John Bierkan - Director of Instruction at Aronimink Golf Club

Alex Elias

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Courtesy of Jon Cavalier (@linksgems)

If there’s one aspect of the game that John Bierkan, Director of Instruction at Aronimink Golf Club (Newtown Square, PA), believes club players need to focus on more, it’s short game.

“All golfers, quite candidly, but particularly club players, would definitely benefit from spending more time on their short game,” said Bierkan.

“Most Tour players are really good around the green—chipping, pitching, greenside bunkers—and by club players working on that, they’re going to see better results. Shots will end up closer to the hole, which statistically improves your chances to make a putt and save Par,” said Bierkan.

Although short game may edge out other areas, Bierkan added, “Maybe I’m biased, but people need to make more time to practice in general.”

“If you look at any other sport or activity, people get better by taking lots of lessons or spending time practicing—piano, karate, ice hockey, learning a foreign language—but for some reason golfers think you can take one or two lessons and suddenly be cured or magically hit the ball better,” said Bierkan. “You don’t do that when you’re learning to skate or learning to play the piano. I just think for some reason people don’t equate learning or practicing golf to any other skill in life.”

Bierkan’s insistence on consistent practice comes from experience. Having played Division I golf at the University of Connecticut, he’s long understood the value of putting in the time—and recent years learning hockey have only reinforced that lesson.

“My first winter, with lessons in Florida, I took about 120 hours. The next winter, I took 148 hours. This winter, just this morning, was my 127th hour of hockey lessons. I’m not saying this to brag, but my point is: as a teacher and instructor, I know I’m not going to go from zero to sixty in ten hours of lessons. I want to practice what I preach,” said Bierkan.

First comes the commitment to practice, then acceptance—specifically, understanding that change is uncomfortable and takes time.

“If a player comes in and we’re working on something I believe will improve their ball striking or accuracy, most don’t fully commit to the swing changes because it feels weird,” said Bierkan.

“If you change the way you move or do something, it will feel weird or awkward at first, but you have to put in the time and effort for it to feel normal. That way, you can trust the process. Trusting the process of getting better is extremely important,” said Bierkan.