Allen Terrell has worked with Dustin Johnson for 16 years, so he is keenly aware of how DJ’s success drives interest in his namesake golf school and foundation.
With that in mind, pandemic aside, 2020 has been a good year for the Dustin Johnson Golf School. In his last seven starts Johnson has three wins, three second place finishes and a 6th place showing at the US Open.
Interest was already high and now it’s soaring.
The native South Carolinian has won 24 times on the PGA Tour, none bigger than his coronation as Masters Champion on November 15. Fueled by the world’s most famous green jacket, the attention from DJ’s stellar play has driven interest in the work Terrell, one of the game’s premier teachers, is doing at the Dustin Johnson Golf School, located at TPC Myrtle Beach.
Indoor hitting bays and a trackman complement an outdoor range and practice putting green that are the envy of anyone who joys working on their game. The golf school caters to everyone from beginners to Tour players, and long drive legend Sean “The Beast” Fister just joined the staff.
There is only one thing golfers shouldn’t expect to be taught at the Dustin Johnson Golf School – how to hit the ball the way DJ does.
“Everybody is going to have a different swing,” Terrell said. “There are different options for success. We definitely wouldn’t teach someone to swing like Dustin – it would be difficult to teach and it requires speed.”
So what vital lesson did DJ take from Terrell that the coach would pass on to you?
Ownership of your golf swing.
It’s the foundational principle for the Golf School.
Everyone’s swing is different and golfers need to take responsibility for their swing.
“That’s the role of the coach, not to inundate someone with technique and bio mechanic jargon,” Terrell said of players owning their swing. “[The goal] to get them to understand how their swing works in the most simple terms possible. We use technology, verbal communication; whatever it takes.”
Terrell and his team at the Dustin Johnson Golf School tailor programs to fit the needs of the individual golfer. A junior aspiring to play in college may have hours to devote to practicing while a middle-aged parent may struggle to find time to practice in the backyard.
They are students with entirely different needs.
“We aren’t model teachers,” Terrell said. “That’s pretty lazy to read a book and teach everyone the same way and hope they fit in that model. We work hard and study a lot to understand the different ways to hit the ball well.
“Our job is to educate and to help golfers be self-sufficient. It’s not to give them a little piece and make them reliant on us. You are by yourself practicing, you are by yourself playing for the most part. If we don’t arm [golfers] with tools to correct [problems], I think it’s malpractice.”
The results suggest players – at all levels of the game – at the Dustin Johnson Golf School are graduating with advanced degrees.
With a 4,000-square foot teaching center that includes three indoor hitting bays, 140-yard tee box, rough and fairway cut bunkers, a club-fitting room, and fitness facility, among other amenities, the Dustin Johnson Golf School is housed at a facility that is nearly the equal of DJ’s game.
(Top photo credit PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com)
