you need to learn to perform it under pressure. Around the greens, I emphasize trajectory control, distance control, and hand awareness as the true foundations of scoring. Whether we're working on stopping an over-the-top swing, mastering 3-foot putts, or building a dependable short game, every drill I use has a purpose and a clear standard to hold yourself to. I want my students to leave each session with something they can take straight to the course — not a checklist of 10 things to think about, but one or two clear keys that unlock real improvement.