Practice Before Lessons

[Joe92385]

Been a long time since I've posted here - I went through a pretty long golf hiatus due to work and family. Starting to get back into it since my new job is far more flexible, and now my swing is far more over the top than it once was.

I'm definitely going to take lessons, but dont have them scheduled yet (will be a fathers day gift). My question is, should I try to improve my swing / post a swing video on here BEFORE taking lessons, or might that make the instructors job more difficult? Should I try to make a swing change on my own, or just use the pre-lesson time to work on other parts of my game?

Im not worried about my effort being wasted (though that may be the case). I'm thinking that, at worst, I'll get used to making a swing that feels uncomfortable and maybe make it easier to accept changes.

Thanks in advance. 

Edited June 4, 2016 by Joe92385

[No Mulligans]

I think you should post a video.

Taking video is a great tool and there are some folks here that give good advice.  For me, the 5 simple keys have made it easy for me to find something to work on when I practice.

At the start of a warmup or a practice session I'll often go through the first three keys.

Key 1 - I'll take a few swings focusing on steady head

Key 2 - I'll then take a few focusing on weight forward

Key 3 - and then a few focusing on inline impact.

That sends me down a path for a good session.

So, by posting a video someone might identify one of these areas where you could use improvement and you can get a head start on your instruction.  These keys should line up with what an instructor would teach, they are a part of every tour pros golf swing.

 

[Joe92385]

That's exactly what I was hoping to hear! Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be causing more harm than good. I'll try to get a video tomorrow, hoping to hit the range early (since the high today is 108, ugh).

[Patch]

The only thing I would caution against it getting instruction from too many different sources. Confusion is not a good thing. 

[Rainmaker]

If I hadn't played golf in a long time but was going to be starting lessons soon, I'd definitely be going to the range  . . .a bit, maybe just a bucket a week or something.  Not really trying to work on anything - really just hitting balls . .so that when I got to the lesson, I wasn't doing too much of "no, that's not how I really do it's", lol.  Whatever it is I'm doing in my swing, I want to be able to do it faithfully in my lesson.

[nevets88]

Great suggestion by @No Mulligans. Never too early to get started on using video, figuring out the tech so that eventually, it doesn't get in your way, learning to get the angles right, switching between slow motion and regular speed, getting to know and analyzing your own swing and comparing it to others. Just knowing what it looks like before a lesson is very valuable and you're ahead of the curve of most people taking their first or lapsed lesson.

[Joe92385]

2 hours ago, Patch said:

The only thing I would caution against it getting instruction from too many different sources. Confusion is not a good thing. 

Good point, thanks. Absent contradictory advice from the instructor, I'm planning to pick out one (of probably many) issues and just focus on that for a while... Just like at work, seems more efficient to get one thing crossed off the list at a time. 

[WUTiger]

You want go through your basics as best you can a few days before the lesson.

Then, after you take the lesson, you need to set up a practice plan to reinforce what you learned.

One pro I know gives his students practice homework to do after Lesson #1. They have to e-mail him with a list of their practice and play accomplishments before they can take Lesson #2. He said he got tired of repeating Lesson #1 every six weeks for certain golfers.

[Joe92385]

As luck would have it, I'm going to be playing 18 tomorrow instead of just the range, despite the 102 degree heat. Luckily the guys I'm playing with are about my level, so I'll call it a practice round and still film my swing.

[dennyjones]

well?   How'd it go?  

 

 

[Joe92385]

The round was good for me lately (102), but after the first hole and a number of awful shots, I ended up just using my old swing. Had a few very good shots, but missed a lot of short putts. 

Definitely gotta get that lesson scheduled... and I forgot to film my swing, which I will hopefully do later this week. 

[Buckeyebowman]

1 hour ago, Joe92385 said:

The round was good for me lately (102), but after the first hole and a number of awful shots, I ended up just using my old swing. Had a few very good shots, but missed a lot of short putts. 

Definitely gotta get that lesson scheduled... and I forgot to film my swing, which I will hopefully do later this week. 

And that's exactly what I think you should do. Just go play! Then go to your instructor with the swing you have, and let him (or her) take you from there. You're swinging the way you swing now. If you try to introduce new elements into your swing and then go to a teacher who may have other ideas entirely, well, how many swing thoughts do you want piled one atop the other? This goes direct to Patch's point.

And I also like WUTiger's suggestion about setting up practice sessions on your own to reinforce what you learn at your lessons.

[Joe92385]

Squeezed in 9 after work today. Didn't really try to change the swing, but kept a mental image of finishing with my belt buckle facing the target and ended with with a 45 on the front 9, which is on pace to shoot around where I used to.