Do you judge your instructor by your own progress

[GaryH]

Iacas has nailed it where he says

Once a week is fine IF:

1) Your real "lessons" are actually once every five to six weeks (or thereabouts)

2) Every other "lesson" is actually just supervised practice .

I recently read an article where a golfer said his instructor taught him the takeaway over and over for the first 10 lessons.  He wouldn't let him move on until he'd got it right because the ensuing chain reaction from a faulty takeaway would mess up his swing rendering the whole exercise pointless.  I was mightily impressed.  The golfer is now scratch.

So in a nutshell, if taking one lesson a week is causing a problem, then this is because the instructor is not impressing on you the futility of moving on until you are ready.

[newtogolf]

If you were a 20 handicap before the lessons then you're not only trying to learn what your new instructor is telling you, but also possibly unlearning what you did in your old swing.  I've been taking lessons since March of this year.  My new instructor told me to get to the level I told him I desired he'd need to start from scratch as I developed too many bad habits.  As Erik (Iacas) stated, weekly mini lessons combined with major lessons every 4-6 weeks seemed to work well for me.

It took a lot of practice to break some of my bad habits and until I demonstrated a level of proficiency from my last lesson we didn't progress to the next.  He was very fair and during the mini-lessons charged me less if at all to point out some suggestions and drills to re-inforce what he wanted me to do.

If you're not making progress after nine lessons it seems like either you and him aren't on the same page or you're not getting enough time to practice between lessons.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by GaryH

I recently read an article where a golfer said his instructor taught him the takeaway over and over for the first 10 lessons.  He wouldn't let him move on until he'd got it right because the ensuing chain reaction from a faulty takeaway would mess up his swing rendering the whole exercise pointless.  I was mightily impressed.  The golfer is now scratch.

Fantastic! That is the sort of instructor every golfer should have lessons from.

Since watching/studying the 5SK DVDs, I am now incorporating this technique into my teaching. I'd already realised I was guilty of trying to tackle too many pieces during a lesson but watching the DVDs really hit home. This afternoon I have my third lesson with a beginner and it will be the third lesson working on a steady head. I've already told her we cannot move on until we nail this piece. She can do it without a ball, she can do it chipping and pitching, but not with a full swing.

[AmazingWhacker]

I've taken lessons from 2 different pros.  One taught by feel and the other taught something very similar to The Golf Machine.  They were both good teachers and had won various regional awards for thier teaching abilities.  One guy confused the heck out of me and I barely improved at all in 8 lessons.  I felt like I would never "get it".  The other guy had me hitting it better than I ever have in just 4 lessons.

I don't think one was necessarily a better teacher than the other but one was a more effective teacher *for me*.  Which guy was better for me?  Believe it or not . .I am the kind of golfer who needs to be shown and told about positions.  The Golf Machine guy did it for me - the "Feel" guy confused the crap out of me.

Moral of the story is . . .go and go now.  Not because your teacher is bad but because he is not connecting with you.  $100 bucks is a lot to pay for no quantifiable improvement.  you should at least *feel* like you are making progress.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by AmazingWhacker

They were both good teachers and had won various regional awards for thier teaching abilities.

A lot of that is political and has little to nothing to do with "how good" the instructor really is.

[Mattplusness]

By my own progress as opposed to... someone else's progress?

Of course I would, if I had ever taken lessons.