For elite players, talent and technology go hand in hand

By T.J. Auclair, PGA.com Interactive Producer

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The 11th PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit had something for golfers at every level.

On Sunday, the focus at the PGA Learning Center put the spotlight on advanced players, with the theme of the day being "Technology to Enhance High Performance Coaching."

After the PGA Professionals were briefed during the morning session on the importance of proper nutrition and hydration by David Donatucci, Mike Bender took center stage in the afternoon.

Bender, a PGA Professional from Timacuan Golf Club in Mary Lake, Fla., whose students include 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson and two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen, gave a presentation entitled, "Insights to the Use of Technology for the High Performance Coach."

Bender, one of America's top 10 Greatest Golf Teachers according to Golf Digest, joked with the audience at the start of his lecture, saying, "It's amazing how smart you become after one of your guys wins the Masters."

With that, Bender detailed what it takes to guide high-performance players, such as Johnson, who along with the Masters win owns three other PGA Tour wins with the most recent coming at the 2008 Valero Texas Open just a few months ago.

Whether it's a top junior, a top amateur or a touring professional, Bender explained the importance of running what he called a "talent assessment" of each player. The talent assessment includes four major categories: the Tucker Short Game Test; Statistical Information; Stock Shot Consistency; and a Speed Course.

Bender said that every player should have a "stock shot," while the speed course involves several exercises that include sprints, jumping and throwing a football, among others. The point of this, Bender said, is to develop speed, which is essential to a player striking the ball to the best of his or her ability.

The most important aspect of Bender's teachings is not only to explain to his students how to make the most efficient swing possible, but also to make sure the students feel the proper swing.

Because of that logic, Bender has created several tools and devices to help his players reach that end. Bender's system is called MEGSA PPE. The acronym stands for
"Most Efficient Golf Swing Attainable Perfect Practice Equipment," which is being used by more than a dozen tour players.

Essentially, the training station is used on a practice range or an indoor facility and allows golfers to hit shots while avoiding the adjustable bumpers on the unit to provide real-time feedback as to whether the club and body are in the preferred positions during the swing.

To show the PGA Professionals how this is done, Bender used several videos of Johnson on the device. It's set up to insure a proper swing plane to result in the perfect impact position. Many of the videos involved Johnson without even using a golf ball, just trying to rehearse the feeling of the proper plane and impact area.

"Alignment, posture, grip and ball position -- in that order -- are most important for advanced players," Bender said. "If you're not creating stations like this for your students, it will be hard to produce change."

One such station Bender has developed is called the "Wedge Range." On it, Bender has imbedded blocks of concrete into inclined slopes at various yardages. From there, the player attempts to see how many times in 10 shots they can hit the concrete.

For even the most polished professionals, Bender said, this is no easy task.

"You want your students to practice with a purpose," Bender said. "Rather than hit 50 range balls, I prefer to have students practice by hitting five groups of 10 balls because for advanced players goals are related to performance."

Bender concluded his presentation in light-hearted fashion by playing a gag reel of swings from players with the most, shall we say, unique of swing paths who could surely benefit from his devices.