Indoor or outdoor lessons

[cooke119]

I am going to take lessons this year (2013) and I am trying to make up my mind as to where I should take them. It is winter here in New York so I can either wait until spring and take lessons outside or take them now indoors. The Golf store by me has a nice indoor facility with a launch monitor, screen, etc. Lessons cost $50 per half hour which for this area is a good price. Has anyone taken lessons at an indoor facility and if so what are your thoughts? Or should I wait to spring and take them at an outdoor range (which by the way costs a lot more)?

[Rfordeagle]

I don't think the question is indoor or outdoor...  The question should be with whom are you taking lessons?  I'm not saying all instruction is bad, but being very familiar with another sports instruction I would be very cautious with who you pick.  I'm sure a good instructor would have no problem teaching indoors.

[Dave2512]

The only thing that would matter to me would be whether they have video analysis and TrackMan or the like. Most of the work you put in will be in your free time, the range, hitting into nets at home swinging in front of mirrors and stuff like that.

[Effington]

Since lessons are fairly expensive and I am pretty financially driven, I go with indoor lessons.  Most teachers can easily identify swing flaws and help your game improve.

That being said, there is a lot of value in outdoor lessons.  If you hit off of a mat indoors, if you hit behind the ball, your club will slide into the ball and give you fairly good contact.  You do that on grass and you just took a huge chunk out of the ground and hit the ball terribly.  Also, playing off of different lies is a huge thing that indoor facilities don't often replicate.

Additionally, the indoor weather factor is a big plus.  The cold, wind, etc., effect both your swing and the way the ball moves.

[cooke119]

Thanks for your input. I think I'll go for the indoor lessons to get my swing straightened out. As far as the instructure goes, he seems like a good guy, easy to talk with. I was trying a bunch of different irons and he was giving me tips and pointing out swing flaws as I tried different clubs. One thing I liked was there was no hard sell on the irons, in fact he told me my G15s with graphite shafts were the correct club for me, that there was no reason to switch out irons at this stage in my progression. I guess you never know about the instructure until you actually take a lesson or two, we'll.