84: Having Fun and Smashing Golf Balls with George Gankas aka “GGSwingTips”

Apr 15, 2016

48:09

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Episode notes

George Gankas, best known in the social media world as “GGSwingTips” is a golf instructor like no other. In fact, a buddy of mine, “Fish” from FishFit Golf referred to him as the “Happy Gilmore” of golf instruction. But I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. This doesn’t imply that George is a newbie on the scene disrupting the sacred game of golf; Quite the opposite, in fact. George is a definite student of the game, but he brings tons of personality to his instruction, which is why I see the “Happy Gilmore” connection as a huge compliment.

George works with the top junior golfers in the LA/Cali area. And as you can see by his Instagram following of more than 20,ooo people, he keeps his lessons fresh and fun, but gets results with his clients. From making videos on his back patio, to sharing crazy trackman data from his guys “smashing balls” off the tee, the way George communicates his lessons, and the commitment he has to his students is simply captivating.

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George Gankas’ (GGSwingTips) Background

Grew up in California
Wrestled and played volleyball
Started Caddying at Sherwood Country Club
Started playing golf in his teens and began playing competitive
Once he started teaching and getting results with his students, his schedule started to fill fast and these days he’s working with clients basically from sun up to sun down, 6 days a week.
He started an Instagram account a couple of years ago on a suggestion from a friend and has simply been putting up some videos from his lessons, and it has grown from there!
George works with some of the top ranked junior golfers in the country

Highlights from this Episode

George gives a little background on how he started playing golf and what brought him to the teaching ranks
He talks about his athletics as a youngster, primarily wrestling and volleyball, which he feels played a big part in his length off the tee
George and I talk about his playing days, several of his experiences out there, and what ultimately led him to want to start teaching
George has a special talent for working with junior golfers and making sure that they are not only getting better, but learning how to manage the game and have fun at the same time
He shares some of his thoughts around working with juniors, and the idea of specialization for players as they are growing up
He stresses a “learn to smash the ball” philosophy, in which he wants his juniors to first learn how to use their body and the ground more effectively to create speed and power, then they can earn to manage and improve ball control
We talk a little about how the golfer uses the ground during a swing and what kind of transition he likes to see with his players
We chat quit a bit about how I got hooked on his Instagram channel and how great his videos are, like this one . . .