At what point does it become essential to lower scores via changes in swing mechanics?

[jsgolfer]

I didn't vote in the poll.  My response is similar to @JetFan1983, only change your swing if your not happy with the way your playing.  If you enjoy playing  If not, seek a good professional golf teacher to help you get to where you want to go.  It may not be a whole sale swing change, might be something else altogether?

[phillyk]

It's tough to answer.  I'll break it into 2 scenarios.  Take a 10yr old who wants to pick up a club and play golf.  On one hand, you'd want him to learn properly so that he starts out right and it'll be easier to get better.  On the other, you just want the kid to have fun, and learning properly might not be important until he's older and can work on stuff, but he might have already learned bad habits.  The second scenario is the 40yr old who wants to play golf.  Do you play golf to have fun or do you want to learn a good swing so that you might get better faster?  I'd say let a 10yr old have fun for a few years with the game, but the 40yr old would benefit more to start with some instruction to get going on a good path.  Although, it really comes down to your own goals.  Some people don't really care whether they are good or not, they just want to get out of the house.