Satisfied with Golf Lessons?

[bluecollar01]

I'm 31 and started playing golf two months ago.  After getting clubs and testing them out at the range I decided to get lessons from a PGA Pro at one of the local courses.

I had three lessons - two of which focused on hitting my PW and one at a range where we hit the driver, woods, irons, etc.  We talked a lot about squaring the club face as I tend to push/slice most of my shots.  While that was helpful, I feel like the lessons should have been more structured.  I guess what I mean was that we should have talked about grip, stance, ball position, etc. to establish a foundation before talking about swing plane, tempo, etc.  Maybe, it's just me but I really felt like after telling him that I'd never swung a club before that we'd start from the ground up.

Instead, I was handed a club and told to swing.  After which he would tell me to "do this" or "do that".  Sometimes, the "this" and the "that" were conflicting with what I had been told from the previous lesson.  When I showed up for my second lesson he asked me what I wanted to work on.  My reply was "well, you told me to work on tempo and closing the club face at impact - so let's see if I've accomplished that".  Being a novice, maybe this is how lessons are suppose to go but I just felt like there should be a natural progression, like:

Irons

• Clubs (3i - 9i, PW, SW)
• Stance
• Grip
• Ball placement
• Weight transfer
• Take away
• Back swing
• Tempo
• Down swing
• Impact
• Follow-thru

Those may not be in the correct order or even the items that someone should learn but I just wasn't satisfied with the lessons I received.  I felt like I was just being told whatever the "flavor of the week" golf jargon was popular at that time.  For example my second lesson took place right after the U.S. Open and I was told I should emulate Rory Mcllroy's tempo - three times as long in the back swing vs the down swing.  Rory has a great swing and that's fine, but if someone else would have won then I would have been told to emulate a different tempo?

The other thing I wasn't happy about was the lack of instruction on how I should practice.  I was told to practice, and I did go to the range and hit balls several times prior to my next lesson but there was nothing outlined about types of drills, clubs, etc. that I should focus on.

Sorry, for the diatribe but I'd like to hear how others felt about their golf lessons and see if I should continue taking lessons or if I'd just be in for a world of disappointment.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by bluecollar01

I'm 31 and started playing golf two months ago.  After getting clubs and testing them out at the range I decided to get lessons from a PGA Pro at one of the local courses.

I had three lessons - two of which focused on hitting my PW and one at a range where we hit the driver, woods, irons, etc.  We talked a lot about squaring the club face as I tend to push/slice most of my shots.  While that was helpful, I feel like the lessons should have been more structured.  I guess what I mean was that we should have talked about grip, stance, ball position, etc. to establish a foundation before talking about swing plane, tempo, etc.  Maybe, it's just me but I really felt like after telling him that I'd never swung a club before that we'd start from the ground up.

Instead, I was handed a club and told to swing.  After which he would tell me to "do this" or "do that".  Sometimes, the "this" and the "that" were conflicting with what I had been told from the previous lesson.  When I showed up for my second lesson he asked me what I wanted to work on.  My reply was "well, you told me to work on tempo and closing the club face at impact - so let's see if I've accomplished that".  Being a novice, maybe this is how lessons are suppose to go but I just felt like there should be a natural progression, like:

Irons

Clubs (3i - 9i, PW, SW)

Stance

Grip

Ball placement

Weight transfer

Take away

Back swing

Tempo

Down swing

Impact

Follow-thru

Those may not be in the correct order or even the items that someone should learn but I just wasn't satisfied with the lessons I received.  I felt like I was just being told whatever the "flavor of the week" golf jargon was popular at that time.  For example my second lesson took place right after the U.S. Open and I was told I should emulate Rory Mcllroy's tempo - three times as long in the back swing vs the down swing.  Rory has a great swing and that's fine, but if someone else would have won then I would have been told to emulate a different tempo?

The other thing I wasn't happy about was the lack of instruction on how I should practice.  I was told to practice, and I did go to the range and hit balls several times prior to my next lesson but there was nothing outlined about types of drills, clubs, etc. that I should focus on.

Sorry, for the diatribe but I'd like to hear how others felt about there golf lessons and see if I should continue taking lessons or if I'd just be in for a world of disappointment.

Not all professionals are great instructors. You can easily find another resident pro to show you the ropes, who may be more in-depth and descriptive when teaching. If you're like me, the "do this and don't do that" method does not go very far. I need hands on teaching. Grab my club with my hands on it, walk me through what I'm doing wrong and where the club should be, describe what my result is compared to the desired result, talk about the compared results and focus on one thing at a time.

This could have very well been a type of "what level are you at" test on his behalf as well though. Sort of like having a kid throw a football and gauging where he is at before you work on mechanics.

I just posted my own thread regarding lessons as well. I think if you have any doubts you should find another instructor though. Be weary of the pros that will have you buy a bucket, hit half of them and show you what to do and show little patience when their swing is not replicated within 20 shots. These guys are all over the place.

[iPutt]

I think that the main aspect for a golf instructor is for him/her to be someone you can fully trust what they're saying and someone you can be able to voice your concerns to. I think your best bet would be to tell him exactly all of this. Tell him that you feel like you're going too fast and that you need more guidance as you're a brand new golfer. If he seems unhappy with this or refuses to really go in the direction you want, I would just find someone else. There is absolutely no point in working with someone you don't have full confidence in. There's so many great instructors out there and some aren't right for everyone. Don't worry, in no time you'll find the right person and be on your way to the 70's. Hope this helped!

[MiniBlueDragon]

The other question to ask yourself is whether there is a particular swing you aspire to. Your instructor could be letting you groove your own swing to begin with to then tweak it as needed rather than building your swing from the ground up. As an example maybe he's ignored grip because your grip is "ok" for now and can be tweaked later if you have trouble squaring the face etc. The other possibility is that he just wants your cash and you're better off finding someone who comes recommended rather than the local guy.

[bluecollar01]

Thanks for the feedback thus far.  I understand them trying to "gauge" where I am at and truthfully I'm not as bad as I thought I would be and the lessons did help.  To iPutt's point I guess I'm just not confident in the guy or with my "natural" swing.  I really didn't feel like the instructor was going so fast that I couldn't comprehend as much as I felt like I jumped into the deep end of the pool without being shown what to do.  This particularly annoyed me as it pertains to grip.  I have a weak as opposed to a neutral or strong grip pronation.  Is my grip contributing to my slice?  Do I need larger grips?

To me that should have been one of the first items I learned or was evaluated but maybe I'm too OCD and read too many "how to books".

Thank you in advance for any additional comments!

P.S. - I'd love to hear about any of your experiences as they regard to lessons.

[djackson89]

I've got my first golf lesson next Monday with one of the CPGA pros at my local course, I've seen him play and he's got a very good swing, and he's a really nice guy. I get along with him great and I think he's the kind of guy I can say "this is what I'm having problems with" and he can show me some drills to help that. He'll also ask me to swing and say you're doing this instead of this I'd assume. That just kind of comes hand in hand with golf lessons doesnt it?

[bluecollar01]

In my case, the PGA instructor was a very nice guy who played in college and I felt comfortable with him on a personal level.  I just didn't care for his teaching style which was a very open and casual type of environment.  I could ask questions and he'd answer them.  I think I was just disappointed because I was expecting him to show me how I was suppose to stand, grip, swing, etc. and it was more of let's tweak what you already do.  If I had been playing for a while I'd probably have been okay with that but because I'm brand new to the sport I felt a little cheated.

As others have said though, there are lots of different instructors and some are better than others.  Best of luck on your lessons and keep us posted on how they turn out!

[BuckeyeNut]

I've never taken a lesson............................not during my lifetime.

[darkhunter139]

I have taken a few at golf galaxy and have another scheduled in a few weeks.  So far my experience with lessons have been great! After just 3 lessons I noticed an amazing improvement.  I like how golf galaxy videos the whole lesson so you can watch it over and over again.  The pro at the one near me is great and only gives me a few things to work on each time, I don't schedule a new one until I feel like I really got what we worked on before down.

My lessons also feel very personalized and not "straight from the book" like you described.

[bluecollar01]

Quote:

I have taken a few at golf galaxy and have another scheduled in a few weeks.  So far my experience with lessons have been great! After just 3 lessons I noticed an amazing improvement.  I like how golf galaxy videos the whole lesson so you can watch it over and over again.  The pro at the one near me is great and only gives me a few things to work on each time, I don't schedule a new one until I feel like I really got what we worked on before down.

My lessons also feel very personalized and not "straight from the book" like you described.

I didn't know Golf Galaxy provided lessons, and with video analysis no less.  I'll have to check it out.

What kind of swing improvements did you see?

Thanks for the feedback!

[darkhunter139]

Originally Posted by bluecollar01

Quote:

I didn't know Golf Galaxy provided lessons, and with video analysis no less.  I'll have to check it out.

What kind of swing improvements did you see?

Thanks for the feedback!

If you give me your email address I will send you the videos of my lessons so you can see my improvement.  Just PM me if you want to see them.

Basically on my first lesson my swing was terrible, my lower body had way to much movement going on so he gave me some drills and I practiced that for a few weeks.

Second lesson my back swing was coming back way to far and I was bending my left arm a bit, I did not even notice I was doing this so the video helped a ton.

By the third lesson I had all this corrected and notice a huge improvement in my ball striking.  I use to shank the ball a lot and was lucky if I hit one green in regulation when I played.  I hit 5 greens in regulation the other day and got close on a lot more, my short game is what is killing me now but I plan on getting short game lessons next.  My iron play has improved tremendously.

[Double Bogey]

Taking lessons at a big box store or sales establishment has one huge issue… turnover.  A few years back I took a few lessons at a PGA TOUR Superstore.  They were videoed and quite helpful.  The pro would use different “devices” or props to get me into the correct position at setup, then at full back swing, then at impact, and finally follow through.  That was quite helpful for me because it was on video and I could actually see what I was doing.  He would split screen it as well so I could see my swing vs the “device and prop” swing.  Again, video is a huge help.  Needless to say my pro left and was no long available to take lessons from.

Fast forward 3 years or so.  I started taking lessons from the assistant pro at my club.  While he is totally different in style (no video, no props) things did get better for me.  He has a style much like the OP pro does.  “here swing your 6I and lets see how you look.”  He did ask me though if I wanted a “total tear down” or a modification to my current swing.  As a full time worker and family man I do not have the time for a total rebuild so I chose the modification.  He left my grip alone which is pretty neutral anyways, and mainly worked on stance and plane.  After the hour I was crushing it and 95% were a great ball flight.

It just goes to show you that two different styles can get the job done, but trust and communication is where it is at.  So talk to your pro.  Remember you are paying him good money to do what you need done.  If his style or comments are not what you are looking for look elsewhere.  There are plenty of good instructors just look for recommendations.  Maybe even ask your pro.  Tell him you are looking for someone who has a different teaching style.  IMO the pro can do nothing but respect you for that (although he might be a bit pissed he lost your cash). :)

[parbreaker]

I think D Bogey touched on part of the core issue. "rebuild or modification" When an instructor gets a new student, they won't initially know how dedicated the person is. I would venture to say most people that come in for a lesson want something to fix something that has happened recently. They aren't going to spend the time to correct a myriad of issues. If a person like that comes in and the pro shows them a different grip, setup, alignment, etc. it could have a negative effect on their swing initially until they get comfortable with the changes. What will a casual golfer looking for a quick fix do? He will discredit the pro and go back to what he did originally. In contrast, if the pro can find a couple of things to tweak in their swing to help out a little bit, it will have an initially positive reaction, help the player build confidence in the pro, and help the relationship. If the player keeps coming back and shows the determination to really change their swing, then the pro can start getting into fundamental changes in grip, ball position, alignment, stance, posture, etc.

That said, there are many styles, and not everyone's style will mesh together. As others have said, it is important to find an instructor that you feel comfortable with and understand well.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by bluecollar01

Sorry, for the diatribe but I'd like to hear how others felt about their golf lessons and see if I should continue taking lessons or if I'd just be in for a world of disappointment.

I think you made the mistake of not sitting down with the instructor for 15 mins prior to agreeing to have lessons with him to discuss his theory on the golf swing and how he teaches it. In those 15 mins you would have found out for free what you've found out for a price.

I always spend 15 mins or so with my students prior to starting lessons with them so they know what they'll be getting. In this way, we avoid any misunderstandings further down the road.

Finally, don't start the lesson rattling off everything you think you are doing wrong or have been told you are doing wrong by another instructor or friend. Simply explain why you want lessons (e.g. not satisfied with how you are hitting the ball, want to get down to a 10 handicap by the end of the year etc.) and let the instructor draw his own conclusions by seeing you hit 8-10 golf balls. If he's worth his weight in gold, he'll be able to see you are having problems squaring the clubface or hitting the ball too high. Then you have to trust him to teach you how to make the necessary change(s).

[bluecollar01]

Thank you to everyone for the feedback.  I think all the suggestions have been sound.  My personal thoughts are that being completely new to the game, meaning never having played or even watched golf on television, I didn't know what what I needed or even how things (swing, lessons, equipment, etc.) worked.  Darkhunter139 was gracious enough to share his video lessons with me and I think I may try that next.

I also wanted to be clear that I did learn things from my lessons - I can hit a PW much more accurate than my buddies who have been playing for 10+ years.  Why that hasn't translated to my other clubs I'm not sure.  As others have mentioned I think his style just wasn't right for me.

Someone mentioned a swing rebuild or a modification.  Since I had only ever been to the range one time I guess I was expecting a blue print for how I should swing and drills to practice.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

[GaijinGolfer]

I took lessons for the first time this spring and was really happy with them.  Now I know what I should be doing and I know how to self-diagnose and fix my own swing.

I didnt much care for the instructor's teaching style though and am searching for a pro who I like better.  The teacher was fine he just didnt do a very good job of explaning and seemed to be spending a fair amount of time daydreaming.  To be fair, it was a group lessons with a group of about 20 people and it was only a 30 minute lessons, so maybe Im expecting too much from him.

This winter Im going to try lessons at the local Golf Galaxy.  Ive heard good things about them.

[Topper]

Originally Posted by Spyder

Not all professionals are great instructors. You can easily find another resident pro to show you the ropes, who may be more in-depth and descriptive when teaching.

+1

Lot's of truth in Spyder's statement.  You need an instructor that you "connect" with and who has good teaching skills.

[Doctorfro]

I am a big proponent of instruction.  I believe if more players got quality instruction, the pace of play would be such that we wouldn't need a "tee it forward" initiative.  But the key is quality.  I've gotten instruction from four guys in my lifetime and the last one was far and away the best.  Emphasizing sound fundamentals and using video feedback, my instructor has raised my level of play immensely.  When I get a lesson, he does not bombard me with too many adjustments, even if I have multiple things going wrong.  He tries to keep it simple.  I have been playing fairly well lately but I still went to see him for a "tune up" the other day and with a couple small swing thoughts, he's got me puring the ball like never before!  The key is finding someone.  You can do research, you can ask around, you can go to an established golf school.....hard to say the best way to go about it.  My instructor actually has an emphasis on junior golfers as I found him to work with my son.  After the great results my son had I decided to work with him as well.  The great thing is I have learned so much about the golf swing, etc. that if I fall into bad habits, I can usually make an education correction to get back on track as well as help my son if he has problems as we share the same swing theories.  Don't give up on lessons.  Just find a good instructor.  Ask around.  Google around.  You can find someone.