Rinker’s Golf Tips May 11 Top 100 Teacher Mitchell Spearman. Mitchell was introduced to the game by his Aunt Marley Spearman, a two-time British Amateur Champion. Marley lived in London and fist started hitting balls indoors into a net in her garage. She learned a repetitive swing and one day went to the driving range to hits some balls. In her first round of golf she shot an 83 and five years later won her first British Amateur Championship. Mitchell learned at 18 that he had a passion for teaching. He caddied every Sunday for the head pro, watched him teach, and on weekends worked in the golf shop. He saw that through the power of suggestion, you can change people’s golf games for better or worse. Through the art of communication, you could say very little and do a lot to someone’s golf game.
The best tip that Mitchell ever received was from Harold Henning, a great player from South Africa. One day Harold walked into the golf shop since he had recently moved to the area. When Harold went to hit balls, Mitchell snuck out and starting hitting balls next to him. At some point Harold turned to Mitchell, grabbed him and said this is where your big muscles are, this is what controls the swing, and he thrust him forward and rotated his body through the shot. Harold told him that he had the typical British swing flicking at it with his hands and wrists.
In 1988 Mitchell moved to Orlando, Florida to become David Leadbetter’s right hand man at Lake Nona. Mitchell had spent six weeks with David in the early 1980’s at Grenelefe in Haines City, Florida. It was a great time to be there in 1988 and David was busy. Nick Faldo had just won the British Open in 1987 and other players like Nick Price where playing well. Mitchell shadowed David for six months and at that time they were setting a trend looking at plane and spine angles. Leadbetter’s method was not a power swing with a lot of leg action like today, but there was a precision to the iron play of the Tour players they were working with. Mitchell continues to travel throughout the golf season and calls Orlando, Florida home during the winter months. Mitchell can be reached at mitchellspearman.com.