Guidance Needed: Indoor vs Outdoor lessons

[YnotMcFly]

As a fairly new golfer I could really use some advice on whether or not I should change instructors.  I have taken 3 lessons in as many months and they have all been with a PGA pro at a local Golf Galaxy.  This is my first season golfing and I have been satisfied with my improvements up to now.  The lessons are taped and I like how they get emailed to me with a short list of recommendations as I can watch it on my phone while at the range.  However I cant help but think that I may be missing out on some benefits by simply hitting balls into a net.  Sometimes I feel like the best place to take a golf lesson would be out on a golf course, or somewhere that I can see my ball flight.  So for those of you who have experience with lessons, do you think that it would be more beneficial to find an instructor that takes my lesson out on to the course, or should I be confident that viewing my swing on the cameras will be enough to make the changes that I need?  I would really appreciate any and all suggestions/comments.

[UnderdogGolf]

I too am a fairly new golfer, taking lessons since about April.  My lessons are outside but they are typically on the range, practice green or short game area.  I've been told the most important thing to learn when you start out is the basic mechanics of every part of the game.  So whether its indoors, or outside, its really whatever you're most comfortable with.  When you get comfortable with the basic mechanics and your swing, then would be the time you want to start looking at playing lessons with a pro out on the course.

Do you live in an area of the country that has inclement weather in the winters?  One benefit of indoor lessons would be continuing them year round.  Hope this helps and keep with it!

[YnotMcFly]

I feel like I am at the point where I am fairly comfortable with my swing and ball striking abilities, the only exception being my driver.  I am thinking that I may be to the point where taking my lessons out to the course or range may be more advantageous.

I live in the Chicagoland area and sadly I will probably be shelving my clubs for a few months.

[iacas]

If you work with a competent instructor (a big if), I could make a case for learning indoors as being BETTER than learning outdoors. Outdoors you're worried about distance, ball flight, etc. while indoors the instructor can get you to make changes that will change your ball flight, without you worrying about the first 10 or 15 attempts.

To wit, when I'm working on a change, I might very well fat a few, thin a few, shank a few, or hit them half as far as I would normally do. I've learned not to give a rat's ass about the ball flight while I'm working on implementing the change. Students have a hard time doing that. With a competent instructor, he'll know where the ball flight will get to if you make the change, and you can get there sooner if you're not worried about where the ball's going (or how far).

[TourSpoon]

I have always preferred to see the actual ball flight when taking a lesson, but see how being indoors might help you make that swing change so that you are working on the change and not focused on results. Sooner or later you have to take it to the course so maybe your guy can meet you outside and get some practice hitting from some real grass. This combination may be the best of both worlds.

[newtogolf]

I always thought lessons outdoors where you can see ball flight, distance etc were better than indoor, but I'm reconsidering that position.  I agree with Erik that there's a benefit to just being focused on working on something without worrying about those things.  I was on the range today working on staying down on the ball as I'd noticed I was lifting up a bit on contact my last few rounds on the course.  I tried to maintain the focus on staying down but some of my ball strikes were fat and shanks and I was becoming self conscious that everyone was seeing me hitting these horrible shots.  I know I shouldn't care but it's easier said than done.

[kurisu]

As Erik says, if the instructor/you know that (and how) the change(s) you are making will make your ball flight better, then, practicing inside where you cannot focus on how the ball reacts to each of your reps is actually better IMHO, but it requires a good amount of restrain and discipline on the student's part :-)

I can vouch that on an open driving range, I actually start to get hung up on how my shots go rather than how I performed the drill/exercise. But when I just really "rate" myself on how I did the drill, (did I actually do what I was supposed to do? did I do it enough?, did I focus on that or did I screw up also trying something else, etc.) it gets "ingrained" faster.

[goblue107501]

It shouldn't really matter since it is about the swing and not the result from the instructor standpoint. However, as a student, it is a big help to be able to see a good result when you do it right. You get that feeling of 'okay I understand now, if I swing like this, that is what happens'. Depending on your personal knowledge of golf and your own abilities, that may be the only way to know when you get it right. Plus there is a sense of satisfaction when you can see the good results. I'm not saying you need to take lessons outside, just pointing out some benefits of it.

[robinoso]

I've taken a few lessons indoor and outdoor.  Personally, I prefer outdoor.  Like mentioned above, it's good every now and then to see what you have been doing pay off.  For me, there are times that my mind is the biggest opponent and when you hit a smooth baby draw when you mean to, it gets you going again up top.  Indoor was fine because there weren't as many outside distractions, but I prefer to see my shots good or bad.

So basically, if you are the kind of person who doesn't need to see results while working your lesson, I'd go indoor because of the better ability to focus with less distractions.  If you are like me and need results while you work and are visual about it, then I'd go outdoor.

[YnotMcFly]

Sometimes when I'm at the range I will hit a slump and it's times like these that I wish I had an instructor with me.  It is hard to explain after the fact what I was feeling and how I was hitting the ball.  I think it would be a great resource to have an instructor that could step in when I hit certain errant shots and tell me exactly what is happening within my swing that is creating the issues.  This direct feedback would be great to have so that when it happens in the future I will have a better idea of what is causing it and how to try and fix it.  That said, I think I might ask my current instructor if he is willing to take our lesson out on to the course or range.  If he agrees then I will have a good idea as to where I will want to continue in the future.  Thanks for all of the comments thus far and all of the great points you brought to my attention.