Phil Jonas: When David Leadbetter Talks Pros Listen

I first me David about 33 years ago when he first turned pro in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He really is a nice guy and he knew what he wanted to achieve as a teacher and I think he's probably exceeded his expectations. There were a lot of great young players in Rhodesia at the time including Simon Hobday, Mark McNulty, Dennis Watson, Nick Price, and Tony Johnstone who all went on to have successful golf careers. I think David taught each of them at some time in their careers. These guys all won Majors either on the Regular Tour or Champions Tour except Tony Johnstone who won British PGA, a major on the European Tour.

It is amazing that a small country like that can have such success in golf and also produce arguably the greatest teacher.

David's greatest success was Nick Faldo who, in the mid 1980's, decided that he couldn't win the big events with his then swing. He employed Leadbetter to be his Coach and they totally revamped his swing, Faldo had the right personality and work ethic to undertake this unbelievable task. Nick had won some big events in Europe and an event on the U.S. PGA TOUR, but they completely changed his swing.

Faldo won the British Open in 87 and five more Majors including three green jackets from Augusta and was the best Golfer in the World. Nick Price was probably Leadbetter's first great student and still sees David regularly almost 30 years later.

On a personal note: at a 1985 NCAA tournament, which was played at Greenleafe near Orlando and where Leadbetter was based at the time, I was really struggling and I asked David for some help. With his advice I went on to win five Tournaments in my senior year and was a candidate for NCAA Player of the Year in 1986. I was an NCAA 1st Team All American working on only the advice David gave me in one four hour lesson.

In 2006 one of Leadbetters former students, Trevor Dodds, was staying at my house and he had the new LEADBETTER SWINGSETTER training aid. The swingsetter really addressed some of my swing faults. I bought one and have used it religiously since then. It has helped me reduce some of swing flaws and improved my launch angle which has increased my driving distance at my advanced age of 48 now. About two months after I started using the Swingsetter I won the 2006 CPGA Assistants' Championship, which boasts the strongest field in Canada amongst club pros. I really hit the ball well that week, Thank you, David.

At last Wednesday's seminar David shared his philosophy in golf, which I'm happy to say that I share a lot of his beliefs when it comes to teaching. I just lack about 25 years experience. I was glad to hear one of his mentors was Phil Ritson, who taught me the game at a young age in South Africa.

Three Marine Drive members were lucky to get a lesson from Leadbetter while 125 PGA of BC pro's watched on.. It must have been nerve wrecking for them. It was amazing how their swings all improved noticeably in such a short time. Leadbetter did this with a lot of humour and by asking a lot of questions. (The interview process is important in teaching). He also used his hands on approach to help guide the students and make them feel the correct positions in their swings. I have noticed that a lot of the famed teachers use this hands-on approach.

It was great seeing David again and my appreciation for his ability grew. The day went so fast . . . I wish there was more than one day.

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It is great to see that Jim Rutledge of Victoria has qualified for this week's Champions Tour event in the Dominican Republic. Jim won the Qualifying on Friday with a 66. Only three spots were available. Another good friend, Trevor Dodds. the leading money winner on the Canadian Tour in 1995 and 96, also made it through.

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I'm sure both Jim and Trevor are not too happy to see that this year's Canadian Tour schedule is quite weak. The Tour schedule isn't as good today as it was when first published in December. They've lost the Vancouver tour stop . . . last season's City of Surrey Charity Classic. As well, the tournament that was on the schedule in the Okanogan has been removed. The Champions Tour is going to Montreal so the Desjardins Montreal Open is no longer on the calendar. I'm not sure what is going on. I used to be on the Canadian Tour Board, but left in 2007 so I'm out of the loop. I do know that Canadian golf needs the Canadian Tour and, while I don't plan on playing any events this year, I have always been and always will continue to be a great supporter of the Canadian Tour.

I believe the Canadian Tour was at its best from the late 90's through to 2000. The schedule was good for the players, starting at the end of May in Victoria and heading east every week until the end of August. It was affordable for the players because they could drive, the tournaments had a great atmosphere and many still do, which helped the players who graduated to the PGA Tour. I've heard that the entry fees have been doubled for this year, which will make it tougher for the players and makes it more like a mini tour.

I believe that if there is no tournament in Vancouver the tour is a failure. The tour might not share this feeling because they are based in Toronto. Not being in the loop I also think that they might not have tried hard enough in the past five years to secure sponsorship for a tournament here in Greater Vancouver. The result is the Canadian swing starts in Victoria and then there is a three-week break till the Tour picks up aain in Edmonton. There used to be two tournaments in Alberta., now there's just one. There is an opportunity, however, for the players as the West Coast Golf Group is having a three day Pro-Am at Hazelmere, Belmont and Swan-e-Set for some good money after Victoria.

I hope this is just a short problem for the Tour, because without the Canadian Tour we might not have heard of Mike Weir, Steve Stricker and many more who honed their skills here on the Canadian Tour.

PHIL JONAS
CPGA Class A Professional
McCleery Golf Academy
Philip Jonas Golf Academy at Hazelmere