Amount of Lessons Starting Out?

[TussinMan]

First post on this board. Thanks ahead of time for those who contribute to this forum 

I start private lessons this Thursday. I was curious as to what is a good quantity of lessons starting out to get the hang of the game of golf and all aspects (short game, tee-off, putting, scanning the field). 

I was thinking possibly two lessons a week till Summer and then by that time I should be able to practice on my own and move to 1 lesson a week ? Curious to see if anyone here has had experience with coaching and what has helped them personally 

 

Thank You 

 

 

[boogielicious]

41 minutes ago, TussinMan said:

First post on this board. Thanks ahead of time for those who contribute to this forum 

I start private lessons this Thursday. I was curious as to what is a good quantity of lessons starting out to get the hang of the game of golf and all aspects (short game, tee-off, putting, scanning the field). 

I was thinking possibly two lessons a week till Summer and then by that time I should be able to practice on my own and move to 1 lesson a week ? Curious to see if anyone here has had experience with coaching and what has helped them personally 

 

Thank You 

 

 

For lessons, I think it is better to work on the priority item the instructor gave you then only meet with them again if you are having trouble with it or when you think you've made the changes. For some items it can take a while. Or, meet with them about something different like short game work while you are still working on the full swing item. Some instructors may want periodic lessons too.

Many of us on this forum film our swings and post them in the Member 
Swings section. Filming your swing is one of the best ways to see if you are making the changes.

I also use an on-line instruction service called Evolvr, where is send in videos of my swing. I had trouble finding a good local instructor that I liked. But if you like your instructor, that is cool too.

But either way, you should ask your instructor on the best way to practice to make the changes. Just hitting a lot of balls at the range may not help as much as it seems.

[Patch]

Once I got with a good, qualified instructor, I was taking lesson from him as much a 8-10 times a month. Most months less than that.

The deal was we did not move on to the next lesson, until I had the previous lesson worked out, and fully understood. 

My guess is one's time allowed, one's desire to improve, one's understanding of what's being taught and one's pocket book are the only limits to how many lessons in a given amount of time, should be taken. 

[3jacker]

Grip, setup and alignment should take a week to a month unless you have a lot of time to devote.  I've played my whole life and never done more than 1/week.  That excludes "tips," small changes that can be incorporated rather quickly.

Edited April 9, 2019 by 3jacker

[criley4way]

This is a tough topic because I think it depends on you.

I would suggest it is like working out.

If you are disciplined and focused; your instructor gives you clear items to work on and ways to measure them; you practice. Once a week or 2x a month might be fine. 

If you need a practiced eye to make sure you are doing the drills correctly, then weekly or 2x a week.

If you need a coach to make your work and practice then DAILY.

[hoselpalooza]

9 minutes ago, criley4way said:

This is a tough topic because I think it depends on you.

I would suggest it is like working out.

If you are disciplined and focused; your instructor gives you clear items to work on and ways to measure them; you practice. Once a week or 2x a month might be fine. 

If you need a practiced eye to make sure you are doing the drills correctly, then weekly or 2x a week.

If you need a coach to make your work and practice then DAILY.

agree with this 100%. i've made the mistake of taking a follow-up lesson before i'd ingrained stuff from the previous lesson and it was a waste of time for me and the instructor. 

if i could share a tip it would be to record your swing. when i first started taking lessons the whole "feel isn't real" thing really resonated with me. now i disagree that feel isn't real -- proprioception is a good skill to cultivate -- but combining feel with video during your practice sessions is very useful and could save you time and money spent on lessons. 

[LMoore]

There will be many different opinions and most all will have valid points. If you've chosen a good instructor, they will ask at the conclusion of the lesson what was taught. Not only should you be able to tell them, might I suggest you write them down for a reminder as you practice in between lessons. You probably will have a better memory than I do, but trust me, you won't remember everything.

If it's in your mind, it's a dream. When you write it down, it's a goal

[criley4way]

2 hours ago, LMoore said:

There will be many different opinions and most all will have valid points. If you've chosen a good instructor, they will ask at the conclusion of the lesson what was taught. Not only should you be able to tell them, might I suggest you write them down for a reminder as you practice in between lessons. You probably will have a better memory than I do, but trust me, you won't remember everything.

If it's in your mind, it's a dream. When you write it down, it's a goal

Key point here is IF you have a good instructor and you communicate your goals and intent to them. Unfortunately there a lot of instructors who will fix parts of the swing, give you doctrine on how to swing a club or walk you through set lessons. Finding an instructor who understands the golf swing, your body and your communication style is not easy.

[pganapathy]

This depends on a lot of factors.  I got lessons when I was about 12 and my brother was about 10.  Can't really remember very well, but it should be around 2 to 3 sessions a week and we got it for a couple of months.  I started from scratch essentially and by the time I was done with lessons I could play decently and any other lessons I have taken since then were just short sessions to correct flaws that crept in after ingraining a swing at 12.

If you are new to golf, then take maybe 2 to 3 a week until you get a proper hang of the game.  Otherwise you will wind up ingraining bad habits in your swing.  Yes, it will be expensive, but it is necessary if you want to play well

[TussinMan]

UPDATE: 4 lessons in and it's going fairly well. Putting and chipping the technique is getting better. Currently working on the high irons (mostly 7 and 9). Really trying to focus on fluid motion on the downswing (have a habit of not equaling the effort of the upswing) and giving the wrist a little flick to get proper ball contact. 

I did hit a low point though today, almost beat up some guy at the driving range. He basically came over and started offering lessons and basically told me i'm doing everything wrong because it's not his style. About halfway through his rant I told him I already have a coach and he's messing up what I'm leaning and he then he took a verbal cheap shot at me and my coach. I banged my club against the bag holder (told him off) and he fled to his car. 

Not my proudest moment. I'm glad I stood my ground but at the same time if I can't handle some sleazeball poacher at the range then I won't be able to handle the struggles of 18 holes. 

Most likely going to do another 5 pack and then start doing 9 round practice rounds and posting on the video section of this site. 

 

 

[TussinMan]

Update: 5th lesson of the 5 pack was a disaster. Progress regressed and the golf coach spent alot of time saying "lets try this" (which basically means I don't have a plan lets just "guess") 

The golf course right by my house has free developmental group lessons every Tuesday so i'm going to give that coach a shot. Saw some of his material online and he seems pretty competent.

The weekly lessons are free so I'm not really losing anything by giving him a shot and best case scenario the free lessons go well and I pair them up with bi-weekly privates. 

 

 

[Sandy Divot]

For me, two lessons a week would give me way too many things to work on, and think about. I have never taken regular lessons. I will take them when needed, and they are usually tune up lessons that work on things like set up, aim, ball position. I can't remember the last time a pro wanted to change anything in my swing. If I were just starting, I might go with a lesson every two weeks. I wouldn't do well with a lot of stuff thrown at me too fast.

[TussinMan]

3 hours ago, Sandy Divot said:

For me, two lessons a week would give me way too many things to work on, and think about. I have never taken regular lessons. I will take them when needed, and they are usually tune up lessons that work on things like set up, aim, ball position. I can't remember the last time a pro wanted to change anything in my swing. If I were just starting, I might go with a lesson every two weeks. I wouldn't do well with a lot of stuff thrown at me too fast.

Yeah I know once you have a baseline lessons are more as needed but as of two months ago I literally knew nothing about golf. I'm trying to find a balance between getting exposed to everything and being overrun with too much stuff thrown at me. 

Golf is a complicated game and a ton to learn. If I barely take lessons I won't be exposed to anything and won't really have anything to practice but if I take too many I won't really improve since I'm trying to practice/focus on too many things. 

I might just do the free weekly lessons offered and then once my irons get a little more sharp just throw in some 30 minute lessons to tweak my skills and then go play a few holes with the coach so he can teach me how to actually play rounds/holes

18 hours ago, H_I_W said:

Go once a week and you will get good within a few years.

That sounds good to me. I'm buying a house on a golf course in 2021 so I would like to be competent by then. One free lesson a week + two range practice sessions + a couple 5 packs of lessons = hopefully playing a decent 18 holes by then !!!! 

Edited May 15, 2019 by TussinMan