GolfTec Golf Lessons - Feedback, Discussion

[VegasRenegade]

If you are interested in what kind of lessons golftec gives. I have posted my complete first lesson on my blog. Let me know what you think.

I am working on a one  year swing rebuild.

[RoyHotPower]

Originally Posted by VegasRenegade

If you are interested in what kind of lessons golftec gives. I have posted my complete first lesson on my blog. Let me know what you think.

I am working on a one  year swing rebuild.

I'm three lessons ahead of you.  One year to get everything better for me

[VegasRenegade]

Originally Posted by 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.

I have pretty much the same plan as you do.

[SAGolfLuvr]

In 2006 I had been golfing for 3 years and never took a lesson. I played a complete stranger that had a very good swing and kicked my butt and broke 90. I asked him if he had taken lessons and he said yes, from GolfTec. I asked him how long had he been playing. He said 18 months. I ran to GolfTec the next day but was disappointed when I found out the price. So I had to find cheaper lessons elsewhere. Based on what that guy was able to do in just 18 months, I would recommend GolfTec if you can afford it.

[VegasRenegade]

Posted my third Golf Tec lesson on my blog. Working and keeping my upper body connected.

[Effington]

Hey guys,

I checked out Golftec but didn't sign up.  For the 12 month membership that includes 25 lessons and 90 minutes of practice time, it costs $2,000.  The practice plan for 12 months (capped at 90 minutes per week) is $945 but you also have to buy lessons.  Their "best" plan is 12 months of practice time and 52 lessons for $3,000.

Across the street at PGA Superstore, they have a 12 month driving range pass for $250 that includes unlimited play, and the driving range has video, computers, and all of the fancy metrics that Golftec has except for the hip sensors.  The only catch is that you have to sign up for 30 minute slots.  I haven't ever seen the place full yet though.  I signed up a week ago and have gotten at least an hour in each day so far.  This plan also includes special product discounts.  PGA Superstore also sells lessons 6 (45 min each) for $200, so if you wanted 24 lessons that would be $800, +$250 for practice time is $1,050 compared to the $2,000 Golftec charges, and you get less practice time there.  I believe the local course has even cheaper lessons at around $30, but I don't know what kind of fancy gadgets they have to store your metrics.

That being said, the Golf Galaxy had a few free group lessons and the pro was a good guy, so I signed up a couple with him at $40 per lesson...I figured I'd give him a shot since they spotted me to start...even got me on a private course for free.

[jkruszew]

I did a 10 lesson+practice package from Golftec earlier this year; I got a promotion so I think it was about $900.  It's expensive in absolute terms, but it's not terribly more expensive than a lesson with the pro at your local course and I think it's much more helpful.  The video immediately identified some major swing flaws (though I was a little disappointed at the frame rate; you could probably buy a camcorder at Best Buy that would give you more frames in slo-mo) and the camera practice is really easy to use.  You swing, watch your shot, swing, watch your shot, etc.  My handicap went from 17 in March to the 11 it is currently.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by Effington

Hey guys,

I checked out Golftec but didn't sign up.  For the 12 month membership that includes 25 lessons and 90 minutes of practice time, it costs $2,000.  The practice plan for 12 months (capped at 90 minutes per week) is $945 but you also have to buy lessons.  Their "best" plan is 12 months of practice time and 52 lessons for $3,000.

Across the street at PGA Superstore, they have a 12 month driving range pass for $250 that includes unlimited play, and the driving range has video, computers, and all of the fancy metrics that Golftec has except for the hip sensors.  The only catch is that you have to sign up for 30 minute slots.  I haven't ever seen the place full yet though.  I signed up a week ago and have gotten at least an hour in each day so far.  This plan also includes special product discounts.  PGA Superstore also sells lessons 6 (45 min each) for $200, so if you wanted 24 lessons that would be $800, +$250 for practice time is $1,050 compared to the $2,000 Golftec charges, and you get less practice time there.  I believe the local course has even cheaper lessons at around $30, but I don't know what kind of fancy gadgets they have to store your metrics.

That being said, the Golf Galaxy had a few free group lessons and the pro was a good guy, so I signed up a couple with him at $40 per lesson...I figured I'd give him a shot since they spotted me to start...even got me on a private course for free.

That is a lot of lessons.  I can't imagine having a lesson once a week.  That seems excessive to me... But what do I know?

[VegasRenegade]

as a 4.6 HC you would more than likely not need so many lessons. If you are like me and eveyrthing about your swing is wrong then it is not enough.

[cooke119]

Anybody use GolfTEC for lessons? Was it worth it, or is a Golf Pro better. I'm think of taking lessons and saw them on line.

[VegasRenegade]

Originally Posted by cooke119

Anybody use GolfTEC for lessons? Was it worth it, or is a Golf Pro better. I'm think of taking lessons and saw them on line.

Here you go

http://thesandtrap.com/t/52457/anybody-use-golftec

[Rip24]

For me it was definitley worth it. But I think it greatly depends on your coach. I thought golftec was amazing when I started but very soon realized I was quite lucky to have been paired up with the guy that was assigned to me. This guy was a legit instructor that had played for D1 school, played mini tours, trained with many well known top teachers and studied all the literature out there. I felt like I had a tour pro quality instruction, the insight he brought was just on another level. Other coaches could very well be some ave joe that likes golf and got trained to give instruction and use their software....I dont want to be cynical i think it can help alot of people especially those with less advanced skills. Now that I have gone through over 2 years with this guy and have absorbed so much instruction and have a fairly solid swing I would be very picky with who I would trust with my swing.

[VegasRenegade]

Originally Posted by Rip24

For me it was definitley worth it. But I think it greatly depends on your coach. I thought golftec was amazing when I started but very soon realized I was quite lucky to have been paired up with the guy that was assigned to me. This guy was a legit instructor that had played for D1 school, played mini tours, trained with many well known top teachers and studied all the literature out there. I felt like I had a tour pro quality instruction, the insight he brought was just on another level. Other coaches could very well be some ave joe that likes golf and got trained to give instruction and use their software....I dont want to be cynical i think it can help alot of people especially those with less advanced skills. Now that I have gone through over 2 years with this guy and have absorbed so much instruction and have a fairly solid swing I would be very picky with who I would trust with my swing.

Very true if you have a swing to trust

[VegasRenegade]

We got to the top of the back swing today lesson posted on blog

[Rip24]

as a 4.6 HC you would more than likely not need so many lessons. If you are like me and eveyrthing about your swing is wrong then it is not enough.:pound:

I agree. when I started it was a lesson a week, but that was for basics and fundamentals, ie: don't sway on your back swing, address set up..things that were fairly easy habits to break. When major changes started happening.. rerouting club path, separating hips and shoulders, hand position through impact. I still showed up every week to monitor progress, but we didn't move on to a new "lesson" until I had down the last thing we were working on and some of those major changes took a month of hard practice to see improvement. It was both extremely frustrating and greatly rewarding experience.

[VegasRenegade]

Originally Posted by Rip24

Quote:

Originally Posted by VegasRenegade

as a 4.6 HC you would more than likely not need so many lessons. If you are like me and eveyrthing about your swing is wrong then it is not enough.

I agree. when I started it was a lesson a week, but that was for basics and fundamentals, ie: don't sway on your back swing, address set up..things that were fairly easy habits to break. When major changes started happening.. rerouting club path, separating hips and shoulders, hand position through impact. I still showed up every week to monitor progress, but we didn't move on to a new "lesson" until I had down the last thing we were working on and some of those major changes took a month of hard practice to see improvement. It was both extremely frustrating and greatly rewarding experience.

I know the feeling.  Right now we are at the top and working on getting depth. The good thing is that while working on this I seem to have finally gotten my arms connected and stop swaying.  I am having a hard time getting the depth with out over rotating. My hips turn is at 46 and my shoulders some time get to 110  If I stop turning I do not get the depth. Lets not even talk about ball contact.

[manhattan01]

I don't even know how many lesson's I'm in on my program...I opted for the 6 month program.  I'm guessing I'm about half way through it.  I recall the first few lessons wreaked havoc on my swing but now, my body is accepting some of the changes.  Went to the range for the first time in a while just to check out real ball flight (I practice mainly at the Golftec centre now) and I was striking it relatively well.  I've lost about 10 yards per club moving towards 15 at the longer irons.  My only issues with Golftec thus far are that I think the lessons at 30 minutes are too short.  I think 45 would be perfect.  I generally stay for another hour to 1.5 hours practicing.  Also...I understand what they are trying to do - and it's all a numbers game for them (should turn, hip rotation, hip tilt, etc) and they measure you against numbers of pros averaged out...well, I'm no pro.  I'm not built like any of them.  I have no intention of hitting it like they do so learn to accept that I might not be physically capable.  That said, my instructor does recognize this and the numbers for him, are guidelines.  He used to be a teaching pro at one of the local courses here so he has a background in that.

Thus far...I'm pleased.  Cost me a pretty penny but so far, it's worth it.  I recommended the lessons to a friend and he's going to check it out.

And Vegas, checked out your blog.  Is he using Appleby as a comparison?  He's using him against me as well.  :)

[VegasRenegade]

Yea he started using Tiger and I just laughed and said you are kidding  me right. I think Abblebe is there go to guy for average joe.