Having a tough time deciding if I should start new lessons...

[albatross]

I'm a 15 handicap and this season has started half way decent for me. I'm already back to about where I was at the end of last season but I'm debating whether or not to start lessons.

I joined a new course and the instructor is supposed to be really good but I've done lessons in the past, and sometimes it sets me back several weeks and ends up screwing my swing up in the long run.

I'm thinking that because it's so early in the season, I should probably work with him and get the bad habits turned around so I can work on my swing and drop my handicap by the end of the season.

It might be unrealistic, but I would really like to get down to being a 10 by the end of the summer.

Do you think through hard work I can do this on my own or should I call this guy and get started?

[chspeed]

If you're thinking of doing it, I would suggest two things.

1. Ask the instructor for a quick meeting to see if you like him/her.
2. If you do, and really want to drop your handicap that much, forget about your full swing, and work only on putting and chipping. Of course, I never do this, which is why I'm an 18

[Gioguy21]

I'm a 15 handicap and this season has started half way decent for me. I'm already back to about where I was at the end of last season but I'm debating whether or not to start lessons.

The idea of getting to know your instructor before hand is good, however, i would suggest you find one particular area of your game, for instance if you have trouble hitting fairways, think about lessons solely focusing on your driving, if you have troubles with irons whether that be accuracy, distance control, spin, etc i would ask for lessons solely focusing on ball striking. Either way, choose and select one aspect of your game to work on at a time with your instructor for two reasons: 1) your body can only accept or reject a limit of changes in a given time, 2) it'll be more worth your time since you'd be focusing on those specific points, allowing your body to replicate through repitition, along with drills you can do at home. Having an hour or half hour session focused on one thing is much more productive than an hour or half hour jam packed with 50 points for all aspects of your game...just mho

[ddalet]

Whatever you do, practice your short game before blowing more cash on lessons.

If you do decide to go for more lessons, make it clear to your pro that you dont want to be a tour pro or have a tour pro swing.

Ask him to help you make the best of your natural swing without turning it into something completely different, which is what happened to you the last time you took lessons.

I will give you a tip that may help you for free, though I have not seen your swing: shorten up your backswing a tad. You may sacrifice some distance, but that is not as important unless you are playing 6800+ yards. You will hit more consistent shots, no matter wheteher your name is tiger woods or john smith.

[TN94z]

The idea of getting to know your instructor before hand is good, however, i would suggest you find one particular area of your game, for instance if you have trouble hitting fairways, think about lessons solely focusing on your driving, if you have troubles with irons whether that be accuracy, distance control, spin, etc i would ask for lessons solely focusing on ball striking. Either way, choose and select one aspect of your game to work on at a time with your instructor for two reasons: 1) your body can only accept or reject a limit of changes in a given time, 2) it'll be more worth your time since you'd be focusing on those specific points, allowing your body to replicate through repitition, along with drills you can do at home. Having an hour or half hour session focused on one thing is much more productive than an hour or half hour jam packed with 50 points for all aspects of your game...just mho

I agree with this totally! I am actually going to work with an instructor next week. I have some flaws in my full swing that I need help with. I am going to start there and once I have those in check, I want to move on to my short game. I have worked with some instructors that want to completely change your swing to what they want it to be. I have also worked with instructors that make changes to your swing without having you start from scratch. The first of the two I have mentioned have screwed me up in the past, so I know where you are coming from there. When I take a lesson from the second instructor, I can see the positive effects after hitting two or three balls.

I say go for it. To me, if I can have someone that knows the swing better than me watch me for hours and help me get rid of my flaws, then it won't hurt my feelings any. I am sure that I could get my swing grooved on my own, but I would rather do it as fast as possible and know that I am being told the correct things.

[HSip]

Good advice from all of the previous posters. I might add that you're wanting to go from a 15 to a 10 and that is going to require a lot of work. Whether lessons will help you get there is going to depend on your commitment to them. Good luck!