Question About Receiving Lessons

[cvlngineer]

I decided to start taking weekly golf lessons from the pro at my home course. The guy is really good, and the things he has shown me really make sense. I have had two lessons so far.

I have read, on this forum, that you will get worse before you get better. I am at the "worse" part now. Everything works great on the range while he is doing the lessons, but on the course, not so much. My scores are bordering on obscene. I do not say, "to heck with it," and go back to my old swing during a crappy round, I just keep trying to apply what he has taught me.

If all of this will lead to a more consistent and repeatable swing, it will be worth it.

My question is, about how long does this slump generally last?

Thanks,
cvlngineer

[Shindig]

I decided to start taking weekly golf lessons from the pro at my home course. The guy is really good, and the things he has shown me really make sense. I have had two lessons so far.

How often do you practice on the range, post-lesson? That makes a big part of it becoming ingrained quickly.

Also, if you're taking lessons weekly, it's unlikely that you'll be able to ingrain the teaching from one week before the next lesson, so that may contribute to the slump.

[Wazzu8]

I got a lesson last week, and played later that day.

Shot an 89.. I would have had my best score had I not tripled 18.

Then again the only things he really changed for me was my swing plane and my grip.

[gogolfing]

I have found you have to start trusting the swing changes for them to take hold on the course. Get to the range and get comfortable with them.

On the course I would suggest doing a couple of practice swings really thinking about the key things you are working on to get a feeling for them, and then when you step up to the ball forget about them and just think target. The practice swings are when you can rehearse the feeling/positions you want. If you're too mechanical over the ball, things will be difficult. Good luck with things.

[CG031]

It may take a while. It may take you a year for your swing changes to take effect and you start to get better...it all depends 1. how hard you're working at it. 2. it depends on the significance of the change...

I just got two lessons the past three weeks and I'm already improving because they weren't MAJOR changes...but depending on how major it was, and how long you were doing your other swing, can depend on how long it takes to see results. It varies for everyone. Just hang in there is my best advice.

[chingali]

It takes as long as it takes.

If you are unsure of the way things are going with your practice, go and have a another lesson to make sure you have understood correctly what you need to be working on and that you are actually doing it.

[m11]

Given that you have a pretty pleasent handicap, its interesting that youre game would react so negatively. What changes did he make? Grip? Swing path? I suppose swing path is pretty broad..but when you dont hit it well...what happens? Slice? Hook?

[cvlngineer]

He changed my grip and swing path a little. He also shortened my backswing a bit, since I was over rotating my shoulders.

He did not make any drastic changes, and it did give me a more consistent ball flight. The first couple of rounds following the lesson were really pretty good. Last Wednesday, however, I had a horrible round and it really got in my head. I followed it up with another not so good round on Saturday. On Sunday, I had a more respectable round.

On Wed. and Sat. I was thinning a lot of my iron shots, but I did figure out where I deviated from his suggestions. Sunday was better.

Maybe Wed. was just not my day, and since it killed my confidence, it carried over into Saturday. Does that sound right?

[m11]

He changed my grip and swing path a little. He also shortened my backswing a bit, since I was over rotating my shoulders.

Of course it does...its just golf for ya. My swing used to be a complete reverse pivot. I then learned how to turn my shoulders. However, i was overdoing it and was turning like 115*. I then learned how to dial that down, but the transition threw off my timing a bit and i also actually would thin my shots. Just stick with it. Remember Tiger's "slump" when he was going through swing changes? It happens. If you legitamately feel that he is undoing work that you have put towards your golf swing and is giving you poor advice...get a second opinion. But as you said, you did get some consistency out of it.

Whats a kick in the head is that youve worked so hard to get to were you are at...and now you are performing worse than before. However, to become a better golfer, you are going to have to push through these periods of re-development. Consistency is huge. Its what gets you through pressure moments, and its the difference between shooting 71's or 78's. If you trust your instructor is teaching you the right stuff, than you need to stick with it. Bad rounds shouldnt stop you from becoming a better golfer, and learning how to shoot a 68 tomorrow, at least in my opinion, is bigger than being able to shoot a 79 today.

[cvlngineer]

m11,

I do trust the guy's opinion. He is one heck of a golfer.

I chose to take lessons due to my dismal GIR percentage. I average only around 33%, and if I could bring that up, it would make a BIG difference. I had an unbelieveable round a couple of weeks ago (2 over par) and the only difference was I hit more greens. I am not an exceptional ball-striker, and that is what I want to get better at.

I've only been playing for a little over a year, so hopefully my bad habits weren't ingrained so far that it will take another year to get rid of them.

This Saturday's lesson covered putting and chipping. He COMPLETELY changed my putting stroke, but it feels much better than my old one. I just have to get a feel for distance with the new one.