Scheduled my first lesson!

[GangGreen]

One of my goals this year was to finally get some real lessons. Signed up for my first lesson this upcoming Saturday and I cannot wait. I'm a little concerned that given the spotty weather I won't be able to practice much soon after this first lesson but the forecast is for high 50's this weekend and I'm just dying to swing a club and get the season started so I figured why not get a head start. I'll likely sign up for a block of lessons so I'm also guessing this first one will be geared more toward evaluating where my swing is now. Hopefully mother nature cooperates and we see an end to this horrific winter sooner rather than later.

[mvmac]

Good luck, hope it goes well. Keep us updated.

[rustyredcab]

Hope it went great for you.

Go 100% all in. Take the advise and buy in all the way. No holding on to a little of this or that from your old swing. I have watched guys at golf school try and do "most" of what they are being told. 100% or it will not work.

If you find you will not trust your pro 100%, find a new pro.

[GangGreen]

Had my lesson this past Saturday and, in a word, it was AWESOME! My only regret was that I hadn't done it sooner. Great guy and I really liked the way the instructor used video to reinforce and slowly build on the drills throughout the session. Each of the drills seemed to follow a progression based on what was observed on tape both at the begining and during the lesson itself. The focus on this first session (I definitely will be going back for more lessons this season) was on slowly getting me comfortable with a more inside-to-out swing and better release through impact. The first drill was fairly basic and involved me taking 1/2 swings with an 8i with my right foot back. After hitting a few balls we then spent a few minutes looking at more video and discussing the differences between my "stock" swing and how it looked (and should look) as I performed that drill. "Good" swings were highlighted while "flawed" attempts were discussed but not belabored. The next round of drills still involved half swings with my right foot back but the instructor placed a large cardboard box along my swing path turned so as to further reinforce the inside-to-out path during my backswing and downswing (happy to report the box was still in one piece afterwards). 10-15 minutes of this drill with ongoing feedback then some more video review;/discussion. The next progression is a little hard to describe. Still right foot back with my friend the cardboard box, but a styrofoam noodle on a stand was added off my right should (elevated and parrallel to the ground) to further "force" the inside path only higher on the swing plane (if that makes sense). In addition to the club path itself, he wanted me to think about how my body rotation affected my swing plane. My "normal" swing is very armsy and steep with little back/shoulder rotation making it difficult to stay on plane when I initiate my downswing (this was very obvious to me when we reviewed the 2 swings on tape afterwards). Last part of the session focused on my club release at impact. The set-up was the same (foot back, box, and noodle) but he wanted me really exagerate turning over my wrists/hands through impact. Apparantly I "scoop" the ball at impact which, if I understand correctly, contributes to me leaving the face open and a loss of power. To exaggerate this feeling, he wanted me to see if I could (using half swings at first) hook the ball. Honestlhy, getting the release down was the hardest part of the session for me. I could do it very comfortably during my practice swings, but struggled with the ball there (just felt tentative, like if I turn my wrists/hands over the way I'm suppose to I know I'm going to miss it). Going to really need to work on that piece of it. Anyway, long way of saying I had a great time and can't wait until my next lesson. In the interim, I've purchased some alignment sticks to try to replicate the lesson as much as possible during my range sessions. I was always a bit of a range rat (I love hitting balls) but it's just so much better having stuff to specifically work on now. The last thing I'd add is how much being on this forum helped me understand what the instructor was trying to teach me even before I got out there. Things like flight path laws, etc. were totally foreign to me before but made it so much easier for me to grasp the lesson concepts.

[MPtheKid]

Great decision on getting a lesson. Best move I ever made was beginning to work with a pro on my swing. You will be amazed at the difference it makes. Congrats and good luck!