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Should I get Lessons or not?

sebsmash

By sebsmash,
in Instruction and Playing Tips

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sebsmash Well Established Member

sebsmash

Hey everyone,

For those of you that don't I have recently picked up golf again after a five year break, I outgrew my clubs and stopped.

Now I have started playing again and I love it!

I shot a 31 on the local par 3 nine hole course yesterday, it just made me glow when I was able to get the ball from the tee straight to the green.

Should I pay the money for lessons?

I think it would be a good idea to make sure that I am learning the right things, right now I am just learning from youtube.

Would I be better served to post a swing video on here and spend the money on range balls?

I plan on doing a youth summer program, as I am just able to make the age cutoff and will take lessons then, but that is a long time to develop bad habits.

If I was to get lessons how should I go about finding an instructor?

Right now the most readily available instructors are the pros at the local driving range.

If anyone knows of any good instructors around Thousand Oaks California please let me know.

Thanks,

Sebastian


EverythingGolf Dedicated Member

EverythingGolf

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a few, It would definitely help. When I started out I had a bad slice and decided to get some and Im glad I did.

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"Golf is not a game of great shots. It's a game of the most accurate misses.

The people who win make the smallest mistakes." - Gene Littler

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WUTiger Incredible Member

WUTiger

You might get a tune-up lesson. Since you're swinging mainly shorter length shafts on the par 3 course, you might have swing problems which would show up when hitting woods.

Find a good instructor? You could ask a local high school or college coach for advice on this.

Focus, connect and follow through!

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sebsmash Well Established Member

sebsmash

  • Author

Ok,

I think I will see how I do on the course this weekend and then decide.


rustyredcab Great Member

rustyredcab

YES!

IMO, the cost of not getting lessons is the time and energy you will spend trying to un-learn all the little habits you will create by "seeing how you do." I am a big fan of a swing model so that you can always go back to your intended model and see what you need to work on. Find a teacher that will teach you toward a consistent model you a model.

My Mom always says, the best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago. The second best time is today. (I'm sure she borrowed that from someone.)

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AmazingWhacker Great Member

AmazingWhacker

My vote is yes - you should get some lessons.

I used to play a bit as a kid but decided to seriously take up the game about 3 years ago at age 35.  I spent the first year watching golf videos and hitting the range on a pretty regular basis.  For me, that was just a huge waste of time.  I did not correctly interpret what the (various) videos were telling me and I 'grooved in' some seriously wrong stuff.

After a year and a half, I 'gave up' and took about 6 lessons with a local pro.  All we really accomplished in those 6 lessons is 'unlearning' bad habits and I sort of left with nothing, if that makes any sense.  Some large life events happened (new baby, moved to another state) so a year went by with little or no golf.

Flash forward to now I am taking some group lessons and for the first time feel like I am learning new things (vs unlearning) and making real progress.  If I had just taken lessons in the first place I would be way ahead of where I am right now.

I am not athletically gifted so other people might do better at teaching themselves but, for me, it was a really bad idea and just caused dozens or hundreds of hours of suffering on the driving range.


sebsmash Well Established Member

sebsmash

  • Author

Ok,

I am going to try the full course today, depending on how I do I will look up lessons.

I think if I do ok it will be best to hold off until the summer when I can get discount lessons through the summer program at the course.

Then again, I can develop a lot of bad habits by summer.

Thanks for all your input and if I can I will get some lessons before then. The only problem is that for the cost of one lesson I can get 3 twilight rounds of golf.

Thank you all,

Sebastian


Mr. Desmond Super Member

Mr. Desmond

Don't bang balls -- take lessons.

Finding an instructor -- ugh -- ask one of the guys here for a referral.

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sebsmash Well Established Member

sebsmash

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Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Finding an instructor -- ugh -- ask one of the guys here for a referral.


I was hoping someone would come on here and post a suggestion.


Mr. Desmond Super Member

Mr. Desmond



Originally Posted by sebsmash

I was hoping someone would come on here and post a suggestion.



You are in S. California -- Mike (mvmac) is on this forum and he is near San Diego.

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

You are in S. California -- Mike (mvmac) is on this forum and he is near San Diego.

Yup. There's your suggestion.

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sean_miller Incredible Member

sean_miller



Originally Posted by sebsmash

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Finding an instructor -- ugh -- ask one of the guys here for a referral.

I was hoping someone would come on here and post a suggestion.


I suggest starting a "my swing" thread just for kicks if nothing else.

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sebsmash Well Established Member

sebsmash

  • Author

Well, judging by my successful drives (not!) on the golf course yesterday I scheduled a lesson for today.

I will get a swing video up soon, hopefully a few lessons will keep my drives on the course, I am ok with my irons but I can't hit a straight drive to save my life.

Lesson today, I will report back any successes.


sebsmash Well Established Member

sebsmash

  • Author

Ok, so I had my first lesson yesterday.

He changed my grip and taught me to slide my hips on wedge shots and his seemed to help my slice some with my driver.

We didn't work with the driver too much but the small corrections that he made really helped me.

I will have to get a video uploaded on here so that I can get more opinions about what to work on.

On the few that I hit well, I realized how GOOD it feels to hit the ball long and straight.


applejr Established Member

applejr

Ok, so I had my first lesson yesterday.

He changed my grip and taught me to slide my hips on wedge shots and his seemed to help my slice some with my driver.

We didn't work with the driver too much but the small corrections that he made really helped me.

I will have to get a video uploaded on here so that I can get more opinions about what to work on.

On the few that I hit well, I realized how GOOD it feels to hit the ball long and straight.

That's the feeling that keeps all us hackers playing.

In my Bag (work in progress):

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Putter: Odyssey White Hot Tour Putter or a Cleveland Classic Anser-Style

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The_Pharaoh Great Member

The_Pharaoh



Originally Posted by sebsmash

Ok, so I had my first lesson yesterday.



A very wise move.

You'll find your practice sessions are way more motivating and worthwhile now.

"Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." – Winston Churchill


Jmdmbike Great Member

Jmdmbike

Glad to see you decided on lessons. Best thing to do to get the fundamentals down. This game is too hard to try and learn on your own.

In my Sun Mountain 14 Way Stand Bag:

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