1st Post: Question about lessons

[marrsh28]

I'm a 32 year old 12 handicap golfer and haven't ever taken a lesson.  Recently, I decided that maybe lessons would make me a better golfer and  bought a package from a reputable local pro.  After buying this package, I'm completely frustrated.  I have a VERY steep swing but its always worked for me and I'd say one of my stronger traits is iron play.  During my lessons, the pro identified this as my number one fault and tried to get me to "flatten" my swing out.  The results have been disastrous.  I can't hit any club worth anything and can't really even go on a course right now.  I'm completely mixed up.  What should I do?  Continue with the lessons?  My thought is I should give the lessons up and just try to get on the course more.

Any thoughts?

[mchepp]

Sounds like a tough situation. From my experience golf has levels. Meaning that with your current swing by working on your short game more you can probably shave a few strokes but you may have reached the peak that this swing you are using is going to get you too. This pro may feel that to get to the "next level" you need to make some changes. Any time you make such a major change such as the one the pro is asking you to make you may step back a bit because it feels so different. Your body is doing something very different. So you need to be patient. You should not judge this pro based on a single lesson.

Now someone on here is likely to bring up Bubba Watson and how he just played his way to his level but that is a pipe dream for 99.9% of us. And even at that, someone taught Bubba a pretty good grip, and likely a number of other key fundamentals. Bubba is an athletic person who likely could have played other sports at a high level if he had put the time in. Most of us don't qualify for that, and need some help in getting better.

My suggestion is for you to try one maybe two more lessons with this guy if you still feel like you are not getting better then move on. The thing I will also add if you have to really practice to get better. You must put in the time. If you are putting in the time and not seeing any result then you should look somewhere else. I suggest getting a camera and then trying some online lessons which are an easy way to get a pro who is very good.

[Double Bogey]

I have to agree with mchepp.  You decided you needed lessons for some reason, your words were, "to make you a better golfer."  I am guessing that flattening your swing will do just that.  If you wanted a lesson to improve your scores immediately a chipping or putting lesson might have been a better fit.

If your pro is reputable (as you stated) than I would have to assume that he will give you the information to make you a better golfer.  Again, assuming you do the work.

I am currently in your position.  I was scoring quite well (for me) over the past month or so (low 90s).  I wanted to improve my ball striking so I took a lesson.  The week following the lesson I was just awful... almost just plain embarrassed.    I went to the range and worked on what the pro told me to work on and things have started to come together.  Still not where I want to be, but getting better... my ball striking is better but scoring has not come together just yet as I am making yardage errors (although my putter has saved me).

All that to say... keep working on it, it will come.

[Motley01]

You are 32 years old, have a 12 handicap. You are already a very solid player. What are you expecting, to be an 8 handicap with lessons?

That is a very difficult thing to do, is once you get to about a 16 handicap, the harder it is to improve.

Not to mention the fact, when you take lessons, the pro will want you to make swing changes. Your play will suffer until you groove the new swing. (Tiger).

And you would also need to put in a huge amount of time for practice. Like hitting the range multiple times a week.

I say enjoy the golf right now, don't make it harder for yourself.

[Mr3Wiggle]

It gets worse before it gets better.  Sometimes you have to tear down to build up.  Did I forget any other cliches?

[Lost-Ball]

ive gone back and forth with this thought. ive always been a figure it out on my own type of guy. what normally works for everyone else doesnt work for me. im double jointed all over which causes me to be too loose. the more loose i get the worst i play. i dont go to the driving range. i hit the first tee and hit my driver dead straight and long 90% of the time. i used to bowl in bowling leagues and carried a 195 average and have shot a 299 and 300 and had a 750 series. not bad for only bowling for 2 years. i had people asking me for lessons cause i had a smooth form and all. ok now on to golf. im guessing im a bogey golfer even though really ive been shooting in the mid 80's with a all time low 78 2 weeks ago. just like bowling im always weeding out whats gonna work for me and what doesnt. what my body will naturally do and feel confortable with and what it wont. i wanna play from muscle memory not 20 swing thoughts in my head that feel ackward.

ive always been a sweeper/picker with great results. just recently ive started trying to take divots to see what thats like.i watched 20 something youtube videos on taking divots. i try them all and nothing works for me. so i clear all that our of my mind and figure it out on my own. within 20 mins i figured out what i need to do with my swing and wrist to have the right angle to attack the ball first then to take a light / medium divot. same thing with hitting draws and fades.

*disclaimer* taking lessons would overall make me a more rounded and better player but id probley have to change everything i do and go back to shooting in the high 90's to the dreaded low 100's. having a teach who isnt trying to make everyone have the same swing is key too i think. understanding everyones body or ablities is different and handling everyone is a indivilual manner. if i ever got lessons i dont want text book lessons. i want a unique swing and to have my own style and flavor. probley why i like Fred Couples so much. hes not worried about having the club in the perfect possition after the swing and point his left toe out 15 degress and this right ear 40 degress to the ground or whatever. just feel it and swing!

[Chief Broom]

To the OP:

You need to be having this conversation with your teaching pro.  In order for the pro to help you they need to know what's going on with your game and if what they have you doing isn't helping it's important that he (or she) knows this.  How the pro responds to this new challenge should dictate to you whether or not this is a pro you ought to be working with in the first place.

[rustyredcab]

You must buy in 100% or things will not work. If you and your Pro can not have a discussion about what you are trying to accomplish and if the Pro can not convince you that getting worse before getting better will be worth it, then change Pros.

[AmazingWhacker]

I took 8 lessons with 1 guy and improved not a bit.  I left his lessons feeling confused and frustrated and like I would always suck at golf - but I figured he could hit the ball pretty good so he must know what he's talking about.

Then I went to another guy and it was instantly different.  The things he said made sense to me and weren't cryptic like the last dude.  I struggled to make the changes he wanted but I felt confident the whole time that I was doing the right thing.  I took 6 lessons from him and started hitting it better than I had in my entire life (I am 38 - been playing on and off all my life but seriously for last 3 years).  And the improvements we made were lasting . .4 months later I am still hitting it great (for me) and now I want to go back so he can see the changes I grooved in and help me get to yet another level.

Now the first guy was a very reputable teacher . .and so was the second guy.  They had radically different approaches to teaching - one worked for me and one didn't.  Long story short - find a pro who teaches in a way that works for you.

[mchepp]

Yes, completely agree, everyone learns differently.

[MarkY]

Originally Posted by mchepp

Yes, completely agree, everyone learns differently.

Unfortunately, you have to spend money to find out if you and your teaching pro are a compatible fit. This is the biggest reason I'm hesitant to take lessons. I don't feel like gambling with two or three hundred $$$ worth of lessons.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by MarkY

Unfortunately, you have to spend money to find out if you and your teaching pro are a compatible fit. This is the biggest reason I'm hesitant to take lessons. I don't feel like gambling with two or three hundred $$$ worth of lessons.

Don't be afraid to 'interview' a number of golf instructors before reaching for your wallet. I have absolutely no problem if a potential student wants to sit down with me to discuss his concerns or even hit a few balls on the range talking about swing theories. If you think golf instruction in the US is slow to get with it, spare a thought for Spain. 99.9% of instructors teach the OBFL, moving off of the ball during the backswing, maintaining right knee flex, rotating trailing hand over lead hand at impact etc. Obviously, as everyone has been taught this way since they took up the game of golf I get some strange looks, but they usually disappear very quickly when I show them how to hit a draw without any need to rotate the clubface through impact.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by MarkY

Unfortunately, you have to spend money to find out if you and your teaching pro are a compatible fit. This is the biggest reason I'm hesitant to take lessons. I don't feel like gambling with two or three hundred $$$ worth of lessons.

To second what T_P said, interview a few instructors. http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/the_instructor_quiz_nine_questions_youve_gotta_ask - ask them some of those questions. Ask them to observe them giving a lesson with another student.

Some may say no to some of those things, but that doesn't mean they're bad. But some will say yes, and you'll have more information than you do now.

I "taught myself" for a long time, but before I chose an instructors years and years ago (before becoming one), I talked with him for 30 minutes or more.

[turbosdad]

As we use the word "pro", what are most referring to.  The first guy I took lessons from was the pro at a driving range and had spent the better part of his life trying to avoid getting a "real job".  The second was a kid that had played in college and worked for a golf store as their in store pro.  The third instructor was a single pro at a local golf course.  They have a very nice indoor facility.  Lastly is a pro that runs a complete golf school in two locations with at least 10 other "pros' working for him.

Anyway, my only way to relate is my experience in coaching hitting in baseball.  Never played a lick past high school, but I started coaching hitting as a way to make extra money.  I felt I owed it to kids so I studied everything I got my hands on, and in the end became quite good.  As I made the rounds and watched others coach young people to hit, I saw and heard terrible advice/intruction.  People seeking knowledge have a belief that the more they pay for it the better it is  Sounds like a fine assumption, but by no means 100%

so back to your post, one lesson is not a good judgement for the most part BUT if you did not have the communication with you pro and expect a "breakdown" then maybe one time is enough.  As others have said, ask and interview til you are satisfied.   If the pro doesnt have time for this then you dont need him.  A couple of thoughts,

MY best golf instructor was the lone guy at the golf club, very calming and explained the reasoning behind everything we were trying to accomplish.  I left him because he was absent minded and often forgot or double scheduled my time slot.

Secondly, as a hitting coach, the students make you.  I could probably improve anyone's swing, but no one can turn a Bill Gates into an Albert Pujols...

Good lucj

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by MarkY

Unfortunately, you have to spend money to find out if you and your teaching pro are a compatible fit. This is the biggest reason I'm hesitant to take lessons. I don't feel like gambling with two or three hundred $$$ worth of lessons.

One reason I like golf SCHOOLS over golf lessons is that at school, I have several people walking the line and offering working with me. The swing that are teaching is the same. The way they may communicate what they want you to do can differ. I had a hard time getting my trail shoulder to move down at a point in the swing. Lots of instructors worked on it with me until Scott (the least pedigreed instructor of the group) suggested I raise my lead shoulder. Since the two shoulders are connected, you cannot raise one without lowering the other. I learned to feel the correct move because six different instructors all worked to say it in a way that worked for me.

So, if you are afraid of not getting an instructor that is compatible for your $$$, I suggest you minimize the risk with an excellent school.