So I've been taking lessons for about a month and a half..

[Golf Novice]

And practicing pretty regularly at home and at the range. Well, the other day I went out and actually tried to play 18 for the first time since starting lessons.

It was absolutely horrible. I could barely hit the ball off the tee. I couldn't hit the ball straight to save my life. Nothing was working. I was taking FOREVER because I was sitting there trying to think through my swing from beginning to the top of the backswing (which is where I am right now in my lessons) and nothing worked. It was completely humiliating and discouraging. I've had days at the range where I didn't hit it all that well, but nothing like this. Now, the day before it had poured rain for about 4 hours and the course was soaked and muddy, but still. It was just so damn frustrating and got so bad that a group of 3 had to play through JUST ME. I just stood over every shot thinking, thinking, thinking, etc. Bottom line, I left after just 9 holes because I was so discouraged and frustrated, feeling like I've completely wasted my time and money paying for lessons. Problem is, I love the game and just can't imagine quitting, so I'm not going to even think about that.

It's almost as if I feel like had I not thought about anything except just playing and having fun rather than trying to incorporate everything I've learned thus far, I would have played much better. God knows I've never ever played that bad before I'd ever taken a lesson or read a thing about the golf swing.

Any similar stories at a similar point in one's development? I just want to think there's hope for me in this incredibly game, and that I'm not wasting my time in making a lifelong committment to it.

[alomar123]

I never took lessons, but when I try and correct everything with my swing while on the course it is not good. Try and just pick 2 or so things to think about right before you swing( I think about starting with hips and keep head still). And after several rounds all those things will just come natural, so then you can think of a couple of others. Just keep playing rounds, as to me 1 round=1 week on the range in terms of getting better.

[uttexas]

My first round after my first lesson was demoralizing. I'd played for 20 years with a self taught swing that I could control and scored well with. Due to weather and time constraints, I hadn't had time to go to the driving range pre-round, so my first 18 holes after my lesson were aweful. In fact, during the six months that I was with that instructor, I never played well--the swing he was teaching wasn't for me.

Give it two months, if your ball striking doesn't improve, find a different instructor.

[Kieran123]

I don;t think of anything except contact.

[trog2233]

I had this same exact problem. Been playing for 6 years with self taught swing and shot high 70s - low 80s consistantly. Then last month I took my first lessons. My swing looks much better and its how its supposed to be but I haven't seen results yet. I used to hit a fade and played it well. It helped because I knew all my misses would be to the right. Now my misses are all over the place. I'm shooting in the 90s right now and its very aggravating. I'm sticking to it and hopefully I get results and better ball striking soon.

[ERdiesel]

golf novice, are you completely new to the game or were you playing before the lessons, and now the lessons have screwed with your game? If you are completely new.......don't get frustrated, I think we have all been there as a novice, the first time stepping onto a real course ever, after spending countless hours on the range, and coming off the course experience doubly frustrated, humiliated, humbled, and ready to call it quits. If you love the game as we all do, stick with it. If you are practicing at the range on mats, hitting off of grass as a novice will be an entirely different experience and not necessarily a good one. mats can really mislead you especially when you hit the mat before the ball, the bounce might still allow the ball to get in the air giving you a false sense of doing the right thing. on the course on grass, you'll wind up scalping the fairway with the divot going further than the ball. best piece of advice is to grip it and rip it...........minimal swing thoughts, the longer you stand over the ball and the more you think about your shot as you stand over the ball, the more tension you introduce and the more likely you won't hit a good shot. Of course that's easier said than done, and even I as most of us struggle with this constantly. if you mishit the first shot, and drop a second ball and just hit it without thought, you'll probably find the second shot is hit much better. it's a love/hate thing with golf but stick with it, as with anything, you can only get better :)

[bustaone]

And practicing pretty regularly at home and at the range. Well, the other day I went out and actually tried to play 18 for the first time since starting lessons.

When I try to micromanage my swing while on the course I have all sorts of problems. Thats when you start to become tense, try to force your body to do things, and any number of other ways to psyche yourself out. Being on the course has so many more distractions that you can get overloaded if you try to do too many things at once. It can only get better from here for you!

[MasterP]

I can relate a bit. After 20 or so years of casual golf and a solid mid-low 90's shooter I decided to take some lessons. Luckily my instructor didn't change a whole lot in my swing, but it can still be intimidating standing over a ball with 10 swing thoughts in your head. What I do is pick one thought to concentrate on while setting up for a shot, something simple that you know will make the swing flow in the right direction. If you've ingrained the new swing at the range then you should know your trigger for a good swing. For me I either think about getting a straight back take away, or keeping my hips from swaying. I like to pick something at the start of my swing that way if I screw that up I can abort and retry, and if I hit my first mark things generally fall into place for me.

[Texas solo]

I was hitting my long shots so bad one day, that when I walked up to a 3 wood shot on a par 5, I said to myself "screw it, just hit the damn ball, I don't care where it goes". My back swing was completely relaxed and I just excelerated through the swing. The ball went straight and long, just short of the green. My best shot all day. I learned from that shot, and kept relaxed the rest of the round and played better than normal.
I still suck, but I have more fun, actually play better, and my back doesn't hurt anymore. Even my irons have improved. Basically, I just quit thinking and started having fun.

[jamo]

Geez, a month and a half and not really any improvement? How many lessons have you taken? Either way, I think that I would have found a new instructor.

[abraxas]

oh man, this is exactly how if felt!
dont sweat it....

im just starting out as well and took lessons over the winter
thought i was making real progress hitting the ball and finding my swing
and then the first couple of times at the course was just WTF!!!
felt so frustrated and dejected wondering if those lessons did me any good or if i even learned anything

BUT i think a lot has to do with learning to play "for real" on the course with all the variations (terrain, lies, just being outdoors)
im playing much better now and feeling more optimistic
keep your head up and all that practice will def be paying off

[Tifosinumerouno]

oh man, this is exactly how if felt!

I think in golf, it's best to keep your head down ...

[kurisu]

I started to take lessons 10 months ago, and the first time I ever set foot on a course, I realised "holy c#$p ! how the heck do I hit the ball now when it's above/under my feet?! and I had a miserable time. I'm talking like 2 digits number on a 140 yards par 3. I topped E-V-E-R-Ything. I couldn't understand it, I was doing great at the range with my coach!!!

Well, we've ALL been there. You just have to trust in yourself and believe that you WILL get better. But you can't expect to shoot a decent score on your first few tries.

I'm not scoring well yet, but everytime I go play, I gain a bit more confidence, I manage to relax and enjoy my time a bit more, and that translates to a small but steady one stroke here, one stroke there... and that's they key. It's a game. And the game is about learning from your mistakes and minimizing them.

[jaj23]

I had the complete opposite experience as the OP...I played my first round of golf 20 years ago. However, I have probably only played a total of 15-20 rounds of golf in those 20 years. Recently I decided to take golf more seriously and went to the local PGA Tour Superstore. I bought a $99 membership which included a 30 minute lesson and "all you can hit" in the hitting bays for a full year. The hitting bays have a computer that shows the statistics of each swing (swing speed, club head angle, spin, club path, distance, etc). It also has video cameras so you can see your swing from the front, back, and side. I also watched a lot of golf on TV and tried to pick up on the common swing characteristics and emulate those when I practiced. Before I started practicing I shot a 105 in December '09. I started practicing in January of this year and played my first round of golf since December about two weeks ago and shot an 89. I even had a string of par, par, bogey, birdie, par, par in that round.

Keep practicing...I don't think 6 weeks is enough time to show a marked improvement. Plus...you only had one bad round of golf. Try again and see what happens, but this time keep the practice brain on the practice range and just have fun on the course. Don't over-think it and don't give it up. Golf is a great game.

[Sanzabar]

Some of the first words my instructor told me... "You will get worse before you get better."

It is like anything, you are doing it your way and making ends meet... however, when someone shows you the "correct" way, it is hard to adjust to it.

[iacas]

Some of the first words my instructor told me... "You will get worse before you get better."

I'd have been tempted to run the other way.

Most everyone - and there are some rare cases - should be hitting the ball BETTER at the end of a lesson than the way they came into the lesson. A month and a half??? Hmmmm.

[sean_miller]

It's almost as if I feel like had I not thought about anything except just playing and having fun rather than trying to incorporate everything I've learned thus far, I would have played much better. God knows I've never ever played that bad before I'd ever taken a lesson or read a thing about the golf swing.

How old are you, still young(ish)? Are you good at any other sports?

Could you hit the ball okay(ish) before taking lessons? How many strokes would it take you to move the ball 400 yards? 2-3? 4-6? More than 7? Be honest with yourself. In spite of what people on the internet say, golf really isn't that easy to do well. It's not like other sports - similar, but different. When I started snowboarding, the first 3 or 4 times were very frustrating (and painful). Once I could link some turns together, a light went off. Why don't you go play some tennis (or squash) and work on footwork and hand eye coordination. The next time you're at the driving range, work on hitting a spot on the ground a few times first (with no ball). You'll either get it or you won't, but don't give up until you've tried it a few more times - give it at least one full season anyway. Good luck.

[Sanzabar]

I'd have been tempted to run the other way.

I played baseball in college, so I had the typical baseball swing.. yet I could hit the ball decent. He transformed my swing and I struggled with it at first because it was brand new to me. Thats what I was referring to.

A month and a half is a little long to still not showing signs of improvement.