DQOTD: When to Take Lessons to Revive Golf Game?

[Midpack]

I just started playing again after a 15+ year layoff, I was a steady 12-14 handicap, and I'd be satisfied if I can get back to that level of play. I've hit one bucket of balls and played one 9-hole practice round. Yesterday I played my first 18 hole round and shot to a 22 handicap, not surprising at all - could have been worse. As expected, I am terribly inconsistent. I bought new cheapo woods but I'm trying my old forged CB irons. I didn't hit my irons that badly, but my woods/metals were all over (most pushed, not sliced, way right, and when I consciously tried to turn my wrists over I hit a mild pull hook). I'd like to come up the learning curve quickly if possible. Should I:

1. go ahead an schedule an appt with the local pro (fearing I'll be so inconsistent the pro will have something different to say with almost every swing, which would just confuse me...)
2. play a few weeks hoping to get a little more consistent (prob bad), and then schedule with the local pro

I'd ask the pro, but I'd expect him/her to suggest I come in as often as possible.

[DaveP043]

If the pro you select is competent, he's not going to apply band-aid corrections to each of your (apparently different) bad swings.  He really should be looking at what you do consistently (even your varied poor swings will have common denominators), and try to identify the single thing for you to work on that will put you on the right path.  I'd suggest getting good instruction as soon as possible, develop good habits as quickly as possible, rather than practicing bad habits that you'll only have to break later.

[chilepepper]

The longer you wait the longer you have to ingrain bad habits

Edited May 11, 2017 by chilepepper

[TN94z]

I agree with the above. The worst thing you could do, in my high opinion, is continue practicing bad swing habits. I have had a specific swing flaw from the many years I played without instruction. Now I am paying the price by having so much difficulty getting rid of that swing flaw because I practiced and played with it for so long. A good pro will only speed up your journey back to the level of play you desire.

[rehmwa]

DQOTD..... Dairy Queen of the Day?

 

Mine was a Salted Caramel Truffle Blizzard

[David in FL]

3 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

DQOTD..... Dairy Queen of the Day?

 

Mine was a Salted Caramel Truffle Blizzard

Yeah, I have no idea either...  

[DaveP043]

I had to look it up, but I had all but the first word....Dumb Question of the Day

[Midpack]

25 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I had to look it up, but I had all but the first word....Dumb Question of the Day

Winner-winner!

[Buckeyebowman]

It's the pro's job to be consistent, you can handle all the inconsistency yourself. He should start simply with a review of grip, stance, alignment, and ball position. He should instruct you in the proper movements and let you know when you depart from them.

Mind you, he may take you through a process to get you where you need to be. He might not try to get you from A to Z in one fell swoop. And if you plateau at "T", and that's as good as you can be, he's done his job.

If you do get unlucky and find someone who's all over the map, run away screaming and never go back. Find somebody else!

[mvmac]

10 hours ago, Midpack said:

go ahead an schedule an appt with the local pro (fearing I'll be so inconsistent the pro will have something different to say with almost every swing, which would just confuse me...)

It's probably not as inconsistent as you think. Yes your results are probably all over the map but that doesn't mean the swing is changing all that much from shot to shot.

 

[Bucki1968]

I have always believed in checking to make sure your doing the basics right before you go see a professional (unless your fundamentals are bad to begin with). I used to be a pro and still hang out with a bunch of professionals and to a man they always say, "grip check, alignment check, and ball position check" are the first places they are going to look. So if you can check those and they are okay, then go see the pro if your still hitting it all over the place. Just my two cents..... 

[Midpack]

I had a lesson on Monday, money well spent! Everything she found was in my setup, easier to fix than swing mechanics. And my round yesterday was 8 strokes lower than the week before. At that rate I'll be on the tour in about 3 weeks. 

Of course the week before was my first 18-hole round in over 15 years, on a course I didn't remember at all - most likely a key factor too.

Onward and upward. Having a good time relearning golf, helps that I've enjoyed meeting and playing with everyone in the league so far.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Midpack

[JetFan1983]

On 5/11/2017 at 0:52 PM, Midpack said:

 I was a steady 12-14 handicap

Lmao. You realize that's an oxymoron right? 

Yea, get lessons. Five Simple Keys or someone who uses Trackman will help you out a lot. The idea with lessons is to make your swing functional. People don't realize how close they are to a functional golf swing. If a 12 handicap's range of scores is like 79 to 105, a good teacher can get you functioning towards the lower end of your scoring spectrum by making your swing more functional.

I hope what I'm saying makes sense. Struggling amateurs are doing something in their swing that is not making their swing functional: constant OB shots or something. It's shocking how simple the fix can be when hitting off a trackman/flight scope with a good instructor. Understand what you're doing wrong and you can calibrate your mind and feels to trend towards the functional. 

Seriously, hitting balls on the range and praying you figure it out on your own is a fool's errand. Especially in this day. It ain't 1998 anymore.