How Often Do You Take a Lesson?

[SSJLaletas]

  brn14me said:

after lesson 3 at the range i had the worst day EVER

I had the same thing happen to me, went out to my instructor to the range to practice a good bit then we were planning to do 27 holes. Well I happen to have the worst days ever, and I mean EVER! I couldnt have hit the ball better with my putter than any other club I was using. I dont know who was more mad me or my instructor, probably me though. Wow I couldnt beleive it, it was like 100 steps backwards, you gain a step here gain a step there maybe two another day, a bad day youll lose a step, well jesus I lost 100! Ended up playing 18 got a touch better but not much, it was ugly. The next day we went out again first hole looked like it was going to be more of the same, ended up doing quite well after the 2nd or 3rd hole, which was a relief. I hope I never see one of those days again, I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy.

[glennQNYC]

Error. Please delete.

[glennQNYC]

I'd think, it's impossible to instruct yourself into a crappy game. The issue is that you will succomb to the law of diminishing returns.
You mention that you can 'afford' x frequency of lessions... If you 'want' to do x, then go for it. ;)

[davbrucas]

I am going for my first lesson tomorrow...my handicap is to the left. So, once every 15yrs or so.

[Billy33]

I have been playing golf for about a year and have taken 17 lessions. I get a lession a week. He gives me something to work on and I work on it until the next lession. It has been a building process. I have found that at time you have to get worse before you get better. For example, I got to where I could hit the ball some what straight without hitting a fat shot. I did this by always hitting a thin shot. This keep me from hitting behind the ball and it at least made it to were I could go out an play with friends without having to hit 2 or three shots to their one. I developed bad habits by doing this. I had to start to learn to hit down on the ball without helping the ball out. This took a lot of getting used to. For me one lession a week unless I found I did not have enough time during the week to practice the skill I learned I would then make my lessions every two weeks.

[arduous1]

The title says it all. Assuming I know Where and with who, 30 minutes vs 60 minutes Once a week or more often? How do I know when I've had enough? Goal being go from 36 handicap to less than 18 handicap. Thx, Ard1

[BogeyBogey]

I am a terrible golfer trying to figure this out as well. This advice from Kandi Comer looks reasonable:

"I encourage all golfers to find a PGA or LPGA Professional, and interview them to find out as much as they can about the professional before they take the lesson.  You would not go to a doctor without finding out information about the doctor.  Golf Professionals are like any other professional and there are good ones and there are bad ones, so do some research on the professional you are interested in taking a lesson from.  When you interview the instructor you want to make sure you feel comfortable with them and that communication goes both ways and not just the professional talking.  Find out about the teaching experience the professional has– how long have they been teaching and is their a specific type of student the professional enjoys teaching more than another?You want to find out about their teaching philosophy.  Are they a method teacher or do they treat each golfer as an individual and work with their body type and what they can physically do with their body? Make sure you speak to golfers that you know that have taken lessons from this professional and get their feedback.

If you are comfortable after the interview set up one lesson and see how it goes.  Does the teacher give you a plan for improvement and a practice schedule? Do they use video or other technology that you feel is beneficial? If you do not have a practice schedule or a plan to improve I feel that is a red flag.  No matter how good the golf professional might be the golfer cannot improve without practicing.  I feel it is the golf professionals responsibility to give you a plan so that you can see the most improvement from your practice.  It is my philosophy that the student should have, at the most, two things to work on while practicing.   Once they accomplish these changes it is time to schedule a follow up lesson."

But, I really have no idea...

[boots1302]

60 vs 30

I take 60 minute lessons, and feel like if they were any shorter, i would get absolutely nothing done. After 60 minutes sometimes i feel like i want more, just to fine tune what i just learned.

As far as how regularly you take lessons, i believe is totally up to you and what you feel you need, and how serious you want to get in a certain time span. I take lessons usually every 2 weeks. sometimes 3 weeks, but never more than that. on occasion i will take a lesson on back to back weekends, if i have a tournament or something coming up, and issues with a certain aspect of my game. 2 week intervals seem to be perfect for what i am striving for, however i believe it changes person to person.

I think i will never finish taking lessons, i am sure the regularity of my lessons will dwindle, but i doubt i will ever stop taking lessons for life. I think a lesson every 2 months or so would be beneficial to my game... hell, even the pros have "coaches" that they see regularly, so why stop. but maybe once you reach your desired handicap and feel comfortable with what you learned you might decide that its time to call the lessons quits.

[nevets88]

I like the format where the pro watches your swing, makes some changes, then we sit down somewhere and analyze the video, go back and work on the changes some more, maybe one last look at video. This usually takes an hour to an hour and a half. I'm not fond of 1/2 hour lessons because I usually have lots of questions, but I'm an anal, analytical type. If I had my way, usually 2-3 weeks between lessons, but for me, life just gets in the way and frequency is much less than I'd like it to be. The interval imho is when you think you think the changes took or you're not getting it after awhile.

[GaijinGolfer]

IMO once a week for 30 minutes is enough.  The key is taking what they teach you and then putting it into your practice sessons.

Im not sure that you can ever reach the point where you have enough.  Theres plenty of pros who work with swing coaches at least once a week and if those guys/gals need the help of a swing coach, then there isnt a point where us mere mortals have had enough.  Id say that if you reach a point where you feel confident and happy with your swing and reach the point where you can self-diagnose it pretty well, then maybe you could back off on the lessons.

Ive always been pretty stubborn about taking lessons but even Im finally going to break down and spend the money to take at least a few lessons a year.  I know that a good teaching pro could fix that little flaws that are in my swing and in a few short lessons could probably make me a much better ballstriker.  I hate to admit it but there it is.

[grizfan]

I'm in a similar position, though probably closer to 18 than 36 at this point. I've taken some lessons, and I'm currently getting video lessons from Golf Galaxy. So far, these have proven to be the most effective, possibly because of what I learned at earlier lessons. My wife got me the 3 pack of lessons for Christmas. The Golf Galaxy lessons are 30 minutes, and I've been going every other week. For someone at our skill level, I like the 30 minute format, with video. There are so many things to work on, it is easy to lose focus. With 30 minute lesson, you pick one or two areas to concentrate on, then really work them. The video really helps, too. I then have something to take to the driving range for practice. Any longer, and I would worry that I'd have too much to work on during my practice time. So, 30 minutes, no more than once a week. Before going, though, have a goal. For a beginner, maybe start with the basics of good ball striking. With a goal, you know when you are done, at least with that phase. Then, play a bunch, find out what you might need to work on next, and get some more lessons.

[lumpuckeroo]

  arduous1 said:

Originally Posted by arduous1

The title says it all. Assuming I know

Where and with who,

30 minutes vs 60 minutes

Once a week or more often?

How do I know when I've had enough?

Goal being go from 36 handicap to less than 18 handicap.

Thx,

Ard1

I think how long 30 vs 60 depends on you but, no more than once a week.  I have even heard instructor ask that students do every other week, as it can take that long for something new to become ingrained.  Trust me, you will know when you have had enough!

[michaelmcla]

Hi, im new hear and  ive only recently started playing golf in the last few months. So far ive been able to get my score down from 117 to around mid 80's on a par 65 course but ive seemed to hit a point were im getting no better so im thinking of talking up lessons, how often do you think i should take lessons is once or twice a week enough?

Thanks

[SloverUT]

  michaelmcla said:

Originally Posted by michaelmcla

Hi, im new hear and  ive only recently started playing golf in the last few months. So far ive been able to get my score down from 117 to around mid 80's on a par 65 course but ive seemed to hit a point were im getting no better so im thinking of talking up lessons, how often do you think i should take lessons is once or twice a week enough?

Thanks

I think at most once a week is enough.  After the lesson is over you need time to practice what he has taught you and try to make it muscle memory.  I use the evolvr online lessons and I generally send in one new swing every week and practice what he said for a week before I send anything else in.

[Dave2512]

It really depends on how much time you can devote to practice. For me bi-weekly is about all I can handle. It took that long to work through drills and measure progress via range and course time.

[Gary Payne]

I have taken my first lesson and got a lot out of it.  I just retired and now really have time for golf.  My son bought me 4 lessons from a PGA pro, very well known here in the area.  I have the 2nd session schedule tomorrow, how much time should I allow between the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th lesson.  

I took several weeks between the 1st & 2nd lessons and worked hard on what I was taught. 

Any advice?  I have plenty of time to practice and play now.

Regards, Gary

 

[dennyjones]

  Quote

I took several weeks between the 1st & 2nd lessons and worked hard on what I was taught. 

Expand  

This is key to taking lessons. 

I believe a second lesson should not be so close to the first one that you don't have time to fully practice the swing change from the first.   

I've taken lessons during the winter where they were one week apart and I only had one practice session in between.   I got nothing from the lesson because I wasn't able to practice the information from the prior lesson.     I had video and a printout but it's just not the same.  

There does need to be a confirmation of a lesson so that what the instructor was trying to convey is what you are indeed practicing.    I believe a second lesson should be scheduled based upon available practice time.   

Congrats on your recent retirement.

[Gary Payne]

  On 7/19/2018 at 1:41 PM, dennyjones said:

This is key to taking lessons. 

I believe a second lesson should not be so close to the first one that you don't have time to fully practice the swing change from the first.   

I've taken lessons during the winter where they were one week apart and I only had one practice session in between.   I got nothing from the lesson because I wasn't able to practice the information from the prior lesson.     I had video and a printout but it's just not the same.  

There does need to be a confirmation of a lesson so that what the instructor was trying to convey is what you are indeed practicing.    I believe a second lesson should be scheduled based upon available practice time.   

Congrats on your recent retirement.

Expand  

Appreciate the immediate feedback.  Makes perfect sense to me.  Looking forward to the 2nd session and getting confirmation that what was learned in the 1st session was correct.  Thanks!