Here's What Happened When Rising Star George Gankas Met the Master
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T TEACHERS I ES N A B M 0 E 5 2019 R I E C H A T • • T H A E C I 5 R 0 E B M E A 2020 S N T I T S E A R E C H Teaching Moment here’s what happened when rising star george gankas met the master Harmon is known. Butch That’s the quickest way, and wanted to meet the guy, and quickest is best.” what better way than stand It’s not only Harmon who on his lesson tee? sees something special here. “People said to me, ‘He’s A group of 1,500 leading golf wacky, why do you want to do instructors nationwide voted that?’ ” says Harmon, who this Gankas, who two years ago month retains his ranking as was unranked, No. 11 in Golf the No. 1 teacher in America, Digest’s 50 Best Teachers as voted by his peers, for the in America. It’s the highest 19th straight year (see page debut in the program’s history. butch harmon 67). “I like people who are Gankas joins other newcomers has given a gazillion different. I’m 76 years old, but Dana Dahlquist (27), David golf lessons. This I always want to learn from Orr (T-33), Nick Clearwater time, he took one. whoever’s doing new things. (T-33), Martin Chuck (36), Plus, George is really getting Grant Waite (41), Tony Harmon had been watch- results, and that’s what makes Ruggiero (43), James Leitz ing from afar the way George a teacher great.” (T-45), Boyd Summerhays Gankas operates: the improp- Gankas, who is 48 but can (T-45) and Trillium Rose (T-50). tu videos on social, his star hang with the skateboard So off we go to Westlake student Matthew Wolff’s loop- crowd, could hardly believe Golf Course outside L.A. and de-loop swing, the lessons in his luck. “For Butch to come its mats-only range up against Gucci slides and a flat brim. to my place and give it 110 the 405 Freeway. It’s where Butch liked that Gankas was percent as a student, that’s locals go to beat balls, and pushing golf’s traditions, and cool. I knew I could help him, where the top teacher in the he saw in him the unapolo- not because he doesn’t know land took his first lesson in getic self-belief for which what he needs, but because 50 years. —peter morrice hearing it and feeling it in a different way can click,” Gankas says. “I’m very hands-on in lessons. I grew up wrestling, so I physically gutter credit tk gutter credit move people into positions. Photographs by J.D. Cuban december 2019/january 2020 | golfdigest.com 63 taking care of the face 1 finding the right feel 3 harmon gankas gankas harmon The miss that kills me The best iron players We knew we were on track It’s funny, I’m always is a low pull or hook, go through the ball when we starting seeing telling my players to mostly with the irons. with more passive fewer left shots, and he drive the right side, I’m a good driver, but hands and a lot of body was compressing the ball but for me, turning my my iron contact, and rotation, assuming the better because with more left side out of the way especially that left shot, can be clubface is ready to go. Butch’s turn, the shaft was leaning forward felt more natural. As George says, it an issue. I tend to “chase” the hand positions were rotated toward at impact. We tried another rotational does the same thing. I started to feel ball at impact with a little throw the target. That was leading to an feel: the right shoulder and right a little strain in my left lower back, from my right hand, which is open face on the backswing and a hip pocket beating the clubhead to so I knew I was rotating through my way of squaring the clubface. downswing where the trail hand the ball. For a player who is active differently. I just kept trying to bow Sometimes I close it too much was throwing to square the face. with the right side, this one usually my left wrist going back, and then and hit it left, or my contact is off. Instead of changing his grip, we helps. Turns out, Butch connected wheel my left side around as hard as had him bow his left wrist (left). It more with clearing the left side than I could (left). The strike was better, keeps the face more closed, so you ripping through with the right. The and it sounded better, too. can turn through without worrying takeaway: There’s more than one way about squaring the club. to teach. Everyone learns differently. harmon / learning never stops gankas / the clubface is king “when he stood behind me “turns out, butch connected ▶ I tell young teachers all the time: Go listen to ▶ The golf swing is a reaction to what the club- the guy who teaches concepts you don’t believe and pulled my left shoulder around, it was face is doing. If I set up 10 people with an open more with clearing the left side than ripping in. If you’re open-minded, you’ll come away with face, some of them would swing over the top, a lot of new ideas and be better in the end. One a totally different feel.” —harmon some would fall back and pull left, some would through with the right.” — gankas of my standard lines is, “I don’t teach golf. I teach flip the right hand at the ball. They’d do different people to play golf.” You never know when you’re things, but all of them would be reacting to what going to come across a player who needs some- they see the ball doing—and that comes from the thing different. The more you can expand your face. If I closed the face, you’d see them pushing thinking, the better prepared you are for those the handle forward, turning through more, and situations. You have to keep learning. so on. Golfers adjust to the face. adding more body rotation 2 letting the head go 4 gankas harmon harmon gankas Once we got the face I knew I should turn I like that George was Getting the head to more closed, Butch’s harder when the face having me try different swivel forward is normal throw made was more closed feels without ever what Matt [Wolff] and the ball go way left, coming into the shot, changing the goal: Get I I work on. We want the so he naturally did but my body doesn’t the face set, turn through. chest to open for better it less. More body rotation was rotate like it used to. We saw on Great teachers don’t waver much; contact and a more stable clubface, instinctual. People think I’m crazy video when we started that my they pick a move, and then hammer which leads to a predictable start when I say they hook it because hips and shoulders were basically it to death. Another concept that line. It’s like throwing a pass: The their clubface is open, but if you square at impact [like they are at clicked for me was releasing eyes go to the target, which releases slow down through impact to try to address]. But when he stood behind my head toward the target earlier, the neck and allows the chest to catch up the face, the swing path me and pulled my left shoulder what George called, “sticking your open (right). But this doesn’t happen goes right and the face goes left. around, it was a totally different neck out.” I use this one with my from the top down. The hips lead the That’s a hook. We had to get Butch feel (right). I went from square at players, but I needed reminding to turning, and the shoulders catch up rotating more, which puts the path impact to about 30 degrees open. try it myself. Turning my head early when the trail arm is parallel to the more left and the face more right That’s a huge change that led to was easier than trying to feel what ground going through. If the upper for straighter shots. less hook and more speed. my legs or hips were doing. body leads, you’re chopping wood. ▶ 64 golfdigest.com | december 2019/january 2020 december 2019/january 2020 | golfdigest.com 65 TEACHERS behind the rankings ST IN BE AM E 0 2019 R 5 I E C ▶ For 20 years, Golf Digest has produced the H A T • • T most comprehensive instructor rankings in H A E the teachers in C I the game—anchored by peer evaluation from 50 BEST AMERICA 5 R 0 E B M E hundreds of elite teachers across the country. A 2020 S T N I T S E A R E C The 2019-’20 rankings are our most ambitious H yet. We asked more teachers to vote in our two- tiered national and regional survey than ever name (2018 rank) votes lesson rate facility city / state keeping with the plan 5 before—more than 1,500—and expanded the palette of local instructors they could evaluate 1 butch harmon (1) 3,130 $1,500/hour Butch Harmon School of Golf (Rio Secco G.C.) henderson, nev.