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Impact of lessons....


bones75
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So I know there are other threads on a similar topic, but I just wanted to share a story on how much lessons can help.

A close friend of my got the golf bug in 2010 and has been obsessed with golf ever since.  Because of family, he "only" plays around 50 rounds a year with a few range sessions a month.  Two months ago he FINALLY(!!!!) gave in and started taking lessons.  His last two rounds have been around 95, first time ever breaking 100, after shooting between 105-130 FOREVER.  

What he did for like 300+ rounds between 2010 and now:
- golf magazines/youtube video learning (but not a structured learning program), picking up tips here and there.  
- absolutely obsessed with distance even though he never got long. 175-250yd drives. (he swings all out every swing, and the 1 in 50 that he hits flush, he defines as that club's yardage)
- could run well for a few holes, shooting ~45 tons of times on either the front or back, but he could never break 100
- actually had a decent short game, but just couldn't keep the ball in play (he'd be hitting 5 off the tee at least once every round)
- he is in good/great shape and in his early 40's (he was also a D1 long distance runner, just never played a sport like tennis, baseball, etc..)

This isn't about other successful stories of being self taught or about natural golf talent when people break 90 their 5th time out.  It just reminds me of how stubborn human beings can be, and just how much lessons can help.  

In our circle of golf friends and to his wife, it's almost a miracle.

 

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6 hours ago, bones75 said:

This isn't about other successful stories of being self taught or about natural golf talent when people break 90 their 5th time out.  It just reminds me of how stubborn human beings can be, and just how much lessons can help.  

In our circle of golf friends and to his wife, it's almost a miracle.

Sadly, this seems to be the norm.

From the land of perpetual cloudiness.   I'm Denny

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I was a self-taught golfer for 8 years, and have spent the last 45 years trying to recover!

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I have no natural talent for the game at all. I did about a 4 month block of weekly lessons just to get to where I am at now. It was just pure tenacity and refusal to let golf beat me. Breaking 100 felt like a miracle! Now I am usually around 90-94 on an average round. They do work for sure, but it takes a lot of practice too. 

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18 hours ago, bones75 said:

 His last two rounds have been around 95, first time ever breaking 100, after shooting between 105-130 FOREVER.  

Check how his scores are over the next 20 rounds. A person can find a groove in the short term, but it might fade back to his old form over time.

 

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Trainned with teachers from 12 to 19 years old. lowest handicap 1. Quit the game. 
Started last year in self tough mode and i reached my lowest handicap at +1 and i think i have even more to improve, muy putting skills sucks.

It´s important to have a couch ones you start playing, to learn the basics. After that you can improve by yourself.
A teacher can speed up the procces but it cost more money too.

At the end of the day it´s your money, it´s your game and it´s your call.

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34 minutes ago, p1n9183 said:

At the end of the day it´s your money, it´s your game and it´s your call.

What I can say for sure, is that my friend is figuratively kicking himself silly for not taking lessons sooner... and his wife is doing it literally.

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On 9/6/2017 at 1:12 PM, bones75 said:

His last two rounds have been around 95, first time ever breaking 100, after shooting between 105-130 FOREVER.  

Seems to me lessons from a good instructor could provide this type of improvement.

If you consider he may have had the same fault for years and it may have been causing issues to many other things, it's not hard to imagine a good instructor helping him eliminate that fault and having it provide substantial improvement.

As others have suggested, it's an easy slide back to what you've done for so long. I hope he continues with the lessons.

Jon

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I agree lessons in the beginning are super important. This is my first year golfing and I have had 3 lessons so far. I feel they help me tremendously because I am avoiding getting in those bad habits.

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2 hours ago, bones75 said:

What I can say for sure, is that my friend is figuratively kicking himself silly for not taking lessons sooner... and his wife is doing it literally.

An important corollary to take lessons is to take them from someone who knows what they're doing. It sounds like he found someone good so good for him. 

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

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So my buddy just texted me.  He played a double round today after playing hookey at work (im guessing his wife may now regret him getting lessons, as the dude is super golf-amped up right now).  He shot a 103 and a 90.  Him and his coach are truly a good match.  I'm super stoked for him, and look forward to not giving him 12 strokes a side anymore (it just gets silly when u have a playing partner who is competitive yet u guys have highly disparate handicaps.

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4 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

Seems to me lessons from a good instructor could provide this type of improvement.

If you consider he may have had the same fault for years and it may have been causing issues to many other things, it's not hard to imagine a good instructor helping him eliminate that fault and having it provide substantial improvement.

As others have suggested, it's an easy slide back to what you've done for so long. I hope he continues with the lessons.

Also why it's so important to make sure you're getting good instruction/advice. I wasted a lot of time (and money) on instructors with what I thought was a pretty simple issue for a pro to sort out. I simply asked them to watch me and/or use video and explain my biggest issue or at least give some piece to work on to improve my swing. It was always just the same..no real answer, just start from the beginning and 'do this like this.' 

I did one swing video and @mvmac immediately pointed out issues no one else had mentioned, along with being able to see that my trail hand grip was falling apart on the back swing. He's been the only instructor who was able to see this despite others having video and one on one real time with me. Golf is hard. Find instruction, or pay the consequences. Lol.

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12 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Also why it's so important to make sure you're getting good instruction/advice. I wasted a lot of time (and money) on instructors with what I thought was a pretty simple issue for a pro to sort out. I simply asked them to watch me and/or use video and explain my biggest issue or at least give some piece to work on to improve my swing. It was always just the same..no real answer, just start from the beginning and 'do this like this.'

Same here. The more I see what good instruction is all about, the more it infuriates me just how much of an #!@^)#! my first instructor was. Less because of the money I lost, mostly because of how someone like that might turn others away from the game.

Sounds like the OP's friend found a good one.

Jon

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I'm thinking maybe it's more of finding a good match vs some instructors being only good/bad. I know my buddy's swing coach, and he seems like a decent one, but at the same time, I would never take a lesson from him myself.  The reasons aren't important, other than I've seen him play/teach and I don't have as much confidence in him as my buddy does.

That said, after 5 lessons, and over the course of his last 4 rounds, my buddy has effectively shaved about 20 strokes off his game. Dude works miracles... just not on everybody maybe.

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I never had a lesson and my swing progressed to a really goofy over the top/closed face thing in my attempts to find something that works even marginally.  This over the course of over 30 years of self taught (except in high school some training from a well meaning and not very knowledgable high school coach).

I took 2 lessons....2

In retrospect, all my instructor did was take my swing (i was decent even considering how bad my technique was) and had me simply apply the basics, correct foot pressure, follow thru.  one drill, then another one at the second lesson.  but I PRACTICED those drills - in the winter, inside, every day. 

It fundamentally changed my game.  I went from being in the 90's to low 80's.  My adjustable club became obsolete as instead of adjusting the club, all the 'neutral' settings were optimal.

that's 2 lessons - funny how the 'basics' really do matter, and practice

then I learned about the path/face physics, played with that at the range, spent a bit of time (ok, a LOT) HERE and studied a lot (I'm more mech than feel, but have good body awareness, so that was compatible with my personal learning style), took video.  and now I hit in the upper and mid 70's all the time.  This site really is better and different than others in terms of the quality of info we get.  We counter bad advice immediately and then offer better info very quickly.

really?  I can't wait to take more lessons, I'm still a sweeper and think a good attack and divots on occasion would help.  Also, I so MUCH need short game lessons, and need to get more confidence with my long irons.  So much potential there and I think lessons are the way to go.  I will start with the same instructor as before, he's a good guy and seems able to adapt to the style that the student needs....I think this is important.

I think life will ease up soon as well as $$ and I plan to take a regular schedule of lessons at that time.  Can't wait to see what else I learn.

Bill - 

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@rehmwa I do something kinda similar, but w/ more frequency.

I always call my coach when I'm struggling and stop when I feel I'm "back" or even had some gains, whether that be after 1 or 6 lessons.  But I've probably had 30+ lessons over 10 years of play.  The annoying part is that I should just record what my coach says and play it back... it feels like he gives me the same damn lesson at least half the time, I just fall into the same bad habits over and over again, but can't seem to recognize I'm doing it.  What does Einstein call insanity again?

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32 minutes ago, bones75 said:

@rehmwa I do something kinda similar, but w/ more frequency.

I always call my coach when I'm struggling and stop when I feel I'm "back" or even had some gains, whether that be after 1 or 6 lessons.  But I've probably had 30+ lessons over 10 years of play.  The annoying part is that I should just record what my coach says and play it back... it feels like he gives me the same damn lesson at least half the time, I just fall into the same bad habits over and over again, but can't seem to recognize I'm doing it.  What does Einstein call insanity again?

Funny - sometimes a refresher is just a good thing.  But if you have an issue that repeats, I wonder if you would spend a bit more time with him up front and see if he can help you determine what your 'miss' is so you can try some drills first.  a couple personal examples....

I know that if I'm thinning it, I'm likely forgetting this thing with my chest and shoulders - I know the drill that helps correct that.

I know that if I'm pull left, it's likely one of two things and fortunately they are very different and easy to figure out which is happening.  Both I can debug and then do the drills to get it to go away.  (clearly if it crops up so often, maybe I should do the drills more...)

But if something new crops up, or if the same miss happen for new reasons, I'm sure I'd like to get a coach help me figure it out before it turns into a nasty habit....

 

even so, being reminded again isn't such a bad thing, at least you know the issue and the fix will work - a little validation from a pro goes a long ways toward a bit of confidence that the drills you are doing aren't a waste of time.

Edited by rehmwa

Bill - 

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16 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

But if you have an issue that repeats, I wonder if you would spend a bit more time with him up front and see if he can help you determine what your 'miss' is so you can try some drills first. 

You underestimate my stubbornness.  In the end, I'm basically no different from my friend I talk about in my OP.  Example: I have a chronic issue with over swinging on my backswing. Typical lesson with my coach:

Coach: "You're over swinging again."
    Me: "I can't be, that's like my #1 swing thought... shortening my backswing"
"But you're still doing it."
   "But I usually don't! .... hmm...  maybe I'm just doing it right now for some reason"
   * makes adjustments *

"You're still doing it."
   "#@$*&(#!!!"
   * hands over cash *

Edited by bones75
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