Worried about my "Golf pro"

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1 

I'm afraid that he might have "One" way of teaching and will attempt to fit me into his mold. If this turns out to be the case, any advice on how to make sure I actually get the help I'm looking for with this guy?

Most teaching Pros do.  I mean you learn to tie your shoe one way.  You learn to eat with a fork another way.  It's the same for teaching Pros.  They learn how to address a person who is hitting a Slice.  And go about fixing the Slice the way they know best.  The way they were taught.  How you separate the great instructors from the poor to average instructors is if they can identify the breakdown... And then know what the priority piece(s) are to fix the said issue.  

Remember, you are the student - he is the teacher.  If you have a problem with his teaching style - or moreso his communication style.  Then you should address it early - like now.  Before you go through the 5 or 10 lessons - or however many lessons you are signed up with this guy.  So that you two can be on the same page and communicating.  Poor communication is going to equal poor instruction value.  

And lastly... Just remember... This is a great site, and there are some very good instructors that you can find using TST.  Therefore, if there is something in particular that you don't understand, or agree with, which was passed on to you by your instructor.  Come on here and bounce it off the community.  You'll get some candid answers and responses and then can decide what you want to do with the information you are bubbling over.

Good luck.  

I don't think so.  If my instructor paid more attention to his phone than me on my initial meeting, it wouldn't have went over well.  First, I would have politely told him that I am paying him good money to pay attention to me for this "hour" and that he can dick around on his phone when I am not paying him.  If he still didn't stop, I'd ask for a refund and go elsewhere.  I may not get it.. but no lessons is better than bad lessons imo.
 

Problem with paying for lessons in advance is he's probably already spent the money and has little motivation to provide you the attention you deserve.  I think you should address any issues you have in a professional manner before your next lesson.  If he doesn't react in a manner that's acceptable to you I'd ask for a refund.  I wasted money sticking with an instructor in the hopes he would change and he never did.     

How many lessons are you in for? Being able to communicate with your instructure is an absolute must. If he isn't listening get your money back and go elsewhere as said above.

I had an issue with my golf instructor.  Except mine was the opposite, giving me too much information after each shot.  It was like trying to remember 27 things to do in a 2 second swing. Once I got one of the 27 down, the instructor would add 15 more.  Even after speaking with the instructor about it, it still continued.  I paid for 4 lessons and went through 2 of them. I'm only out 2 lessons but it is worth it to stop going.  I will be looking for another and next time I'm going to pay by the lesson and not up front. Good luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1 

So my wife got me a set of lessons for Christmas and I'm finally getting around to using them, because of where she bought them, I don't have any choice when it comes to the pro. Well I met with the pro on Friday and set up my lessons to start next Sunday and let's just say that he did not overwhelm me with a sense of confidence. He sat there messing with his phone, did not ask me a single question about my game or my goals and when I tried to tell him what I was looking for, he just kinda dismissed it and said, "Eh, we'll get ya straightened out".

 

I'm afraid that he might have "One" way of teaching and will attempt to fit me into his mold. If this turns out to be the case, any advice on how to make sure I actually get the help I'm looking for with this guy?

You said that you met with him to set up your lessons, so this was not a lesson session, right?  Maybe you and he just had different expectations for this preliminary meeting.  You wanted to talk about your goals and he wanted to get the lessons scheduled.  Maybe he does the talking and listening about goals and objectives at the first lesson, when he is actually getting paid.  For a guy like this time is money, it is all he has to sell.  Unless the lesson package came with an included 15 minute or 30 minute pre-lesson consultation I think you may be anticipating trouble before there is really any reason to.

Just another perspective.

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtogolf 

...  I think you should address any issues you have in a professional manner before your next lesson.  If he doesn't react in a manner that's acceptable to you I'd ask for a refund. ... 

Once is a bad day. Twice, dump him. If he's part of some third-party marketing campaign, and can't do his part, go elsewhere.

My Pro is a little like that.  He usualy communicates in 1 or 2 word sentences until we're on the lesson tee.  Even then, he indulges me talking about my goals and game but definitely tries to steer me away from talking about it.  He's a good teacher, though, and I've learned a lot from him.  It must be hard at times to deal with the kind of student I am . . .I read and think about the golf swing way too much.  Over time, I have realized that a lot of my ideas about my golf swing were pretty much wrong. 

When I first started seeing him, for example, if he had asked me what my goals were - one of them would be to get a higher ball flight.  Higher ball flight?  At that time I was not able to make consistent contact.  So it would've been putting the cart before the horse, so to speak, for him and I to spend time talking about my ball flight. 

Not saying that's the case with you and your teacher but, since you already paid for the lessons, give him a chance.  In my opinion, don't tell him what you want to do - let him tell you what you need to do.  This is based on the assumption that your handicap is accurate at 21.  If you are a better player, then the advice probably doesn't hold as well.

Will be interesting to see what you think after the lesson. I wouldn't stress over the initial meeting. The first instructor I had last year did a lot of talking and listening at our first meeting. He was a terrible teacher. I paid for 4 lessons up front and bailed after 3.

Just go to the lesson with an open mind and see how it goes. its not a good start form his point of view, but don't it ruin the whole thing.  You are probably all excited setting up your lesson and goals, he is probably at the end of the day with a number of "aspiring pros" with 20+ handicaps who want to play forged plates etc etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1 

Correct. I did also have a diferent expectation. I was expecting to be able to sit with him for a few minutes and describe my game and what I wanted to accomplish before the first lesson, rather than using up any of my instruction time explaining what I wanted (I only have 4 lessons). I've only taken lessons once before and my intial experience with that pro was vastly different. I get my first lesson on Sunday so I'll keep everybody updated. Thanks to all for the advice so far.

Yeah, but in that other case the lessons hadn't been pre-paid so he was selling you on his lessons.  That is not the same situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1 

Wait. Are you saying that after 4 lessons he won't be able to get me on the tour? He's fired!.

Agreed.  I heard Bubba Watson has had less than 4 lessons . .so 4 lessons ought to be more than enough.