My Golf Experience

First picked up a club in August of 2013. I have taken 10 one hour lessons with 2 different PGA pros. (7 with the first one and 3 with the 2nd one). I honestly feel I have not gotten anywhere. I feel like I have moved no closer to getting a consistent swing. A lot of it is me doing it to myself. I go get a lesson, after about 15 minutes Im hitting the ball well with the pro. 2 days later I struggle on the range by myself to improve what I learned. Then I start changing things in my swing on my own due to other stuff I read. For whatever reason, I cannot get my lesson to translate when Im alone on the range yet alone the course. I am terrible 14 months in and 1000 dollars into lessons. This is not a pitty party. My range sessions are just horrible and most of the time on the course its the same. I have put in a lot of time(Range 2-3 times a week) and money at the range, pros, and on courses.  I have 2 questions

1.) Be brutally honest. IS golf really just not for some people? Meaning are some people just not capable of playing it well at all?

2.) Should I just quit at this point? Im serious.

Thanks,

Hags

In my brutally honest opinion - some of us will never be very good at golf. Should you quit? Only if you can't accept the possibility that you may one of us. But seriously, give yourself more than 16 months. You may be more frustrated because you feel as though you have put forth so much effort. At least that's how it is for me.

I love reading about how a single-digit player couldn't break 100 when they first started playing. Then they discovered something and continued to improve from there. For some, improvement seems easy. For others, it takes forever.

At some point, every athlete of every sport must accept there is only so much potential that their physical ability, desire, time, and intelligence will allow. I'd be curious to know how some of the pros or +handicap players felt when they first realized that playing on tour was unobtainable.

If you don't truly love the game, then the frustration that comes with it will be hard to deal with. I'm trying to put as much effort into learning how to enjoy the game as I do trying to improve my scores. It's tough. The expression "I hate this game! I hate this game! Nice shot. I love this game!" is one I can relate to.

Personally, all the penalty strokes, missed short putts, duffed chips, lost balls, popped-up driver shots and everything else that makes the game so maddening are almost forgotten when I hit an approach shot and can tell right away it will be close. There's nothing quite like the feeling of watching the ball fly towards the flag, knowing it isn't a matter of whether it will land on the green but instead whether or not it'll be close enough to one putt (which of course I will blow). Then there's the rare birdie or up and down or long putt or lucky bounce....

Read some of the posts in the "What'd you shoot today" thread. You'll see single-digit players frustrated because they shot a round in the high 80's. (I'd f#%^ing kill to break 90!) My point is that the game can be frustrating to everyone regardless of their skill level.

I hope you can find some way to enjoy the game. Good luck.

Dead end roads that may not even pertain to you.

Depends on what they want and expect out of it.

If they expect to be one of the better players at the course, and they aren't particularly athletic or coordinated, it's probably not "for" a lot of people.

If they just like to have some fun, hit some golf balls, get some exercise, and don't expect much more out of it (like me) most people can become competent enough for that.

If you enjoy it at all you should give it some more time. You haven't been playing that long and you admit that some of your problems may be self-inflicted.

Is golf for everyone? Probably not... then again, neither is football, hockey, basketball, lacrosse, polo, rugby, etc.

Questions to ask yourself: Are you having fun when you play? Do you enjoy the game?

It may be that you're not meshing well with the 2 instructors... or you need a tuneup shortly after the lesson to try to reinforce what you learned... can your instructor provide you with written instructions of what was taught? Or video for you to watch?

Try posting a swing thread here... there is some good instruction and advice you can get from the people here from what I'm hearing.

As long as you're having fun, keep playing.

For the record, I've been playing off and on for about 20 years with a few years taken off for various reasons... I've never had a lesson. I've never broken 100. I play because it's fun, the courses are manicured (relatively speaking of course), I can see all kinds of wildlife, find free golf balls occasionally, and I get ME time away from everything I don't want to be around. I aspire to break 100 and one day wish to shoot in the low 80's but I know I'll never be on the PGA tour... but I play for me. The last 3 times I played I shot 120, 117, and 113. I'm getting to know the course I 'm playing but like was said, it's that one shot... that drive that went for 238 yards when I normally drive the ball 180 yards... the pured iron shot that sends the ball onto the green from 150 yards out and I get that perfect divot... that 20 foot putt I wasn't expecting to drop but do for par.

Golf is hard. It's different each time you play. It's the challenge.

I'll say this for sure, SOME people flat out LEARN differently than others. Maybe the teaching style isn't sinking in with you.  You really can't see visually the swing changes that a teacher is asking you to make. They can push your arms around and bend you this way and that, but you really can't SEE it.

You'll hear some people claim the swing is more about 'feel' than mechanical.  A couple of things I've helped beginners with include:  The first time they hit down on a golf ball with their hands ahead of the ball on a chip shot.  The solid contact, the ball popping up with backspin and stopping on the green.  That is a FEEL on must experience to understand the mechanics which you can explain later. The first time someone hits a driver in the middle of the clubface with an ascending blow and seeing the ball fly farther than they've ever hit it before?  Putting a 7-iron on short tee and hitting a fade, a straight one then a draw on 3 consecutive swings?

These are all 'feel' things about golf. The mechanics can be explained later, but feeling it first, IMO, is the place to start for some players.

Maybe you are left-handed and right-brained like me.  I know it when I feel it!  When I feel it, I know it's about 95% right.

Before investing in more lessons, try to discover what kind of teaching might suit you better than what you've been getting.  No harm in 'interviewing' a golf instructor about his or her personal teaching philosophy before signing up.

Good luck.  It's not that difficult.  I know you'll make good swings at some point.  The key is making MORE good swings than bad. ; )

dave

No, don't quit. I was in exactly the same boat as you.

Take a look at 5SK on this site, and also PM Mike and Erik to see if you can get some lessons with someone near you. I went from where you are now to where I am now in a bit more than two years. Maybe with 5SK help early on you can get better sooner?

No reason to quit as long as you are having fun while playing the game. Not everyone will play good golf. Then again, what should be considered good golf for an individual ?  Quite a few will not play the best golf they are capable of due to various reasons. Good golf for some, will be poor golf for others. Nature of the game.

Take this forum for instance.There are some very good golfers on here, but for what ever reason, they could never make it on the pro tour(s). Compared to a full time tour pro, they are the same as me, when compared to them.

Before the car wreck I was solid 5.5 (6) handicapper. I'm not sure I could have made it to a 4, 2, or even scratch for that matter. I think I might have made it to scratch, but I will never know. This time around, I will be happy to make it to a 9.....some day.

I was a pretty good baseball player growing up. Baseball paid for my college degree. That said, my fist love was basketball. Just wasn't tall enough to advance in that sport.

Im going to make a serious commitment on Saturday. I believe in my instructor(the 2nd one). I forever whatever reason cannot take my success when with him to the range or the course but I only had 3 lessons with him and they were far apart. It is pretty much the end of the golfing season here(Philly). Im going to buy a 10 pack of lessons(for the price of 8) and go religiously to him every 2 weeks. My goal is to be respectable(contact wise) by spring. If I cant reach that goal in 10 lessons, its just not happening....

Hi Hags,

I want to share a personal story with you. I'm retired and retired people play golf, right? I've been an athlete all my life, and I'm very competitive. In September 2012 I bought a set of golf clubs. I went to the driving range and hit a bucket of balls. I didn't do too badly. The ball went out there, but I was, of course very inconsistent. I hit a lot of very bad shots. I decided I'd take a few golf lessons. The pro kept putting me through these motions and making me guess what he wanted. I kept getting confused. Tell me what you want me to do, coach.

So I quit my lessons with him. I had singing coaches who wanted me to guess what they wanted and I never got anywhere. In the spring, I hauled out the clubs and decided to go it on my own. I didn't break 100 all summer. In August I figured it had to be the clubs so I got fitted for a different set, and the new set was an improvement. The other set was junk. Still it was mostly the archer, not the arrow. I think I broke 110 once with a 109. Wow. I sucked. I think I had three Mulligans on that 109, too. Then I'm in the parking lot of the golf course and the women are just getting out of their meeting, and one of the members invited me to join for this year. That was in October 2013. So I did. Now I had plans, but I was dealing with health problems over the winter, and face it, last winter was too cold to do anything.

Spring comes along, and I'm ready to go out, and out I went. My first showing I shot a massive 84 on the front nine. Then mercifully, the good lord saw it fit for the clouds to open up and start a downpour, so without an umbrella or rain gear I got a rain check for the back nine, and someone showed me how to enter my score in the computer! My first official score was an 84 for 9 holes. My second 9 holes was a 54 combining for a whopping 138 or +66 for the round. Pssst.... now he thinks I'm making this up. I should quit, right?

Well that was embarrassing. I watched videos, read books, and stuff, and went online and found a new "coach." Well this pro and I seemed to hit it off well. He knew the dumb athlete when he saw one. One thing at a time. No matter how much I wanted to get out of the lesson, he only did one thing at a time.

I will tell you that it took a lot of work to get from that horrid playing to where I am now, which by most standards still isn't very good. But I'm having fun . Golf isn't an easy sport, especially for those of us who didn't start playing when we were young. It takes a lot of time and practice to do well. And next spring: practice your short game! You can take a lot of strokes off your score that way.

But there are a couple of questions I want to ask:

1) Are you having fun at this? If not, quit. If you are, keep at it.

2) What is decent contact to you?

Can you record your lessons so you can review them when you get home? Does your pro have a set up to do that for you? I'm wondering if that would help the lessons stay with you.

And a little hint - just do what your coach tells you. I'm speaking as the dumb athlete here. When i get too much information flowing, I get confused and I start messing up. The stupid monkey icon is hilarious.

Now this doesn't mean I'm not smart, because I am.

OP, this was my first year playing golf on a regular basis. I started the year in the 140-150s. At that point I had almost no good shots. Here are the things that kept me going. 1. I took 2 lessons. Not much but gave me the basics of how to set up and what I should be working on. I took the lessons at a place that records he lesson and gives me access to the video on a app on my iPhone so I. Old go back and see what I was doing wrong. 2. I took the pressure off to lower my score. A few rounds when I was at my worst I would purposely pick up my ball on the first hole. That way I knew I could not figure an accurate score so it took pressure off. 3. Someone here on TST ( I forget who said it and I do not think they were addressing me) "You are not good enough to get mad" It's true if I have never scored lower than 120 I should expect bad shots. 4. Keep track of my best shot of the day. First shot is the best until I hit a shot that better. After each shot I decide if that's my best of the round so far. These things kept it fun. I think I played around 25 or 30 rounds this summer and am down to scoreing 102-110 most rounds. Even had a 46 on my front 9. Long way to go but it's the journey.

DRV,

Thanks for your great response:

1.) I love being on a golf course.

2.) This first year I didn't really improve at all in my opinion but I did learn a lot. I know the basics of a setup and I now know what "good contact" is. I can say before I went to my instructor(the 2nd one) in August I don't think I ever hit a ball on the sweet spot.  This has been a good and bad experience. The good is I now know what its suppose to feel like. The bad is when I don't get that feeling I know I did something wrong and I start to over analyze every swing and then change things on the fly.

I think im basically starting over on Saturday's lesson.  Im going to be honest with my Pro.

Thanks

Hags

That's a tough first step, but you'll be on your way. Also, start a my swing thread here. You'll get plenty of good help here too.

Iacas. Thanks for your reply. I 100% believe in my instructor. I do. I know the guys you are talking about. He is not like that. He charges 80 a lesson and has serious film work and hes not asking me to come every 2 weeks. This was my plan.

Iacas,

I really enjoy your feedback. The is the part im struggling with. Actually coming up with a plan to get better. Putting the work in is not an issue. I go to the range almost every other day in the spring/summer/fall even. To be honest, money for lessons is not an issue. I am very passionate about getting better, Im just not sure how to do it....

Worth quoting.. good stuff