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Like many Australians, Damon Lucas was first inspired by Greg Norman. Other early role models were the somewhat quirky pair of Nick Faldo and David Duval. Technically, his first influence was David Leadbetter.
A late starter at 19, Damon attained a scratch handicap within two years. He competed in high level amateur tournaments around Australia, in Britain, such as the British Amateur Championship, and in the US.
As well as long hours on the practice range and putting green, Damon sought out the best instructor in Australia for his full swing, devoured Dave Pelz’s ideas for his putting stroke, worked with a golf conditioning specialist and took courses in Neuro Linguistic Programming for the mental side.
In the years that followed, Damon met several people who would shape his teaching philosophies, provide insights into what defines champions’ golf games, what constitutes good instruction, how to make golf fun and, importantly, how one size does not fit all.
Damon was taught in the late 1990s by Gary Barter, who was Australian PGA Teacher of the Year, and coach to Matthew Jones, Andre Stolz, as well as several other tour players. Damon also received instruction at the Hank Haney Ranch in Dallas.
Damon’s first pupil was his father who, at the time, professed to have the “worst short game in the world”. Undeterred, Damon moved into full time teaching in the US in 2000. He attended every possible seminar and teaching conference, which exposed him to Jim McLean, Butch Harmon, Mike Bender and Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer of Stack and Tilt fame, as well as most of the top teachers in America. He aligned himself with a prominent local, Top 100 teacher, Ted Sheftic.
Damon is aligned with Geoff Mangum’s PuttingZone. What sets Geoff apart is his zeal for critical analysis. He has probably read every word ever written about putting, and only accepts concepts that pass scientific scrutiny and that also fit into a total approach to putting. He believes that it is not good enough for a top player or teacher to rely on “because I say so”.
He continues to pore over everything to do with golf instruction on the Internet. There he discovered the highly entertaining, and street smart instructor, Brian Manzella, who was the first to make real sense of The Golfing Machine. Manzella is brilliant at customizing the fix to fit the player. He also refuses to accept the ‘say-so’ mentality of conventional golf instruction and through technologies like Trackman and the Taylor Made MATT system has dispelled several commonly held beliefs about ball flight and swing instruction.
Damon was in Baltimore from 2002 to 2008, based at Chestnut Ridge GC, and he also taught at Hayfields GC. He coached one junior, Matthew Mighty, to the Junior World Golf Championship at Torrey Pines and another, Sam Stewart, to a Club Championship at age 15. He has worked with celebrities and professional sports people and men, women and juniors of all ages and skill levels.
Damon’s teaching philosophy can be summed up as 1) everyone is different and has different needs, and 2) a “total” approach is applied, within each person’s physical limitations, combining swing mechanics, putting, the mental side, equipment fit and, sometimes, even fitness. As well as his skills and experience derived over the last 20 years, his strength as a teacher lies in his analytical ability enabling him to see very quickly what each person needs for both immediate fixes and for long term improvement.
In his role as Director of Instruction at Lake Presidential, he is creating an instructional program comparable with the premier programs in America. It will include the best of the current technologies and a curriculum that will meet the needs and wishes of each individual or group.
