First lessons...Indoor

[elementz]

Well, I am getting ready to enter my second full season of golf this year and have been looking forward to it since my final round last year. Last year was pretty raw and hit mostly in the hundred and teens usually. Gradually I was hitting in the mid 100's and then one day I finally broke an honest 100 with a 98.

My friends and I have been just getting into golf so a few of them that started a year before me showed me the basics which I am sure there are plenty of bad habits that I have picked up as well.

Well, this Friday will be my first session but due to the snow, it will be an indoor session for the first few rounds. I am not sure how it will work but I understand that the pro will be videotaping me so I am sure that will help.

My goal in the beginning is grasp some of the basic fundamentals and go from there. Interestingly enough, I can hit my driver pretty good most times, 220-230 + roll and fairly straight. It is my irons that I can't really hit a lick, especially the mid-long irons.

I am pumped for these lessons and happy that I will get to actually swing a club for the first time since September. Hopefully, I will learn a few things that will translate to double digits on the course this year.

[uttexas]

You are doing the right thing by getting lessons early. I waited 19 years until I got my first lesson (last week) It is going to be a challenge for me to successfully change 19 years of holding and swinging the club a certain way.

[goblue107501]

What will happen is that he will have you hit a few balls into the indoor net as he videotapes your swing. Then he will transfer that to the computer and show you what you should be doing. More than likely he will split the screen and look at you side by side with a pro and draw marks on the screen so you can see what is supposed to be done and what you are doing. Then you will go back to the the practice mat and he will show you the proper set up; stance, grip, posture, ball positioning, turn, etc., unless you already are doing these things correctly. Then at the end he will probably have you hit a few balls very slowly and he will adjust the club as you go so you can feel the correct movements.

This is all very important to the process. Don't get discouraged that you didn't get to hit 100 balls. I hope you plan on taking a series of lessons (4 or more), as that is the best way to do it IMO. Once you get the basic fundamentals then you will start to work on swinging the club. I spent my first two lessons a few years ago, just on the backswing. It wasn't until lesson three that we would go to the range and actually hit balls. If the pro is any good he will go through the process slowly so that you have the proper fundamentals for a good swing. Once you get the proper fundamentals the swing is actually pretty easy to figure out. It is just a slow process at first. Stick with it and you will improve.

[elementz]

I have never personally met the golf pro but I have heard good things. He seems to be the one most in demand around my area. I should have mentioned the pricing and sessions in my earlier post but I was on work time hehe.

A guy on my hockey team who is pretty close to a scratch golfer goes to him on a regular basis. He mentioned that the pro is doing some indoor lessons and is only taking 4 people. I was one of the lucky 4. It's $150 for four 90 minute sessions indoors.

However, last year, and I am not sure about this year, but for the last session, he takes the foursome to his private club around here and will walk you thru 9 holes and let you play out the back nine.

As I said, I am raw so I imagine I have many flaws but I think this will help. I will be sure to update as the sessions go on.

[squaddie]

Good luck with the lessons! My advice to you is to be patient if any new swing issues develop after you have a lesson. Study the problem and report it back to the pro for the next lesson, and he will probably find out what's wrong.

I just had my second lesson Saturday where the instructor adjusted my swing plane significantly, as I was raising my arms too high on the backswing. When I went to the range afterwards to try the new swing I shanked about 30 balls, and shanked about 60 the next day, even though I thought I was following what the instructor told me to do.

I was frustrated as heck and the instructor would not be available until Thursday. So I researched the issue the last few days and determined I was standing too close to the ball, which was a bad habit I picked up when trying to groove my old swing. After a few practice swing sessions using tees I think I resolved the shanking issue (after adjusting my address position), but still plan to bring it to the attention of my pro on Thursday so he can evaluate what was contributing to the shanking problem.

[Slim 11]

Best thing I ever did was take a few lessons (well, that and have properly fitted clubs). I am thinking about going back for some more. It has been a few years since my last lessons and I think I am in a position to tweak some of the things I've learned and worked on. Take the next step, so to speak.
I tell people all the time (in fact, my father-in-law just yesterday) when they are talking about new clubs and such that they would be better off to spend a little money on a few lessons before spending a lot of money on new equipment that they think will help them.

[elementz]

So I am headed to my first lesson in about 7 hours after work. Anything that I should bring or prepare for? I brought a pen and notepad to take some notes but will I have time to take notes?

[87vert]

Before I even swung a club last year I signed up for some lessons. They were through the local community college but I belive it really helped stopped me from picking up some bad habits. My wife started playing last year too but we have'nt played a round yet just a couple trips to the local par 3 course. This year we are going to take some private lessons togeather.

[elementz]

First lesson tonight went great and he showed me some really basic things that I think will help a lot. Main things I learned tonight were grip and posture. I was really hitting my irons a lot better than before. Can't wait to practice at the range or on a course rather than indoors.

The video recordings were cool. After learning the new grip and posture and we watched the before and after videos, it was night and day. One problem now that we are going to work on next week is that my swing is way to high and steep. We are going to work on keeping it lower with more arm extension.

The teacher gave me some positive feedback and positive thoughts.

[GUAM_golf]

The teacher gave me some positive feedback and positive thoughts.

That is probably one of the most important things about lessons. Especially when i got mine done with about 2 months ago, i was frustrated with the result of the swing, but my pro told me that everything in the swing looked good and that it was one minor tweak to fix. Positive reinforcment and feedback is probably the best way to get the new swing thoughts to stick, and to help you to enjoy the lessons as it feels like you are improving.