GolfTec Golf Lessons - Feedback, Discussion

[Motley01]

Ohhh nice, just as you said that, I went to their site again and found 20% during March.

http://www.golftec.com/microsites/marchsale/index.html

Originally Posted by x129

It is 165 normally but it goes on sale on a regular basis for 99. Sometimes you need to get lessons to get the discount. A lot comes down to your options. IN my area I can find a couple of pros that use video for about 1/3 less and a guy that uses a K-Vest for the same amount. So then it comes down to which teacher you like best. I also can't imagine working on chipping/pitching indoors but that is probably a limited imagination.

You should also never pay full price for golftec. If you wait a month or two they will have a 10-20% sale.

[ghalfaire]

I don't know anything about Golftec, but I do know something about taking lessons.  It can be a great experience or a waste of money.  My advice is to interview your instructor and see if you two are compatible.  Do they want to teach what you wish to learn?  Sounds stupid I guess but do you want to learn "the swing" that they teach or will they work with you on improving your swing within what ever athletic ability you have?  For me that is a key difference and probably something you should think about.  But I some physical damage to the old body I got many years ago and it does limit me some.  I could hit a thousand balls a week with an instructor and never be able to swing like Ben Hogan.  On the other hand if you're a young fellow with good athletic ability and a beginner, maybe that is the type of instructor you would like.  So decide what it is you want to accomplish with lessons (more specific than get better) and how you want to go about it (want a total rebuild or just a tweak) and is the instructor willing to do that.

Well I'm sure some instructors that hang out on the forum could say it better than I have.  But my advice is to be sure of what you're looking for and that is what the instructor is selling before you plunk you money down.

[dsc123]

I took the eval and was impressed, but they were just way too expensive.  I might go back there for a club fitting though.  I signed up with evolvr instead and am very happy with that decision.

[Stillaplayer]

This is my first post here. Let me set this up before I respond about Golftec.

I am a former mini tour player from 1990 to 2001, I reapplied for amateur status in 2004 and I stopped playing in 2005 when I bought a business and started having kids. From 2005 through 2011 I played about 25 rounds of golf TOTAL.

While playing tournament golf I had a tournament scoring average of around 73.6. When I got the bug back this year and started playing I got a handicap and started posting scores. I have played about 30 rounds this season and I am currently playing to a .9.

But I was not happy with my ball flight and I no longer have very good control over the direction of my shots. I am pretty much setting up directly at my target and hitting either small fades/pushes or small draws/pulls. Not bad enough to cause big problems but not allowing me to score well since I am not sure which I will get on any individual swing.

I LOVE video feedback and I actually enjoy indoor lessons because I can focus on the process and not the result.

I took a 1 hour Golftec swing evaluation and was very impressed. Firstly my posture has gotten very bad and my take away was very much inside. Being able to see this immediately is very helpful for me. I don't need "lessons" per se. But I liked my instructor, and his knowledge of the swing and will work with him some over the next few weeks.

The ability to work on my swing at their center with the video and analysis for me is key. After our session I worked alone for about 30 minutes there and then went to my local range and practiced for another 2 hours or so. I am very happy with the early stages of adjustment I am working on and the feedback I received and the two drills he gave me.

In the end, I think Golftec's evaluation session is VERY valuable for anyone. After that, I do think their pricing is very much a value play. If you won't have the opportunity to use the practice sessions and only will take the lessons, I think you could get lessons at a better price, If you will use the facility for practice sessions then I think it can be very much worth the price.

Good luck to all.

[aj2482]

Don't waste  your time. It's $175 just for the evaluation, but they say you can get a discount if you buy a package. However, the cheapest package is $400 in one lump sum payment for only (5) lessons. You're better off going to a golf pro at one of your local courses.

[tadams]

Dude thanks so much for that info. I just made an appointment for tomorrow and was very hesitant. I am a 15 handicap and shot an 85 on Sat and today blew up with a 96. I almost blew a fricken gasket. Ive been thinking about for a while because I am so inconsistent. I have really good days and some very very ugly days. I love the game but it is not much fun when you are playing poorly. The guys I play wih are all between 5 and 9 harndicaps and that makes things a tad bit more frustrating when I have a bad round. Its embarrassing. Then I get tight and play even worse. I love to practice but I want to practice the correct swing. I feel so much better after reading your experience. My instructor sounded very positive.

[tadams]

Thanks. I will go tomorrow with a positive attitude and like you, if I can hit a few more shots solid that will make me happy. You can hear a good solid shot coming off the club. I love that sound. Unfortunately I only hear it about 25% of the time. I am looking forward to the lesson but not the cost. If it changes my game in s positive fashion I will have that from now on so I choose to look at it that way. Mywife probably spends that much on shoes annually and those, while they are quite useful on trying to squash the happiness out of my life, will eventually wear out. So take that honey, I'm going fricken golfing AGAIN!!!!!

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by dsc123

I took the eval and was impressed, but they were just way too expensive.  I might go back there for a club fitting though.  I signed up with evolvr instead and am very happy with that decision.

I did both Golftec and Evolvr.  And here is the deal IMO...

1.) Golftec is expensive.  And unless you know for a fact that your instructor knows what the hell he is teaching, you could be throwing good money down the drain.  My instructor was a very - very nice guy... But he was teaching me a 'Power V' swing which was making a big move off the ball with my upper body - and keeping my left hip on a stationary line from address.  Basically - moving my upper body off the ball.  I ended up quiting because we spent all of my lessons on trying to get the power V in the back swing - which cost me ~$600 and I wasn't hitting the ball worth a damn.  This was back in 2004, so the instruction may have changed since then?  But it was silly.

2.) Evolvr - it is very affordable.  And after seeing that most of the instructors use this site - and are giving credible advice which is backed up by physics and geometry based... And isn't some 50 year old concept that is being taught - just because their forefathers taught it to them... They teach what is right and backed up by Trackman.  And if you really listen to them, you will improve.  There is no doubt in my mind.  I'm hitting the ball better than I have ever in my life (ball striking).  And know that my scoring is going to come around soon to beat my all time low handicap of a 3.  I can't wait to start entering tournaments in 2013 to showcase my new swing.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

I did both Golftec and Evolvr.  And here is the deal IMO...

1.) Golftec is expensive.  And unless you know for a fact that your instructor knows what the hell he is teaching, you could be throwing good money down the drain.

2.) Evolvr - it is very affordable.  And after seeing that most of the instructors use this site - and are giving credible advice which is backed up by physics and geometry based... And isn't some 50 year old concept that is being taught - just because their forefathers taught it to them... They teach what is right.  And if you really listen to them, you will improve.  There is no doubt in my mind.  I'm hitting the ball better than I have ever in my life.  And can't wait to start entering tournaments in 2013 to showcase my new swing.

Totally second this one.  I didn't actually do Golftec, however, I took a lesson from an ex-golftec guy down in San Diego.  Beach's golftec experience was somewhere way across the country if I remember correctly - Chicago maybe - yet, coincidentally, both of our instructors concentrated on a similar old-fashioned concept ... getting the left shoulder over the right leg at the top of the backswing.  (To do so, you have to disobey 5SK's Key #1 ... not a good idea)

Of course, that could have just been coincidence, and your instructor may not teach the same.  Just beware.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Totally second this one.  I didn't actually do Golftec, however, I took a lesson from an ex-golftec guy down in San Diego.  Beach's golftec experience was somewhere way across the country if I remember correctly - Chicago maybe - yet, coincidentally, both of our instructors concentrated on a similar old-fashioned concept ... getting the left shoulder over the right leg at the top of the backswing.  (To do so, you have to disobey 5SK's Key #1 ... not a good idea)

Of course, that could have just been coincidence, and your instructor may not teach the same.  Just beware.

Yeah my instructor was in Chicago burbs (Schaumburg).  Again, very nice guy.  Nice enough that if I met him on the course, I probably would've exchanged numbers and played more golf with him and drank some beers.  But as an instructor - at least what he was teaching me was not working for me.  He called it a Power V.  But I have a buddy in Scottsdale right now that is taking lessons from Golftec, and he told me his instructor is calling it the 'Power Y'.

I have no idea if Golftec has a director of instruction, where all the Golftec pros learn a certain technique?  But, from what I can gather... It seems their instructors are teaching a big move off the ball.  Kind of scary if you ask me... Because as you said... It totally violates Key #1.

[dsc123]

I too was instructed on the "Power V."

[RoyHotPower]

I went into GT last night initially to get custom fitted with a swing eval. I ended up spending 2 hours with the Coach and came away very impressed. I am in my mid 40s and used to be a leisurely player (i.e. for fun 3 out of 4 weekends/month on community courses) from 1992-2002. Because of big life changes about a decade ago and I all but mothballed by clubs since then.

Fast forward to a few weekends ago when my 15 year old nephew visited and begged us to go to Top Golf.  We did and I realized just what fun I had been missing.  Now the time is right for me to play again.  Plus my wife swung clubs for the first time ever and is hooked. This time around I want to get advice before I really get back on the links and through negligence reinforce bad habits.

When I was last playing, in 2001 I got video instruction from a PGA pro. At that time I had developed a slice with my driver and a simple change to my address and grip corrected that. The concept of video reinforced instruction sold me back then, and the advances in this approach ought to be perfect for me.

So last night I didn't get fitted as my Coach stressed that since I had a 10+ year gap in my play; I didn't really have a baseline (I agree with this). There is no point in custom fitting as of yet, and I may as well use my old equipment to get back into game shape.  We found in the eval that my address was poor: I was actually lifting my left foot. My hips were off throughout my swing too and my balance was all over the place. Lets face it, I had put on 40 pounds over the last decade and the video proved my swing suffered as a consequence. This is even more motivational to go back to the gym and shed some weight.

During the eval I had initial concerns as we were comparing my form to that of Tiger.  And maybe half way into the eval I had to stop him: let's face it, I'll never be Tiger. And you are pointing out lots of flaws in my mechanics, some easily fixed, others that might impact areas that I currently am doing well in. What is the end strategy of all this I asked?  He reassured me that we will work towards my goals (I had to set as a goal a score I would like to consistently achieve.  I wasn't mentally prepared to do this as I was more concerned with mechanics and making sure I developed good habits). And no, there were no claims that I would be a Tiger clone when all was said and done.

About the soft sell. My Coach first wanted to understand how committed to the program I would be. He would get paid regardless, but I could tell quickly he is passionate about his work (we stayed 40 minutes after the store closed for the night). I said lets complete the eval and see. I interrupted him several times to discuss more in depth; he was breaking down my swing and I wanted to make sure I understood his instruction and terminology.  In the end he recommended the 12 month/26 lesson plan. I thought about it at home and again this morning and think I'll go for it.

In the program I'll get 90 minutes/week bay time, and I like the idea of instruction/reinforcement drills> muscle memory concept.  Many of my flaws will ultimately be worked on in conjunction with others.  A few we will be spending specific lessons on. Some will be pretty easy to fix, others are going to take time.  In the end we play a round of golf together and THEN I'll get fitted.  Until then my 15+ year old equipment remains in my bag.  And lets face it: for the amount of time I'll be spending with an individual PGA certified instructor, to me the price is well worth it.

[Fozcycle]

Hey RoyHotPower,   Thanks for the update and insight. Tell us what's in your Bag?

BTW,  I also went the 26 lesson plan.....

[RoyHotPower]

Originally Posted by Fozcycle

Hey RoyHotPower,   Thanks for the update and insight. Tell us what's in your Bag?

BTW,  I also went the 26 lesson plan.....

what's in my bag? Are you ready for a stroll down memory lane?

Woods: Dunlop Oversized; Driver, 3, 5

Irons: custom built (company now out-of-business) Tech Power heads on graphite shafts, Sports Pride grips

TW: Wilson 64◦ Mojave

Putter: Ping Anser

Bag: Top Flight leather cart bag

Second lesson is tonight: I've been practicing the Bend/Bend/Drop exercise and am going to ask my coach about the merits of getting a hitting mat/net

[RoyHotPower]

I had my first 'lesson' tonight at GolfTEC and the improvement from my set eval a week ago is amazing.  My new exercise is to tweak my grip, and by the end of my bay time had improved my hitting speed a full 14 MPH and I'm in the green in all 5 categories!

Also, my coach took pity on me.  When we began to discuss my bag, he couldn't suppress a grin and said I ought to go ahead and get a used more modern driver.  After endlessly quizzing him about what brand, he offered to give me an old Srixon 9.5 Z Driver he doesn't use anymore.  It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by Fozcycle

Hey RoyHotPower,   Thanks for the update and insight. Tell us what's in your Bag?

BTW,  I also went the 26 lesson plan.....

Just out of curiosity... What are they charging for that plan?

[manhattan01]

Just completed the 90 minute swing analysis and bit on the on 6 month, 15 lesson program.  I'm keeping an open mind about the whole experience but so far, I quite like it.  My swing instructor used to teach at one of the local courses here which was my main concern - someone with limited teaching ability using technology to supplant that inexperience.  My first 30 minute lesson is next week I get a weekly 90 minute practice session over the 6 months.  To me, that's why I signed up - to be able to practice in one of those bays with full access to their video and swing analysis.  I've read a number of bad reviews on Golftec lessons so hopefully I don't fall into that category.  Again...need to keep my mind open.

[Fozcycle]

Good lck with the lessons........I am thankful for the ones I got from Golftec. I now have the most consistent straight tee shots. My short game I on and I struggle a bit with my mid irons but they are much better than last year.