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To get or not to get golf lessons?


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I've had multiple college instructors who were absolutely brilliant at retaining information and ideas and absolutely atrocious at teaching it so this article is not encouraging at all as far as I am concerned.

Spine tilt?  Clubface angle?  Hand path?  Who cares?  Say I ask my instructor about all these things and he answers them correctly.  How will I know he's utilizing any of it during my lessons?  What people need is someone to tell them the dumb things they are doing and to be shown a better way.  That's it.

Anyway, I tend to judge my instructors based on my results.  I'm paying them to make me better at something, not to memorize books.

Okay then, just don't ask anybody anything. Just randomly select an instructor, and don't try at all to narrow it down at all.

To see YOUR results, you've gotta spend $300 or so on them. The article aims to help you choose a good instructor PRIOR to spending $300 (times five or six instructors).

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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I can't say enough good things about my golf coach. Not only knowledgeable but lots of options. I can schedule one on one lesson, he does on-line analysis and hosts weekly supervised practices with a 4 student limit. I do a lot of the practices, $35 gets me about 15 minutes of his attention and he sends me a video a day later.

Dave :-)

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I've had multiple college instructors who were absolutely brilliant at retaining information and ideas and absolutely atrocious at teaching it so this article is not encouraging at all as far as I am concerned.

Spine tilt?  Clubface angle?  Hand path?  Who cares?  Say I ask my instructor about all these things and he answers them correctly.  How will I know he's utilizing any of it during my lessons?  What people need is someone to tell them the dumb things they are doing and to be shown a better way.  That's it.

Anyway, I tend to judge my instructors based on my results.  I'm paying them to make me better at something, not to memorize books.

Welp, good instructors usually have a reputation that will tell the story, the good ones don't work hard for nothing. you need to explain to the prospective instructors what your looking for as far as goals, ect. After talking to a few, you should have a good idea who would be best for you, or not, but You have to start the process.

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Okay then, just don't ask anybody anything. Just randomly select an instructor, and don't try at all to narrow it down at all.

To see YOUR results, you've gotta spend $300 or so on them. The article aims to help you choose a good instructor PRIOR to spending $300 (times five or six instructors).

That's not what I'm suggesting at all.  Screening a golf instructor with a handful of technical questions is like hiring a financial advisor because they have an economics degree.

Anyway, I did like the last question about the camera.  That's good, it's pragmatic, I think it would benefit both the student and the teacher regardless of how amazing of an "eyeball guy" the instructor thinks he is.

Welp, good instructors usually have a reputation that will tell the story, the good ones don't work hard for nothing. you need to explain to the prospective instructors what your looking for as far as goals, ect. After talking to a few, you should have a good idea who would be best for you, or not, but You have to start the process.

This is exactly how I plan to go about finding an instructor when the time comes, reviews, word of mouth, etc. B-) Hopefully I will be able to chat with the instructor as well but I guarantee flinging a bunch of jargon at me isn't going to do them any favors.

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Yes get lessons but remember a couple of things. First lessons are a two way street. Sure you are paying someone to make you better at golf but your success is just as dependent on you being a good student as much as it is on him being a good teacher. When he tells you the proper way to do something he doesn't really need you to tell him why you feel you should be doing the wrong thing. Second expect your game to struggle then get better. Why wouldn't it? Now you are learning to golf not just hit the ball. You are changing your grip, stance, timing and angles. Of course it's going to be hard at first. Just know that you will get better if you keep at it and peak at a much higher level than you are now.

James

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That's not what I'm suggesting at all.  Screening a golf instructor with a handful of technical questions is like hiring a financial advisor because they have an economics degree.

I don't think it's really very much like that at all, but you don't seem particularly interested in being open to changing your mind.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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I guarantee flinging a bunch of jargon at me isn't going to do them any favors.

I think you misunderstood the purpose of the questions. There is a lot of wrong information in golf instruction and the questions are targeted towards that. You ask the questions to determine if an instructor is armed with the right knowledge. If an instructor is basing their teachings on wrong information, what chance do they really have to make you better?

Bill

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

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How will I know he's utilizing any of it during my lessons?

If he/she starts recommending to swing more out to the right after a pull hook (path determines start line), says you need to get your weight back to draw it, that you can't lose any flex on your rear knee, run for the hills.

Basically you shouldn't hear any of this stuff if you've picked the right instructor

Mike McLoughlin

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I don't think it's really very much like that at all, but you don't seem particularly interested in being open to changing your mind.

Changing my mind about what?

I think you misunderstood the purpose of the questions. There is a lot of wrong information in golf instruction and the questions are targeted towards that.

You ask the questions to determine if an instructor is armed with the right knowledge. If an instructor is basing their teachings on wrong information, what chance do they really have to make you better?

I'm not saying it's bad to know all these technical things but like I said earlier I've seen plenty of people with tons of knowledge be perfectly bad at teaching.

If he/she starts recommending to swing more out to the right after a pull hook (path determines start line), says you need to get your weight back to draw it, that you can't lose any flex on your rear knee, run for the hills.

Basically you shouldn't hear any of this stuff if you've picked the right instructor

Sigh... this isn't very encouraging if I need to watch for nonsense coming from the person I'm paying to teach me.

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I'm not saying it's bad to know all these technical things but like I said earlier I've seen plenty of people with tons of knowledge be perfectly bad at teaching.

Ok, but that's not really the point. The questions don't someone's ability to teach, just their knowledge. I'd rather see a pro who sucks at teaching and knows his/her stuff than a pro who's really good at teaching me the wrong things. Obviously, you want a pro who is knowledgeable AND good at teaching, but don't dismiss the questions because they don't address the latter. [quote name="Strandly" url="/t/64191/to-get-or-not-to-get-golf-lessons/60#post_1011024"]Sigh... this isn't very encouraging if I need to watch for nonsense coming from the person I'm paying to teach me.  [/quote]That's the point of the questions... :surrender: You can't assume that just because you're paying someone, they are qualified to do what they sold you. You have to assume some responsibility over your own interests, too.

Bill

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

My Swing Thread

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Sigh... this isn't very encouraging if I need to watch for nonsense coming from the person I'm paying to teach me.

It's just doing your due diligence. Just as if you were to pick your doctor, accountant, real estate agent, you do your research, get references, etc. A golf instructor's "references" could be videos they've done, before and after pics of students.

Mike McLoughlin

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I try to take two or three lessons a season.  It's very important to know your swing.  You need to know your faults and fixes, so you can make some on course adjustments.  I've gotten to the point where I know why I hit bad shots and I know a swing thought to cure them or to get me by in a round.

Finding a good teacher is the real challenge, IMO.

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I try to take two or three lessons a season.  It's very important to know your swing.  You need to know your faults and fixes, so you can make some on course adjustments.  I've gotten to the point where I know why I hit bad shots and I know a swing thought to cure them or to get me by in a round.

Finding a good teacher is the real challenge, IMO.

Not if you happen to live in So. Calif...... :-D

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I think finding a good teacher is a challenge.  Different pros have different teaching styles and different students respond better/worse to those styles.  Sure, there is some give and take (good pros work hard to adapt to their students, and good students work hard to get what they can out the material as it's presented).  But life sure is easier if the teacher and student just naturally open the book on the same page.

Over 20-some years, I've taken series of lessons from three different outstanding PGA professionals in three different states.  I would (and have) recommended each of those guys to other people.  I've also had occasional lessons from guys who didn't click so well.  I'm not saying there was anything wrong with those guys, their magic just didn't work for me.

One good thing about having some lessons in your background is that, assuming you were paying attention, you've got some 'remembered feedback' from an expert, so it's much easier to get yourself back on track.  IMHO, self-diagnosis of your swing based on stuff you've read in books/magazines or seen on videos is usually misdiagnosis.  But if you remember something a pro told you once when you were having a problem, it's surprising how often resurrecting his fix/drill/whatever helps the situation.

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