Brian Crowell is currently the PGA Head Golf Professional at GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, N.Y., and has been a golf instructor since 1991.

He has been recognized with several teaching awards, including the Horton Smith Award for outstanding contributions to golf education, ranking on the list of "Americas Top Instructors" by Consumer Research, and being named one of the "Top 50 Junior Instructors" in the country by US Kids Golf.

Brian is also an author, whose latest book, Slice-Free Golf, has been a commercial and critical success (slicefeegolf.com).

As if all this didn't keep him busy enough, Brian does regular stints on TV as an analyst for several networks and co-host of The Golf Channel's Golf Digest Equipment Special, as well as on the radio, where he hosts The Clubhouse throughout the golf season on AM 1230 WFAS in New York.

Brian has a lot going on, but he always has time for SwingFix lessons, too. And he squeezed in some time to answer our Five Questions:

1. First off, talk briefly about your golf instruction philosophy and how you preach it at your facility.

CROWELL: I think there are four critical components to great instruction:
1) Solid knowledge of the swing
2) Great communication skills
3) Prescribe effective practice methods
4) Provide enthusiasm /  entertainment.

My instruction philosophy begins with the goals of each individual student. Creating a comfortable dialogue is an essential step, followed by a general assessment of the student's swing. Great instructors resist the temptation to say too much too soon. Be positive, encouraging, and address one issue at a time. My ultimate goal is to help each student to enjoy the game of golf as much as possible.

2. What attracted you to the SwingFix platform and how effective can this method be for golfers?

CROWELL: I'm a huge fan of the current 'Golf 2.0' concept, which addresses the challenge of growing our sport. SwingFix is an exciting concept that allows a wide audience access to excellent instruction in a very affordable way. The award-winning staff of SwingFix instructors have excellent teaching tools at their fingertips and can provide timely, personalized advice to a student on the other side of the country! Thanks to SwingFix, students can take a quick clip of their swing, send it to their favorite instructor, and get accurate advice without scheduling hassles or the need to travel to the instructor's facility. The system works.

3. In your opinion, what is the secret to taking the "range game" to the first tee?

CROWELL: Practice like you play. How often do you casually hit 30 7-iron shots in a row off a perfect lie, while playing on the course? NEVER. Golfers need to practice more effectively. Always choose a target, make a rehearsal swing or two, visualize the shot you're about to hit (even imagine being on a familiar course faced with a typical shot), and then make your swing. Change targets often, and before leaving the range, alternate between clubs a bit. Imagine that you're 'playing' the first few holes of your favorite course (i.e: driver, seven iron  then driver, hybrid, sand wedge, then 6 iron, etc.). Switching targets and switching clubs more frequently can make your range time more effective.

4. Is there a particular training aid that you tend to use most regularly and with the most effectiveness?

CROWELL: Outside of alignment aids, the most effective 'prop' I use is Hogan's 'plane of glass.' In his book, Five Lessons, Hogan describes the swing plane with an image of a pane of glass. I've taken that concept and actually constructed a similar 'plane guide' out of a huge sheet of foam insulation. Students get an instant understanding of where the club should swing when I introduce the foam! This technique has been incredibly helpful to my students at GlenArbor, and with SwingFix, I can create that same plane with a line drawn on the student's video.

5. Is there a way students who have worked with you most often dramatically improve and achieve that coveted five-shot drop in scores? Power, consistency, short game, management, playing more golf, etc.?

CROWELL: Why stop at five? I've had students chop 10, 15 even 20 strokes off their scores! I get tremendous satisfaction from curing slices. A 'slicer' who finally feels the joy of powerful, solid contact is on their way to a new, heightened level of golf enjoyment. But in other cases, course management, short-game technique or confidence with the putter leads to dramatic improvement. The joy of golf instruction is finding what works best for each individual student. But my ultimate goal remains: Helping more students to have more fun with golf -- and SwingFix is an excellent option.

Take a lesson with Brian Crowell.

SwingFix delivers the world's greatest golf instructors directly to your computer, laptop or tablet.

In Jason Helman, we bring you one of Canada's best. Jason has compiled a career of nearly two decades in the golf industry as a player, swing instructor, and coach.

In 2010, he was named both the Ontario and Canadian PGA Teacher of the Year, and in 2011 he was recognized by Golf Digest as one of the top five teachers in Canada.

Currently, Jason is the Director of Instruction at the Greg Norman designed Wyndance Golf Club, just North of Toronto, Ontario and he also is the director of Jason Helman Golf.

Five Questions with Jason Helman

1. First off, talk briefly about your golf instruction philosophy and how you preach it at your facility.

HELMAN: I try and approach golf as more of a long-term experience. I don’t work from a one way fits all type of mentality. I look for and identify the most critical aspect or deficiency the player has and try to work on that one specific issue until we obtain a better outcome. There may be some other smaller things that come along with that one specific issue and I will definitely touch on those as they need to be implemented. We’re all different and have certain skill sets or abilities that we’re better at than others; all I try and do with my students is to ensure they’re improving or developing those skills to their highest efficiency. It’s unfortunate, but we live in a 'right-now' society and have the ability to obtain whatever we would like if we have the means to 'purchase' them. The problem is that we can’t do that in the game of golf – you can buy new equipment every year and never really get any better. Eventually you’ll come to the conclusion that you require help to learn. We spend eight years in elementary school, four years in high school and another four to six years in university developing our skills and learning. That’s approximately 26 percent of our life learning presuming the average lifespan is 70 years old. However, when it comes to wanting a golf swing, our expectations can sometimes be unrealistic, whereby we take a 60-minute lesson or a couple more, and then we think we’ve got it. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Therefore, I’ve created and implemented coaching models that involve instructional sessions along with practices where the student will work with the coach in either the practice setting or on course in a more consequential environment to learn the game.

2. What attracted you to the SwingFix platform and how effective can this method be for golfers?

HELMAN: When I was first recruited to the team of instructors, I looked at the platform and found that this was an easy way for students to choose the instructor of their choice and be able to communicate with them no matter where they are in the world. It’s a great cost-efficient way for golfers who may have never received instruction or had their swing analyzed on video to understand all of the things that they’re doing correctly along with a few suggestions to improve their swing. The SwingFix site allows me to see their swing, and with the technological advances in phones, tablets and cameras these days, we can provide a quality analysis on an ongoing basis to develop and build a solid coach/student relationship. This provides the student the opportunity to interact back and forth so that everything can be clarified and the student has a complete understanding of any necessary adjustments required for their skill advancement.

3. In your opinion, what is the secret to taking the "range game" to the first tee?

HELMAN: Oh, where do I start? It all starts prior to the player even getting to the course. It comes from an understanding that you’re playing golf that day, so prepare yourself mentally and get your schedule organized to play. I see so many people racing down to the range after they have just arrived minutes before their tee time. They’re still in a frantic state of mind and their brain is going a hundred miles an hour. This rarely results in a great start on the first tee. So, get yourself to the course with 45 minutes to spare so you can go through a proper warm up. Hit the putting green first to get the speed of the green, go and chip a few balls to get the feel of the ball coming off the clubface and then go to the range. The key is to hit a few different clubs and keep switching, I go 8, 6, 4, hybrid, 3-wood, driver, then hit the shots I would expect to play in the first three holes, and I’m ready to go. The 'range game' usually boils down to understanding your tempo and how your body is feeling that particular day. Certainly we’ve all had an 'A-Ha!' moment where we said, 'Wow, I didn’t even feel I swung at that and it went really far.' This is your biomechanics or kinetic sequence working efficiently. I try and get my students to understand and identify what it feels like to swing at an 80-percent capacity and be able to dial that in whenever they get to the range and then learn how to calm themselves when they get to the first tee, figure out the tempo in their rehearsal, execute to the best of their ability, accept the outcome, and move forward.

4. Is there a particular training aid that you tend to use most regularly and with the most effectiveness?

HELMAN: I use a variety of aids that provide effective feel. I’m really fussy when it comes to training aids, so I am sure to test them for any breakdown vulnerabilities. One of the first things that is so important in making a mechanical change is the effective impact position, so I turn to my trusty 'SKLZ impact bag' to have students achieve the new or proper feeling at impact. I use my 'Orange Whip Trainer' on a daily basis for tempo, which helps students develop the ability to feel where the energy of the club exits and it gets the hands and arms under control in a smoother sequence.

5. Is there a way students who have worked with you most often dramatically improve and achieve that coveted five-shot drop in scores? Power, consistency, short game, management, playing more golf, etc.?

HELMAN: Definitely. One of the most frequent phrases I hear is, 'Putting is the best part of my game.' This is of course all in relation to the number of greens hit in regulation. When I ask how many putts they have per round it’s usually mid to high 30s, which is average to above average. I prefer to work on the short game and on the putting green first and around the green in the beginning to help students develop their skill sets and put some new go-to shot selections in their bag. After they achieve some success and build trust in their skills, I progress back to 100 yards. I have an easy system that can be acquired through efficient quality practice that develops an understanding of how to make the ball fly the correct distance consistently. This is where I have seen the most dramatic decreases in handicap. Once we’ve achieved some of this we can work on some full-swing issues that may be causing some penalty strokes from the tee or poor decisions on the course that lead to an undesired outcome. This is all relative to what the student’s objectives are in the game and how much they can commit, so a program is really customized on an individual basis to match the goals they would like to achieve.

Take a lesson with Jason Helman.

Chris Rowe is currently the Head Golf Professional at Whispering Pines Golf Club, just outside of Houston. Before Whispering Pines, he was at the historic Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, site of this week’s PGA Tour stop, the Crowne Plaza Invitational.

Rowe has been nominated to Golf Digest's and Golf Magazine's Top 100 instructor lists, and has contributed to the former on several occasions. He has had one student who made it through PGA Tour Qualifying School to earn a tour card and has taught four high school state champions.

More than a dozen of Rowe’s junior students have gone on to play collegiate golf. Before launching into Five Questions, we asked Rowe for some insight into how a course like Colonial prepares for one of the Tour's premier events. Here's what he said:

"Colonial prepares the course months before the event date. Merchandise pours in everyday and when tournament week arrives they will have a full 18-wheeler packed from front to back with merchandise. I've never priced so many hats and shirts as I did when I worked at Colonial! The rough will be extra thick and all the members play as much as they can before the event with the course conditions being pristine. The Horrible Horseshoe is a wonderful three-hole stretch starting on the 3rd hole and ending on the 5th hole. These three holes test the players as well as any three-hole stretch on the PGA Tour. The players need to be under par after the first two holes and hope to hang on the next three. Colonial is a wonderful old style course that still tests the players, but unfortunately the advancements in technology and golf course maintenance practices have made many of the great old courses play short. The tour players who say you can't hit driver are mistaken. Kenny Perry and Phil Mickelson have both won two Colonials and bomb their drivers. The greatness about Colonial is that a long player can win along with a player like Cory Pavin or Nick Price. There are very few courses on the PGA Tour where you have to work the ball more than Colonial. Fort Worth is my favorite city and Colonial will always have a special place in my heart."

SwingFix Five Questions

1. First off, talk briefly about your golf instruction philosophy and how you preach it at your facility.  

ROWE: My teaching philosophy is that every golfer falls into one of two impact positions. Rounded Impact and Target Impact are the two impacts I have built my philosophy around. Target impact would be considered old school with timing and tempo being the driving force. Target impact players use their hands to square the face at impact and the club points toward the target just after the ball is struck. Rounded impact is the modern swing with less hands and more body rotation to square the face. Players with rounded impacts cover the ball and the club works immediately left of the target after the ball is struck.

2. What attracted you to the SwingFix platform and how effective can this method be for golfers?

ROWE: Vikki Vanderpool called and asked me if I would be interested in being an instructor. I love teaching the game and thought what a great idea for people who do not have access to quality instructors or the ability to get an affordable lesson. There have been so many different students sending in their swings since I started working with SwingFix. It has really been fun to hear the comments from the students who have had great improvement from their lesson.

3. In your opinion, what is the secret to taking the "range game" to the first tee?  

ROWE: Practice like you want to play. If you ask students on the range what they are working on or where they are aiming they couldn't tell you most of the time. Have a specific goal in mind when you get to the range. If you don't have a goal then go to the course and play. It does you NO GOOD to practice without a purpose. Have specific targets that you have to hit five balls in row to that target. Hit five drives in a row to a certain area of the range before you go to the first tee. The range is huge and you're not going to miss it! Practice like you want to play and you will play like you practice.

4. Is there a particular training aid that you tend to use most regularly and with the most effectiveness?

ROWE: This will sound funny, but I use a pink swing noodle more than any of my teaching aids that I have purchased at the PGA Merchandise Shows. The best way to help a student's swing plane is to place the noodle over their shoulder or on the ground next to the ball. It is hard to describe in writing, but you can change a student's path by placing the swing noodle in the correct position.

5. Is there a way students who have worked with you most often dramatically improve and achieve that coveted five-shot drop in scores? Power, consistency, short game, management, playing more golf, etc.?  

ROWE: Once the fundamentals are in place the instructor should become a coach. I truly believe as an instructor you should diagnose the problem and have a solution before the lesson is over. I don't go to a doctor to get my symptoms fixed! I go to a doctor to get my infection fixed, which will take care of the symptoms. Once the student has an understanding of their swing flaws you then challenge them with games and skill assessments to show them where they are with their game. Many students I work with have to go through numerous tests and challenges I put them through before we ever move forward. When the student reaches the course, they have been tested so much in their lesson they are able to perform.

Take a lesson with Chris Rowe.