Lessons

[BMFOGC]

I am doing my first lesson on Thursday. What do you think are realistic expectations for what I should expect as far as improvement. I played my first round in ten years about a month ago.

[wadesworld]

No real way to answer it.  Many people see improvement during a lesson, but then fall back into bad habits afterwards.  Others hit the ball terribly during the lesson because everything feels new, but stick with it and see improvement later.

Go into it with an open mind.  Let the pro determine what changes will have the most impact.

[RoyHotPower]

I was in your shoes 2 months ago.  I pretty much ditto what wadesworld states.  What I would add though from my experience is this:

• Definitely listen to your pro. If you don't understand, ask or repeat the move until you do.
• If he gives you a drill - do it like the karate kid.  Remember, there is no negative or positive feedback from a drill like there is in hitting a ball. Once that nugget of wisdom sunk in I was doing a drill as often a I could - and it made all the difference in the world for me.

[Bradbar]

I had my first lesson about 4 weeks ago and it was a strange experience for me.  I have not been playing gof very long and basically had no previous instruction at all, just watched a few you tube videos.  I was doing what I thought was preety decent at the range and was confident in my progress until I had the lesson. I was hitting them decently untill he started instructing.  After him giving me some pointers and working with me for the 40 minutes i couldnt hit a damn thing!  I finished off the my bucket working on what we had gone over and I litterally didnt hit one clean shot.  I went home somewhat pissed and felt cheated but figured he was the pro and I should atleast give him the benfit of the doubt that he really knew his stuff.  Over the next week, I worked on the drills he gave me to do and really focused on fixing the things I was doing wronge and it worked wonders.  Just after one lesson and a week of practicing my swing had a 100% improvement.  Moral of the story is if your anything like me you will get worse before you get better.

[Divotmaker77]

Take it from someone who has spent too much time and money on lessons.

1. Try out several pros or talk to alot of people and find out who they like.  Determine if you are a feel type of person or are you analytical in nature.  Some pros teach by feel and others really like to get technical about mechanics which to some people only confuse them and do not help them get any better.

2. Once you find a pro you like, from my experience, if they do not get your swing on video and help explain to you what you are doing wrong and show you what you need to be doing then find someone else.  I went to 3 different instructors who felt video was a waste of time and mirror work was the only way to go.  The technology is changing the game and if your pro does not want to use it find someone who does. It changed the way I viewed my golf swing and helped me understand what I was doing wrong.

3. Start simple.  If your pro is showing you all kinds of drills and trying to fix too many things at once, drop him or tell him he is moving too fast for you.

4. Goes back to #3, work on one thing at a time!  I cannot stress this enough. If your main issue is your swing path is going over-the-top then work only on that for as long as it takes until you have fixed it.  Work with your pro on a few drills and concentrate only on those drills before doing anything else.  For me, I would only hit maybe 20 balls and spend the rest of the time practicing my swing drills without a ball while at the range.  You can go hit 100 balls at the range, get a good workout, yet hit 75% of them with bad form or you can take 100 practice swings with good mechanics and hit 20 balls with good mechanics and end up practicing much smarter.

It takes thousands of swings to fix a major swing flaw.  Take your time, listen to your pro, and make sure to go back to him at least once every few weeks (if for only 15 minutes) to let him see what you are doing.  If you really want to get better, you have to practice ALOT, spend time and money on lessons, and be smart about it.  Buying the latest and greatest clubs, etc. will not make you better.

I am guilty which is why I try and help others not make the same mistake.  You take a lesson, hit well after, may hit well for a few days, do not touch a club for a few days, go out and go right back to your old habits and wonder why you are not playing well.  It really takes a lot of committment to become a good player.  Most people do not get much better because they cannot or will not put in the time to do it.  Again, work on one problem at a time and remember you may get worst before you get better but if you stick with it it will eventually become second nature which is what you want.  All good players do things they do not even realize which is why they are good.  Thinking about your problems or mechanics all of the time will never help you play better.

[BMFOGC]

Thanks for the responses. I am very open to what he has to offer and looking forwaward to learning the right way to swing my clubs.

[Flav]

Same boat here. Have been using a "coach" for about a year with three to four rounds in between lessons. I would say if he/she will allow it video tape the lesson and that way you can repeat what your taught that day. Also make sure he/she gives you a drill or two to help ingrain what it is your working on. The Pro I use lets me tape my session and its helps to have a week after.