Re-learning golf

[JYB]

Seriously...

i'm taking private lessons 2x a week now and my game has gone from shooting in the 80's to absolute crap.

re-doing everything...i'm going absolutely NUTS. I know i'll be better in the long run but in the short term, i'm really awful right now. HOW DO I HANDLE THIS? I cannot golf!!

[Cizzle]

Twice a week sounds like a lot. I would spread your lessons out more to one lesson week, maybe even every other week. That way you are not making so many drastic changes from day to day and instead can ingrain what is taught before your next lesson. Also, make sure your instructor tells you why you are changing your swing. If he makes adjustments to your stance, have him tell you why this is better than what you were doing and how it will help in the long run.

And finally, stick with it. At your level I'm sure you when you swing well and when you don't. Maybe your best swing of your round produced a lousy shot but tell yourself that you made a good swing and to stick with it. Best of luck.

[Avid Golfer]

Seriously...

Define "absolute crap". Are you hitting less greens in regulation, is your contact not as good, or could something unrelated to the full swing be related to your higher scores?

Like Cizzle said two times a week may be unproductive. Also like Cizzle said you should ask lots of questions as to why your instructor is making the changes he/she is with your swing. If he/she tells you that some pro does it (ex: Tiger Woods) ask what other pros if any do it. Some people look at the a move one pros does and thinks it should be a fundamental when in fact it may be a compensation that player uses to correct some other flaw. If you look at pros and a vast majority are shown to do it in pictures or videos then it may be worthwhile to emulate. Some things take a while to change (ex: like changing body and arm motion), but other things (like setup changes) you should see instant improvement from modifying. As unfortunate as it is some instuctors aren't very good, and some have mistaken beliefs about the golf swing. Its possible you may have one of those instructors.

[Finn07]

I re-learned golf last year in the middle of the year. I was a drawer of the ball who usually a few times a round hit a terrible hook. Bought the book, Hogans Five Lessons. Taught me to have a weaker grip, and start hitting a fade off of the tee, changed my game for the better.

My point is this...I did'nt just go to anybody because I had this problem. I did my research and went with something that I know would fix my problem. If your taking lessons then there must be a facet of your game that you arent happy with. Just work with that and go from there. Don't completely re-learn the game of golf because of one or two problems. As a 13 index you should'nt have to do that. What are your weaknesses that you are trying to fix.

[JYB]

my swing was way to up and down...straight back instead of around my body.

now that i'm trying to fix the issue, my full swing is complete crap and i cannot play. literally, i cannot play. every drive goes out of bounds. every full swing is awful...the only way i can play is if i take half swings no past my waist line and smack the ball a max of 155 yards. this is no way to play golf.

i'm seriously frustrated and refuse to go out onto a golf course until this is fixed.

[Avid Golfer]

my swing was way to up and down...straight back instead of around my body.

An old Greg Norman / Butch Harmon drill is to extremely close your alignment (so that your shoulders, hips, and feet are aimed 40-50 yards right of your intended target) and hit 20-30 balls (or make swings without hitting balls). It will promote arms to swing low and around the body, and promote body rotation in the backswing. After doing that 20-30 times in a row setup with your normal alignment and try to make a basic swing, and you should notice a huge difference.