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The long and short of coaching golf
Jay Kastner believes it’s more important to improve your putting than you driving
J.D. Gravenor
The Gazette
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Jay Kastner. Natasha Fillion, The Gazette
Jay Kastner’s passion for golf was born on the driving range. Ironically, he thinks too many golfers spend too much time on the range, working on the perfect swing. Instead, this Beaconsfield-raised Hudson resident teaches his clients to stop obsessing with their fundamentals and focus on the job of getting around the course in the lowest number of shots.
When did you start golfing?
I was ten. I used to watch it on TV because my dad used to watch it. And we used to spend a fair amount of time in Florida, where my parents played golf at a private club. I couldn’t go on the course, so I whacked golf balls. I used to get sunstroke from being on the driving range so long.
Tell me about your competitive career.
I was a professional golfer for eight years. I used to follow the Canadian Tour. I was never a card-carrying member, but I played the Monday qualifying circuit across Canada.
What was that like?
It’s a pretty crazy story. From one place to the next, being in your car, eating crap. Sponsorship was the problem. It was all about trying to find sponsorships, which is the most difficult thing on the planet – especially in Canada. Rather than searching to get to the PGA Tour, I was on a search for the money to get to the PGA Tour.
Is that what put you off competing?
Living that long with no money is pretty much what drew me into my present career as a financial adviser. With a family, two kids and a mortgage, I can’t be wandering the country looking for cash.
What would you tell a golfer whose dreams have no bounds?
My advice would be to take lessons and spend more time around a green than on a driving range. People seem to think if they hit a driving range, they’re practising. But all they’re doing is working on their bad habits. If you want to work on scoring better, spend more time around the greens and less time on the driving range. I’ve become a really good trunk-to-tee golfer. In other words, from the trunk of my car to the first tee. I avoid the driving range. I don’t have time.
What kind of people do you coach?
I’m coaching people that love the game, that want to learn the game. Today, everybody wants to play golf. If you’re in business, you’ve got to be playing golf. And most people in that field have a passion for the game. It’s the same for everyone. Once you start, it’s like a bug. It’s like a disease. You can’t stop.
As more women succeed in business, are they golfing more?
I see more women starting to play golf than I ever had in my life. More and more, women are starting to play with men. And they’re getting good.
Is it rewarding to be a coach?
It feels good to help people with my experiences. I feel a sense of satisfaction.
Do the golfers you coach have to unlearn certain behaviours on the course?
Oh yeah, golf is full of that. For one thing, people think too much. Too many people focus on their swing, on the Tiger Woods swing. Once you master the fundamentals, you have to focus on how to get around the course.
So practice, practice, practice?
Well, people ask me sometimes: ‘Why am I shooting in the hundreds? How can I get better?’ I ask them: ‘How much time do you spend practicing?’ They say, ‘None.’ I say: ‘You just answered your own question.’
With the coach:
Coach: Jay Kastner, 38-year-old Hudson resident and financial adviser with Investors Group Financial Services.
Affiliation: Kastner is an on-course coach, teaching corporate clients for the West Island Golf Academy. He also coaches a number of his own investment clients.
Years coached: About five.
Playing experience: Approximately eight years of touring.
Best coaching tip: Over-analysis causes paralysis.