What to expect from first lesson.....

[clg82]

Well I set up my first lesson for next week and was just wondering what I should expect from it. It is an hour long at my home course. I am pretty good with all of my irons top to bottom it's my driver that i'm looking to get "tuned". To help me fix my slice.....Do you think we will only go through that or do you think he'll try and work on every club in my bag? I know that it's only an hour long I was just wondering what the first lesson should be like.....

[DavidFehertysBike]

If he is any good, he'll spend the majority of the time working with your grip and alignment. Probably with a wedge or short iron. The most important aspect is your attitude. If you are willing to put in the work to get better and listen then you'll get alot out of it. If youre expecting the lesson to be a miracle cure then you are probably just wasting your time.

[clg82]

So i shouldn't even bother him with what I would like him to look at with my driver swing?

[Teklabz]

If he is any good, he'll spend the majority of the time working with your grip and alignment. Probably with a wedge or short iron.

I think he's right, I had a half hour lesson last year, and the whole time we worked on grip and stance/setup with the 9i. Was very useful for hitting all of my clubs, even the driver. Hopefully you will find it to work for the big dog too!

[saevel25]

from past experience. They will usually watch you swing a decent amount of shots. Usually 7 iron, or your favorite club. But i would expect the Pro to look at the fundamentals.. Set up, Grip, alignment, posture. These are key to fixing alot of problems in the golf swing. Then swing plane. But when i first had my lesson, it was one club only and it was my favorite club, at the time it was the 7 iron. Don't worry the hour goes fast.

If he has video, use it, its amazing to see your swing, it puts alot in perspective.

[DavidFehertysBike]

So i shouldn't even bother him with what I would like him to look at with my driver swing?

No. And he probably wont want to hear it.

[clg82]

Thanks guys for the suggestions! Keep them coming.....I'm assuming that there is more to a slice than just my backswing/follow thru....that's what got me worried, I know I haven't been playing 40 years but i just don't want him to try and change everything that i've tried hard to fix myself.....

[sean_miller]

Well I set up my first lesson for next week and was just wondering what I should expect from it. It is an hour long at my home course. I am pretty good with all of my irons top to bottom it's my driver that i'm looking to get "tuned". To help me fix my slice.....Do you think we will only go through that or do you think he'll try and work on every club in my bag? I know that it's only an hour long I was just wondering what the first lesson should be like.....

He'll probably want to establish what you and he have to work with. I've only taken a few lessons and haven't played any outdoor rounds yet to see the results, but . . . he asked me to only only bring a 7 iron and 5 iron the first couple lessons. (I brought 3, 5, 7, 9 as a habit). I warmed up and hit balls while we chatted about my playing history and where I wanted to go in golf - basically what are my goals.

He could see that I already can hit a ball and my grip and setup were not too bad (a couple tweaks in my posture and starting arm/hand position relative to my body). I'm not sure he actually thinks my grip and basic setup don't need work, or if he just doesn't want to mess with it, but to be honest, if he'd started with a new grip and a change in my basic mechanics I'd have discontinued the lessons. I shot my best rounds of the season at indoor golf after the lessons, so I'm starting the season with a lot of confidence. Congrats on having the guts to take the lessons plunge.

[Teklabz]

Thanks guys for the suggestions! Keep them coming.....I'm assuming that there is more to a slice than just my backswing/follow thru....that's what got me worried, I know I haven't been playing 40 years but i just don't want him to try and change everything that i've tried hard to fix myself.....

He'll probably only give you a few things to work on the first time around, not overload you with too much info and feedback, then you'd not know where to start! Slice from what I understand can indeed be from a lot of things, ball position, not releasing your hands, nhaving the clubface too open at address, etc. I'm sure there's more, including the cause(s) of my own slice, but as I'm new to golf, I'll let the more experienced players weigh in on that!

[iacas]

If he is any good, he'll spend the majority of the time working with your grip and alignment.

I doubt it. I highly doubt it. In the lessons I've seen given and given myself, the amount of time you spend on "grip and alignment" is 2% of the lesson, if that, and in most lessons it's not even mentioned.

Probably with a wedge or short iron.

Mid-iron, probably. Six or seven iron.

Look, here's what I'd expect... 1) You commit yourself to not thinking of anything else. You just hit the ball with what is currently your most natural swing and, later, with whatever thoughts or feelings the instructor gives you. 2) You'll warm up, then start hitting some mid-irons. You probably slice those too - and everyone should typically have the same swing for every club. The instructor will ask you what your typical shots are or will simply note it based on what shots you're hitting. 3) Once you're loosened up, the instructor will shoot some video from probably two angles. You'll continue hitting mid-irons. The instructor should have an idea what is going on by then but may want to confirm it with video. 4) You'll review the video and the instructor will tell you what you're going to work on that day. He may show you some comparative video of a pro or something, but then you'll get back out to the range and hit more balls. 5) You'll work on the range on whatever drills or feelings the instructor gives you. You should start to see your ball flight and/or contact quality change. Towards the end, he should shoot some more video and you'll go into the studio again to compare how far you've come in just a short while. That's what I expect from a lesson, and I find it works out quite well. Not to say it can't be done another way - but I'd be wary if too many of the steps are skipped.

[Teklabz]

That sounds like a good lesson! Sign me up!

[clg82]

Thanks a ton iacas! That exact post you just made is the reason I love it here! Thanks for all of the helpful info!

[sean_miller]

Thanks a ton iacas! That exact post you just made is the reason I love it here! Thanks for all of the helpful info!

It was like reading the minutes from my own first lesson.

[burnabao]

So i shouldn't even bother him with what I would like him to look at with my driver swing?

By all means tell him what you'd like to achieve, but don't expect the route to your goal to be straightforward. If you can get the basic grip/swing "fixed" with a wedge or short iron, the transition to the longer clubs will be far simpler and you'll be working with a swing that has solid foundations, rather than just papering over the cracks as you would be if you tried to cure the driver slice straight away. If you go into the lessons looking to "become a better golfer" rather than fixing this or that problem, I believe you will get more out of it.

Also, if you can see a video of your swing, prepare to be amazed at how different you look compared to how you imagine yourself. I was ashamed when I first saw my swing on tape, but the memory of that image has done as much as anything else to improve my swing (i.e. "what not to do")!!

[srjorion]

Go into your lesson with an open mind ready to absorb everything your instructor teaches you. You will probably walk away with a few drills to work on and I highly recommend you plan on doing those drills as much as you can within a week after the lesson. I haven't taken a lesson in over a year and when my swing starts to change I go right back to the original drills to iron things out.

Also, after the lesson you will probably start hitting the ball better, but don't be surprised if two or three range sessions or rounds later you all of a sudden start hitting the ball worse than you did before your lessons. It may not happen, but if it does stick to your drills and don't give up. It happens to me often as well as many of my friends.

Bottom line, have fun and enjoy the process of getting better.

[clg82]

Thank you very much everyone for the suggestions! I appreciate everyones opinion. I truly can't wait until i start, that first hour is going to FLY by!

[jwhitesj]

I start my lessons on tuesday. I'm taking 4 lessons, but the instructor said he wanted to see how much "homework" he had to give me before we decided if it was going to be a once a week thing or once every couple of weeks. I'm really excited, I really just started playing a couple of months ago and I have improved so much in a short amount of time. I'm really hoping that the instructor can get me from being a double bogey golfer, to a bogey golfer, I knew it will take a lot of time, but I'm just loving this sport, and can't wait to start.