For nearly two decades now, Karen Palacios-Jansen has been teaching the game of golf and there are few instructors out there who can boast comparable resumes.

Palacios-Jansen’s bio is filled with accomplishments and accolades, she’s a recognizeable name in her profession nationally and has been for more than a decade and she’s an accomplished author.

Additionally, she has become one of the leaders in the industry when it comes to the impact that fitness has on the golf swing and the game in general.

But Palacios-Jansen is showing no signs of slowing down, as teaching golf to players of all ability levels is still her passion.

To put it simply, landing Palacios-Jansen as part of the Swingpal instructor team was a must for our company, and we sat down with her this week to discuss a variety of subjects for this edition of  Five Questions:

SWINGPAL: How would you describe your teaching philosophy to a potential student?

PALACIOS-JANSEN: I have always believed that golf is a game that anyone can learn and enjoy. I feel my job as a teacher is not only to give out the best information I can give, but to also motivate and inspire people to have fun and improve. Although I have taught with three different golf schools and dozens of well-known teachers that employ method teaching (David Leadbetter Golf Academy, The Faldo Institute by Marriott and the Jim McLean Golf School), I do not adhere to one method of teaching the game of golf.

SWINGPAL: What would you consider to be a popular myth about golf instruction, meaning something that most average players believe is true but actually is not?

PALACIOS-JANSEN: Many people avoid lessons because they think that in order to change their swing you have to get worse before you get better. I believe that a good teacher can help golfers improve some aspect of their game immediately, so you can change your swing and still enjoy playing and practicing at the same time.

SWINGPAL: You are a recognized expert in golf fitness, having authored a book and helping to manage Golf Fitness Magazine. For the average golfer out there that doesn’t have tremendous flexibility and has to work a desk job during the week, what are the best things he or she can do to improve their golf fitness?

PALACIOS-JANSEN: I have what I call my “Three Keys to Golf Fitness.” They are:

1. Pre-round warm up: Warming up is a must for preparing your body for the physiological functions demanded by the game of golf.

2. On-course energy management: What you eat before and during your round of golf will enhance or hinder your performance.

3. Off-course stretching: Flexibility in golf must focus on developing and maintaining an optimal range of motion about the shoulder joint, the spine, the pelvis and hips, and all through the leg muscles and joints.

SWINGPAL: Are there differences in how you approach working with a high-level tournament caliber player compared to a weekend warrior trying to get his handicap down to less than 15? Or are there common threads in all golf instruction that ring true for every player?

PALACIOS-JANSEN: Every student is different, so you have to read the person and ask a lot of questions to find out what they want out of the lesson. This is how I approach a lesson no matter what level of player. I feel students learn best when they are:

1. Comfortable in their learning environment. I have tried to create the optimal teaching area at my golf school. It is comfortable, organized and easy for students to use.

2. Able to repeat back to you the concepts you have been trying to teach them. The best way to learn a skill is to teach it to someone else, so I always have my students give me a golf lesson at the end of their lesson. I tell them to repeat back to me the concept that I just taught them. Then they verbalize it in their own words and will remember the things that I have taught them by repeating it back to me.

3. Having fun. The most important thing about learning golf is to make it fun. Most of my students are just playing golf as a hobby, so it is supposed to be enjoyable. I try to have as much fun teaching them as possible.

SWINGPAL: For parents that have young kids interested in golf, what is the best advice to offer them about putting a child on the right track while keeping the game enjoyable and fun?

PALACIOS-JANSEN: Kids love doing things in a group. If you want your kids to learn, then you should play golf and learn as a family. Don’t just drop them off at the course and come back and get them in a couple of hours. Make golf a weekly fun family outing. Take your whole family to the range to hit balls or take lessons. If your kids are young (3 to 6), then just let them swing and hit balls without instruction. Get them to putt balls toward a hole. Praise them when the ball goes in the hole. When they are about 6 or 7, then you can give them some instruction on how to hold the club and swing in balance. But don’t spend too much time at the range, you don’t want them to get bored. You want them to leave wanting to come back the next day or week. As they get older, you can have them focus on skills like sand shots and driving. If your child is interested in the game, they will ask you for more instruction. Then you can put them in golf camps or get them private instruction. Make golf a fun childhood memory that will stay with your child for the rest of their life whether they pursue the game more seriously or just end up as a weekend golfer.

Every golfer, at every level, can shoot lower scores and play injury-free with the golf-specific programs outlined in Golf Fitness. This book looks at the tips and techniques used by today’s top golfers: Master’s Champion Trevor Immelman’s exercise routine, Stuart Appleby on how to develop the “power move,” LPGA Tour pro Suzanne Petersen’s routine for top performance, Phil Mickelson’s trainer Sean Cochran on staying fit in the off-season, and more. Golf Fitness includes exercises to improve the golf swing, details on better warm-ups, whole-body workout routines, and notes on nutrition. The book also looks at the mental game, and how the mind and body can work together for lower scores. Any golfer looking for an edge will find it in Golf Fitness.