Your experience with lessons.

[arturo28mx]

My own experience is that some instructors are really good and others are really bad (a very subjective opinion, I know)

Sometimes I think golf instructors have a conflict of interest: if they teach you too much too soon they are out of a job, so they teach you a little bit at a time to keep you as a student as long as possible. This is what I see at the range all the time. Maybe I'm being unfair, but this is my perception.

[TN94z]

My own experience is that some instructors are really good and others are really bad (a very subjective opinion, I know)

Sometimes I think golf instructors have a conflict of interest: if they teach you too much too soon they are out of a job, so they teach you a little bit at a time to keep you as a student as long as possible. This is what I see at the range all the time. Maybe I'm being unfair, but this is my perception.

Add that with the fact that many new golfers don't understand the difference between a good instructor or bad and it really makes for an bad situation.

That can go both ways too.  If they teach you too much too soon and have you completely confused, then you may not be able to make and headway and label them as a bad teacher.  With that being said, you are right,  The golf teacher industry would be so easy to get into and make some easy money from unknowing students.  It's really a shame

[Jakester23]

This thread has me nervous. My wife just got me a gift card for 3 lessons. I've never had a lesson before(always wondered who to go see). It snowed here yesterday and its safe to say my season is over. That being said when would it make sense for me to get my first lesson? I have a heated range close buy and a few simulators as well. Would it be better to get them during the off season (now)? Or wait until spring when I can go to a course afterwards?

[MS256]

Add that with the fact that many new golfers don't understand the difference between a good instructor or bad and it really makes for an bad situation.

That can go both ways too.  If they teach you too much too soon and have you completely confused, then you may not be able to make and headway and label them as a bad teacher.  With that being said, you are right,  The golf teacher industry would be so easy to get into and make some easy money from unknowing students.  It's really a shame

Golf students are hard to teach also. We play enough to be able to hit the ball fairly well with our crappy swings and then we don't like fixing those crappy swings because it feels so uncomfortable.

[Paiste]

Paragraphs please.

This isn't a grammar lesson.

[David in FL]

This isn't a grammar lesson.

True, but I don't think Artimas was trying to pick, as much as to help you convey your point.

Posts, especially longer ones such as yours, are much easier to read and digest when they're not simply presented as a "wall of text".

[Ernest Jones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paiste

This isn't a grammar lesson.

True, but I don't think Artimas was trying to pick, as much as to help you convey your point.

Posts, especially longer ones such as yours, are much easier to read and digest when they're not simply presented as a "wall of text".

Yep. I actually wrote a reply to Paiste that essentially said the same thing but deleted it because I didn't want it to come off as "piling on" but seeing as you've broken the ice...It's absolutely true and many a great post has gone unread due to the wall'o'text effect.

Spend an extra few seconds before hitting submit to tidy up your posts and make them more accessible and you'll get a lot more feedback and discussion.

[Paiste]

True, but I don't think Artimas was trying to pick, as much as to help you convey your point.

Posts, especially longer ones such as yours, are much easier to read and digest when they're not simply presented as a "wall of text".

Wow. I'm a Mechanical Engineer, thus, work with fellow Engineers and I thought that we were picky.

How's this.

Better?   ;)

[iacas]

Sometimes I think golf instructors have a conflict of interest: if they teach you too much too soon they are out of a job, so they teach you a little bit at a time to keep you as a student as long as possible. This is what I see at the range all the time. Maybe I'm being unfair, but this is my perception.

I don't think that's particularly true, not for a good instructor anyway.

I like to say that getting better is addicting, and there will ALWAYS be ways to improve a student's game, even if they've gone from not breaking 100 to scratch - they want to shoot 67, or win the city championship, or whatever.

I don't "slow play" any customers simply to drag things out. I won't share everything I know with a customer, either, but that's not the same thing - no customer could possibly deal with a two-hour speech on everything that's wrong with their golf swing and how they can fix it. That'd be a terrible way to teach, and so that's what I mean by all of that.

[Club Rat]

This thread has me nervous. My wife just got me a gift card for 3 lessons. I've never had a lesson before(always wondered who to go see). It snowed here yesterday and its safe to say my season is over. That being said when would it make sense for me to get my first lesson? I have a heated range close buy and a few simulators as well. Would it be better to get them during the off season (now)? Or wait until spring when I can go to a course afterwards?

Jakester, no need to be nervous. The thread is very young and some of the posts are negative towards personnel experiences.

Thoughts for you on using your gift card.

It is the end of your season, this is a great time to sit back and make a list of your thoughts on working on your improvements.

Wait until next season to use the gift card.

When you do decide to use the gift card, talk with a Pro first about your "list of improvements"

Lessons are best when a person has a specific goal and the instructor has had a period of time to generate their thoughts on addressing your situation.

Keep in mind, habits will only change over a period of time and commitment.

Keep your list and select 3 items which would need the most assistance by a Pro.

Many of your questions can be address here at TST.

Club Rat

[TN94z]

This thread has me nervous. My wife just got me a gift card for 3 lessons. I've never had a lesson before(always wondered who to go see). It snowed here yesterday and its safe to say my season is over. That being said when would it make sense for me to get my first lesson? I have a heated range close buy and a few simulators as well. Would it be better to get them during the off season (now)? Or wait until spring when I can go to a course afterwards?

Don't be nervous.  Lessons are a great thing and you should be excited!

Golf students are hard to teach also. We play enough to be able to hit the ball fairly well with our crappy swings and then we don't like fixing those crappy swings because it feels so uncomfortable.

Agreed.

I like to say that getting better is addicting, and there will ALWAYS be ways to improve a student's game, even if they've gone from not breaking 100 to scratch - they want to shoot 67, or win the city championship, or whatever.

I don't "slow play" any customers simply to drag things out. I won't share everything I know with a customer, either, but that's not the same thing - no customer could possibly deal with a two-hour speech on everything that's wrong with their golf swing and how they can fix it. That'd be a terrible way to teach, and so that's what I mean by all of that.

Very addicting!!

Yeah, it's hard enough just remembering the 3 or 4 things your teacher said.

[mvmac]

Add that with the fact that many new golfers don't understand the difference between a good instructor or bad and it really makes for an bad situation.

You can even add that a majority of golfers don't know the difference between a good instructor and a bad one.  Good instructors, unfortunately, are very rare in golf.  Good information and knowledge is out there, instructors just have to have the motivation to keep learning.  Unless you become a protege of a knowledgeable instructor there isn't anywhere you can go to learn how to teach golfers.  Heck, as an instructor there are really only a couple accreditations that are worth pursuing to advance your own knowledge.  5SK is one of them ;-)

[Meltdwhiskey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TN94z

Add that with the fact that many new golfers don't understand the difference between a good instructor or bad and it really makes for an bad situation.

You can even add that a majority of golfers don't know the difference between a good instructor and a bad one.

And I would add that this creates a barrier to getting lessons.  Even if you can tell the difference between good instruction and bad - it costs you the price of a lesson to find out.  Or maybe a few.

[TN94z]

And I would add that this creates a barrier to getting lessons.  Even if you can tell the difference between good instruction and bad - it costs you the price of a lesson to find out.  Or maybe a few.

Somewhat....    If you have access to sites like this, 5sk, or just reputable golfers in your area, then you can get pretty solid recommendations on teachers with no worries.  Having said that, clicking with your teacher is just something you're going to have to pay to find out.  Most of the times though, I would think you could still take positives away from a lesson even if you had some personality conflicts.

[virtuoso]

I blame the instructor as well..no such thing as a "bad student"..only teachers that bring across the info poorly

So this is another reason why I'm doing this on my own now..

How ironic.

[Lihu]

My experience with lessons was not as good as yours. I was taught some things that I still find useful so it was not a complete waste of time, effort and money. More than likely, I fall into the category of "un-coachable".   To his credit, my instructor is the reason I have a basis for a good short game.

In my first lesson, I was shown the interlocking grip (which seemed awkward at first but I stayed with it until it started to feel normal) and I was given some drills to improve my flexibility. At the time i was very excited about learning golf the proper way. When we would meet for a lesson, he would have me hit balls into a net for the entire hour. He'd give me a few suggestions during the session like keeping my head still and not slide my hips back, and then later would email me what to work on like keeping my weight forward, finishing in balance - all good things to know.  But he was a very vague with some of my specific questions (swing path, swing plane, how far to bring my hands up on the backswing…).

Ok, so things were going at a slow pace but I figured he had a reason for this. I would practice like a madman but was guessing on most of it. Again, most lessons consisted of me hitting balls into a net. For what was being taught, I thought my swing must have been perfect (jk).

Anyway, on the last lesson, my swing was horrible. I was shanking, topping, hitting the ball off the toe, you name it. He didn't really give me anything as a suggestion. During that hour, he spent a lot of time bullshitting with some of the guys who were practicing at the range and talking on his phone. So that was that.

No one is "un-coachable", even me.

If he was too vague with answers to your questions, were your questions very specific? If you list those questions here, I am sure someone knowledgeable could answer them. Or break them down to manageable ones.

I also worked very hard practicing like a "madman". The only thing I retained from that is the ability to easily hit 400 balls a day, and I lost around 20 pounds

Okay, he was on the cell and BS with other golfers.

I had a coach like that, the keyword is "had".

[JonMA1]

No one is "un-coachable", even me.

What I meant about being un-coachable is this - I now possess many times more knowledge than I did at the beginning of last year, yet I cannot easily translate what I know (or think I know) to physically performing that action or correcting the fault (inside to out swing or weight forward concepts for example). My mind tells me I'm doing one thing, but my divot and ball flight say otherwise. Also, my inconsistency is over the top. As an instructor, maybe he realized this particular "project" was only going to get so far... I don't know. In any event, an instructor can only do so much.

If he was too vague with answers to your questions, were your questions very specific? If you list those questions here, I am sure someone knowledgeable could answer them. Or break them down to manageable ones.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on three of the four lessons. I remember thinking I was lucky to be learning all these drills and tips from a pro. If some of his answers were vague it might have been due to my lack of understanding. Or maybe he felt that the questions were too specific and I needed to concentrate more on the big moves.

However, there are two things that stand out as being not so good. One, of course, was the last session which I've already described - there was no gray area there. The second thing came several months after that. I had videotaped my swing from down the line and immediately noticed an OTT move. I honestly believe the flaw had been present during my lessons. If a novice like me can tell, why wasn't that addressed during my lessons? I just feel instead of me whacking golf balls for the majority of the hour, he could have broken down some of the elements and had me work on those areas a bit more during the time we were face to face.

In regards to asking questions to the forum, I try to be very careful not to take advantage of a good thing. I enjoy participating in conversation where my questions or comments may benefit others or at least be of interest. Hell, I just like talking golf. But I don't want to use this forum as a means of free instruction. There is so much good information here just from reading posts. Questions such as "should I tuck in my right elbow" or "how do I know if my angle of attack is correct" have already been answered.

I also worked very hard practicing like a "madman". The only thing I retained from that is the ability to easily hit 400 balls a day, and I lost around 20 pounds

Losing 20 lbs is not a bad benefit from something as enjoyable as hitting golf balls. Thanks for your suggestions Lihu.

[Lihu]

What I meant about being un-coachable is this - I now possess many times more knowledge than I did at the beginning of last year, yet I cannot easily translate what I know (or think I know) to physically performing that action or correcting the fault (inside to out swing or weight forward concepts for example). My mind tells me I'm doing one thing, but my divot and ball flight say otherwise. Also, my inconsistency is over the top. As an instructor, maybe he realized this particular "project" was only going to get so far... I don't know. In any event, an instructor can only do so much.

A good coach will be able to give you a drill that will eliminate any (mis)perception issues.