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On the fence about lessons? My experience here.


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This is a long read but I wanted to be complete. I hope you get something out of it.

 

Over the past 28 years of playing golf I would like to think that I have been a student of the game. I have read more articles than I can count about how to fix various flaws in the golf swing. I have changed my own swing multiple times for better and for worse. I have even successfully helped multiple beginners go from never hitting a ball to being able to make consistant contact and move from over 100 into the 80's for a score. None of it based on anything other than some very basic suggestions that worked for me over the years.
 
My own game had progressed to the point that I actually broke 70 two years ago for the first and so far only time in my life. At that point I was pretty happy with my abilities and was fairly content with the game as a whole, even working my handicap down to a 6.
 
I then decided to make a job change and found my self in the valley of the sun where you can golf all year round and not even have to wear winter gear. At first this seemed like a huge perk for my game and I was just as excited about my new found golf possibilities as I was about my new job.
 
Little did I know however that I had been living a golf lie. I had been playing for almost my entire life on courses that were fairly forgiving in regards to shot accuracy. The courses I grew up on and played most of my golf on were usually safe to one side or the other off the tee so you could miss to one side and be OK even if you weren't in perfect position.
 
After the move I quickly learned that in Arizona this wasn't going to be the case. Most of the courses wind there way through housing developments with stucco or desert lining the side of each tee shot. This was not compatible with my previous style of play that required 30 yards of moderate rough (or even another hole) to one side of the fairway just in case I didn't hit a good shot.
 
I very quickly found my scores and handicap rising back to where it was when I played once a week. If I could get off of the tee for 18 holes I could still score in the mid 70's with ease, but it became clear to me as my first year came to a close that I was going to have to do something to increase my consistency or I would continue being stuck in the mid 80's due to multiple penalty strokes off the tee.
 
I thought about new clubs, but that was obviously not going to help something that had been there lurking through every set I had ever owned. I knew that it was finally time to get some help with my swing. That is the purpose of this post, if you've read this far I hope you will continue on and hopefully come to the same conclusion about golf lessons that took me 28 years to reach. Maybe you already knew this, hell maybe I read your comments at some point in these forums and dismissed them. I have seen the light however and I wanted to share my thoughts on what might be the best money I've ever spent on golf.
 
I did some minor research and asked some opinions on who I might want to give me some help with my swing and as luck would have it someone kind of fell into my lap. Well fell into my inbox anyway. My local club had just signed up with some guys who had recently started an instructional company in the valley. I looked over the programs and costs and thought, well heck, why not start there since it would be convinient.
 
I am currently 6 lessons down with 2 to go and I am thrilled with the results. It didn't start that way, but I'm going to explain my experience with you in the hopes that if someone is on the fence about getting lessons or even one or two sessions in that they continue on or get started.
 
Obviously not all instructors follow the same program that I am on, but I still believe that if you hire someone who has a job teaching golf, the advice they are going to give you is probably better than anything you can watch on YouTube or see on the golf channel since for me it wasn't the ideas that were the issue, but applying them to my swing. Your mileage may vary, but I would definitely say to give it a chance and allow yourself a few sessions before you decide it's not working.
 
First Lesson - Nerves, Ego, and Humility
 
For the first lesson I read online that I would play 9 holes with my instructor. Before we set off we talked about what I thought my strengths and weakenesses were and what I wanted to accomplish through the pending instruction.
 
I layed out that I thought my short game was a strength and that my inconsistent driver and long irons were my biggest weakness. He asked me some specifics about my game and then explained to me their score card with no place for the score but spots for stats. We loaded up the cart and hit the course.
 
On the first tee I was fairly nervous as I haven't really ever had anyone with me who was there to look at my game and then have to "fix" things. I started off with a predictable huge 30 yard weak fade which was my miss when I was unsure of myself. The rest of the round was a disaster. There is no other way to put it really. I couldn't really do anything other than pitch and chip up to my normal standards. Even more embarassing was my horrible putting display. So much for extolling the short game. I finally felt some what comfortable around the 7th hole and finished in with three pars.
 
We sat down afterwards and he explained what he had been recording with his score card and while he admitted that my game off the tee needed work, he wanted to make sure I realized that my short game wasn't a strong point. He acknowledged that the nerves probably had something to do with it, he then assured me that all of my fixes would be "easy".
 
This was the first time the thought popped into my head that he might be full of it. We set the time for the next week's session and I was on my way home.
 
I wasn't happy with how I had played in front of him, but after thinking about it for a while I realized it was probably better for him to see my worst game than my best.
 
Second Lesson - I've been swinging the golf club wrong for 28 years, who knew?
 
The next lesson was to be all range time and he told me up front that my swing had a lot of classic flaws. He explained that he was going to break down the golf swing into parts and that I would need to work on these to get rid of my bad habits. A tall order according to him since I had been playing like this for a very long time.
 
This and the next lesson would be a very frustrating experience for me and at the end of the third session I was not going to sign up for another 4 pack of instruction.
 
I'm not going to try to explain everything he went over with me, but I'm going to try to tell you how it felt for me while going through it. My main flaws were that I was too upright during the swing, I had all my weight on my heels, I had waaaay too long of a backswing, and of course I was severly over the top. My main misses were huge slices or straight pulls. Of course this is horrible because I have a miss on both sides and never know when they are going to show up.
 
Of all the changes he was having me make, bending over more was the worst. It felt so unnatural and for that second session I could barely make a good move on the ball from that position and stay in balance. After I was done with that session, my back hurt, I was frustrated, and honestly I thought I had wasted some cash on this endeavour.
 
He gave me some drills to work on and wanted me to look at myself in the mirror in the 6 different positions he had told me I should find myself in during the swing.
 
I didn't do much of the mirror stuff as it seemed pointless to me, but I did hit the range twice before my third session and didn't have much luck other than hitting a ton of fat, thin, and otherwise weak shots.
 
Third Lesson - I know I'm not doing what you told me to do, I can see my crappy shot just like you!
 
The third lesson was a lot of the same things we went over in the second lesson. To his credit, there was no frustration on his part in that I couldn't seem to do what he wanted me to.
 
He had me slow my swing down to the point where I was pausing at each point of the 6 parts of the swing. Towards the end of this session he had me combine things so that there were 3 parts instead of 6. I was able to hit the ball better during this session, but still no where near as well as my old swing.
 
The hardest thing for me to do during this part was remember everything he was telling me. I would do 4 out of 5 things right during the swing, but that 5th thing I forgot would screw me. The fact was that none of this was muscle memory at this point and I was having to remember everything.
 
I knew from previous swing changes that nothing is overnight when it comes to golf, but by the end of lesson three I wasn't happy with any of the new changes.
 
Fourth Lesson - Can you hit a draw at all? Then show me.
 
Throughout the first three lessons he had mentioned that he was going to have me hitting a draw when I wanted to by the time we were finished with my swing changes. To which I replied "Sounds great!" When I showed up for my fourth and at the time final lesson I would have replied "whatever" to that statement.
 
The first twenty minutes of this lesson were again reminders of what I needed to do in the swing. I had been on the range a couple more times since the previous lesson and had actually been able to use the new swing to put a good move on the ball about 30% of the time. Even when I thought I hit a good one though he informed me that I had started bringing elements of my old swing back into the new one to get that result. This meant I was still not seeing the distance I should be seeing from my shots and that consistency would still be hard to achieve.
 
Twenty minutes in I had a eureka moment. Perhaps showing the first sign of mild frustration from asking me to do something and getting the same result over and over he asked this question. "Before you met me, is there any move you could put on a ball to make it draw?" To which I replied "yes!" So he then asked me to show him how I did that.
 
What happened next was the key to my new swing and hopefully one day another 6 handicap. The only way I could make the ball draw with my old swing was to play it off my back foot, bring the club severly inside on the backswing, halve the length of my swing, and exaggerate the roll on my wrists when coming through the ball. I would play this shot into the wind a lot as it produced a low draw that wouldn't get up into the breeze and die like my normal shot.
 
I could only really hit it with my mid to long irons however so I didn't really ever think to use it anywhere but when the situation called for it. I had tried it with my woods and hybrids with zero luck and had just left it at that.
 
When I hit that shot he got excited. "Yes, that, that's the closest you have gotten to what I've been trying to get you to do since we started!" I got excited that he was excited. Now I had something, I had what it felt like to do what he wanted me to do. Previously it was all talk and trying to explain it verbally. Now I knew what it felt like.
 
The rest of the session was almost like magic. I was translating my crappy knockdown shot into what he had been telling me and all of a sudden I was making contact with the ball and feeling power through the shot like I hadn't ever felt before. I was still mishitting half of the shots, it was still a new swing, but when I got it right and didn't forget anything it was amazing what was happening to the ball after I hit it.
 
At the end of the session I didn't leave, I went and got some more balls and hit with this new feeling for another 45 minutes. He had taken video of my swing when I started and at each lesson. He emailed me these videos along with one taken right at the end of this lesson and I couldn't believe how little difference there was. I was absolutely shocked in fact. How could something that felt light years apart while doing it look so similar when you watch it?
 
I couldn't argue anymore with the results. I decided I was going to see this through and signed up for another 4 pack. I also hit the range 4 times before the next lesson.
 
Fifth Lesson - Irons are looking a lot better, but hey, I needed to fix my driver more and this swing ain't working with that!
 
When I arrived at my fifth lesson I was both happy and concerned. While my irons and hybrids were seeing marked improvement with my new swing, the driver and three wood were worse than ever. I had tried multiple times on the range to apply this new swing to them with zero luck.
 
So we started with the irons again, he told me that I was still doing a couple things I shouldn't be but the extra range time had definately paid off as 60% of my shots were now online and I had picked up about 10 yards per club over my previous distances. I still wasn't hitting draws, but straight works too.
 
The second half of this session we addressed the woods, specifically the driver. For whatever reason, even though I had cut my swing down with the irons most of the time I was still getting long with them in the back swing. The driver on the other hand was out of control. I overswing it so bad I can see the clubhead in my peripheral vision on my left side in the backswing. I knew I did this, I've always done it, and for whatever reason, what I think is a short backswing with the driver is still too long.
 
We found out that for me to get a proper length backswing with my woods I need to feel like I'm at 30% of a full swing with those clubs. This was something that was not comfortable at first. It made me rush my downswing and try to generate more power by being quicker. This of course resulted in bad swings and poor contact.
 
Towards the end of the session I had been able to slow down the swing and cut it down to about parallel, still more than he wanted, but way better than it was. This resulted in some monster drives when everything worked right. Again I couldn't wait to get on the range.
 
Sixth Lesson - For the first time since I started this process my swing feels good again.
 
I was out of town most of the week between my fifth and sixth lesson so I only had time to hit the range once before it. During that time I noticed that when I was addressing the ball I no longer had 10 things running through my head. I wasn't hitting it perfect every time, but 75% of the time I was getting a result that I could live with and more importantly it was a result that was better than my previous swing.
 
My mishits were still things I hadn't had to worry about in a long time like really fat and really thin shots, but gone were the huge weak fades and straight pulls of my old swing. My misses were now mostly distance related and not direction like before, which while not great, are better than putting balls OB or into the desert.
 
I warmed up and we hit some iron shots and then some driver shots and we were finally at the point that he was fine tuning things with my swing rather than talking about major changes. We worked on lining up and pre shot routines and other things that I had wanted to talk about previously but didn't even have a functional swing to rely on at the time.
 
I still wasn't doing everything exactly the way I should be, but I felt like I had a golf swing I could actually take to the course for the first time in a couple of months and repeat with confidence.
 
He also went over why things happened. If I hit one right or left he would explain to me why I was doing that. What to look for when the ball doesn't go where I thought it would. These are tools that I can use to correct things when I'm on my own and understand why something happened rather than just hoping my next shot is better.
 
After this fine tuning session we agreed it was time to look at putting. So this weekend I will be finding out how I've been putting wrong for 28 years and I can't wait.
 
If you are thinking about getting lessons, do it. Will you have a huge breakthrough like I have? I don't know, but I will say this, if you are thinking about it then you probably already know that you need some help. I used to think that I had things under control with my swing and that my flaws were something I had to live with. I wish I would have done this years ago. I hate to think about how many bad shots I've hit over the years that could have been avoided if I had made these changes when I was younger.
 
Heck, most pros have swing coaches. If someone playing on the PGA tour needs someone to help them with their swing then I'm guessing most of us could benefit from it as well.
 
I don't know how my last two lessons will go since I'm guessing they will be short game only, but I know that if I have as much success with changes there as I've had with my full swing I'll be back below 70 sooner than I ever could have imagined.
 
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments please post and I'll follow the thread.
 
Otherwise I hope you have as much fun on the course as I'm about to have!
 
 
 
I have completed my last two lessons, notes below.
 
 
Seventh Lesson - Putting is important?
 
We focused on putting for my second to last lesson. I have always considered my self a better than average putter of the ball with my main issue being reading greens. I feel like I normally hit my ball online but when I miss I feel like it's due to misreading the line.
 
I started putting with a straight conventional grip and for some reason I picked up a belly putter about 5 years ago and found that if I held it like a hockey stick I could consistently roll the ball without any worry of the yips. I liked this feeling so I have been using it since I bought an inexpensive used PING scottsdale pickemup putter.
 
I never anchored the putter as it was actually too short for me to stick into my stomach. I also liked it because it was center shafted and I have always liked a center shafted putter.
 
My instructor looked at my putting when we played the 9 holes during the first lesson and decided that we would wait to address it after the swing which is what this lesson was for. During our other lessons he asked me if I had a regular length putter and since I had gotten rid of my older ones I did not.
 
Since the swing changes were going so well I decided it might be time for a change and went off to get a different putter that was conventional. I ended up with a PING Sigma G Kinloch C putter which I brought to this putting lesson.
 
He was happy that I had brought it and went over why he thought my older modified stroke was bad. The putter was meant to be anchored and more under my body, when I held it with both hands away from my body there was no way I was going to be able to get my eyes over the ball and be able to line up properly.
 
He actually showed me how I was compensating by lining up wrong and then pulling all of my putts to get them online. He then had me use the new putter and showed me how I wouldn't need to do this with it since I could get my eyes in the proper position.
 
So, we went over my grip and changed one or two minor things as well as shortening my stroke which has always been really long. Longer stroke, more room to get offline was the lesson.
 
He also gave me three drills to use on the green that would help me with my putting vs the old put two balls down and putt around the green warm up I usually do.
 
So after incorporating all of this I feel like I'm definitely seeing some improvement on the putts in the 3 to 10 feet range. These putts before have always been my worst performances. Short enough that I feel like I should make them but long enough that they definitely aren't easy. On putts longer than that I feel like I'm not expected to make them which actually seems to make them easier since I'm more relaxed.
 
The two rounds I've played with this new stroke have been promising, I had four birdies in each round which is above average for me. I've always been more of a mostly par with a few bogies and couple birdies guy when I play well. While I had more bogies than usual on these rounds due to still working out the new swing with the driver the four birdies in each round really helped and it was due to hitting some 10 foot birdie putts I normally wouldn't have made.
 
Eighth Lesson - Pitching and Chipping is actually solid!
 
My last lesson we revisited the driver as it's been the hardest club for me to get going with the new swing. After spending 20 min on that we did some pitching and chipping drills which showed that while I do rely too much on one club to chip and pitch with I was above average with it so it wasn't hurting me.
 
I never play a bump and run but he wanted me to see why I should. So he setup some spots to hit from and asked me to hit my shot as well as my 9 iron to compare. After hitting from each of the locations the 9 iron was closer all but one of the times. This was with absolutely no practice with the bump and run as well.
 
So I guess I need to start practicing this shot. Obviously there is a time for it and a time when it's not the right shot, but he proved to me I should have it in my arsenal.
 
We finished up with a chipping contest he called 7up and at the end we went over a few mental notes to think about and that was it.
 
Overall Impressions - I now know why I play average golf.
 
After this two month time frame the one thing I am coming away with more than anything else is the realization that while I know a lot about golf, knowing something and applying it correctly are two different things.
 
I have watched so many tips online and tried so many things on the range that I know there are an infinite amount of variables out there that affect our games. I now know that any of these things can help or hurt what I'm trying to do which is play better golf.
 
Having someone who is solid on the fundamentals can be an invaluable resource when trying to make things work. Even when I would take video of myself I didn't know exactly what to look for.
 
I have never hit my irons as well as I'm hitting them right now and while the driver is still iffy, I feel like once I get it consistent I will be hitting it better than ever as well.
 
If you are wanting to play better golf and improve your abilities then I can't recommend anything more than trying some lessons. I'm a believer and you can bet that I'm going to be checking in every so often to make sure things are still on track.
 
Thanks for reading and I hope you play great!

"I'd play a ladies set of clubs if it allowed me to break par."

PING G410 LST Fujikura Pro 2.0 Tour Spec 6

Titleist 17, 19, and 21 degree 818 H2 Hybrids

Ping G700 5 - GW

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Titleist Vokey SM7 58 Wedge

Evenroll ER3

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Great post!

 

Is there a plan to play another 9 after your final lesson?

DriverCobra  Aerojet LS
Woods-
Cobra  LTD 3w 15*, 5W 19*,  F9 24* 
Irons- XXIO X (6-A)

Wedges- Callaway Jaws Raw (54/58)

Putter- Bettinardi BB56
Ball- Maxfli Tour X/Wilson Triad
Buggy- Clicgear 4.0
Bag- Callaway Org 14/Fairway C

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This is great. Thank You.

Been there in the valley and the Coachella Valley before it and know exactly what your talking about from the courses to the game.

I was the overswing king.

Its nice to see teaching is going this way, or that real results are found in short order more and more for people.

Early in the post you said he "assured" you "that all of my fixes would be "easy".

Bingo!

Sounds like you got a good one.

Best of luck and best wishes.

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Great post!

 

Is there a plan to play another 9 after your final lesson?

 

Not that I'm aware of. I suppose I could request it since technically each four pack is supposed to have one of those sessions, but I think that the purpose of that was to see my game in action since range golf and course golf can sometimes be two very different beasts.

 

I am wondering if I'm being treated differently since I've been golfing for so long. He mentioned several times that he was giving me more to work on that he usually does since I had been playing for so long and could make solid contact with the ball every time before coming to him.

 

Maybe that's BS, I don't know, at first it was very overwhelming, but now I appreciate it as fortunately I have the time to get out to the range a lot and work on things in between sessions.

"I'd play a ladies set of clubs if it allowed me to break par."

PING G410 LST Fujikura Pro 2.0 Tour Spec 6

Titleist 17, 19, and 21 degree 818 H2 Hybrids

Ping G700 5 - GW

Titleist Vokey SM7 54 Wedge

Titleist Vokey SM7 58 Wedge

Evenroll ER3

Snell MTB-X

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Not that I'm aware of. I suppose I could request it since technically each four pack is supposed to have one of those sessions, but I think that the purpose of that was to see my game in action since range golf and course golf can sometimes be two very different beasts.

 

I am wondering if I'm being treated differently since I've been golfing for so long. He mentioned several times that he was giving me more to work on that he usually does since I had been playing for so long and could make solid contact with the ball every time before coming to him.

 

Maybe that's BS, I don't know, at first it was very overwhelming, but now I appreciate it as fortunately I have the time to get out to the range a lot and work on things in between sessions.

 

It'd be interesting to see the before/after contrast on the course.  Especially since you considered your short game as being the best part of your game.  Now maybe your irons and shots off the tee will be the best part?

 

Good luck and enjoy the journey.... sounds like a lot of fun!

DriverCobra  Aerojet LS
Woods-
Cobra  LTD 3w 15*, 5W 19*,  F9 24* 
Irons- XXIO X (6-A)

Wedges- Callaway Jaws Raw (54/58)

Putter- Bettinardi BB56
Ball- Maxfli Tour X/Wilson Triad
Buggy- Clicgear 4.0
Bag- Callaway Org 14/Fairway C

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I have played a few rounds with the new swing, but not since it really "clicked". Now that I have the driver working again I'm anxious to see what that translates into score wise.

 

Hopefully I'll get a chance to get out this week and play 18.

"I'd play a ladies set of clubs if it allowed me to break par."

PING G410 LST Fujikura Pro 2.0 Tour Spec 6

Titleist 17, 19, and 21 degree 818 H2 Hybrids

Ping G700 5 - GW

Titleist Vokey SM7 54 Wedge

Titleist Vokey SM7 58 Wedge

Evenroll ER3

Snell MTB-X

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Great story!  Keep us posted on your lessons and the change it's made to your game.  Good luck!!

 

I went through the same thing about 10 years ago.  I went to a golf school to learn the single plane swing.  Totally immersed for a week.  I had tried lessons at home, and they got me started, but getting away from home is the best and quickest way to make a major change.  Even the slightest change feels awkward because of muscle memory.  My instructor didn't care where the ball went, just that I was hitting the correct positions.  The problem is that I cared!  I wanted to hit a decent shot; it's ego.  So what happened was I would drift back to old habits because I wanted to hit a decent shot.  However, if a person is not willing to invest in the process, accept that the change will take time, and not worry about the results from shot-to-shot, the new swing change will never feel normal and you've wasted your money.  My instructor said that you cannot fix a bad habit; you have to replace the bad habit with a new, better habit.  

 

Ten years later most of my old bad habits are gone, and I don't hit the ball into the next fairway (well, mostly I don't).  I have been back a few times for shorter schools for refreshers.  I think I hit the correct positions pretty well, and compared to the first school, I do.  But each time the instructor points out flaws that I need to fix.  My latest change has been my wrist position at the top of my backswing on my lead hand.  I have been cupping it and that has led to inconsistent contact and weak shots.  Since I have been focusing on that wrist position, my distance has improved but my wrist is sore.  Hopefully, the pain will subside once that position becomes engrained.  At my age, if that is the only new pain I have this year, I will be happy!

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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I got my first lesson this year and although I know exactly how to properly swing a golf club it was nice to have someone watch me and point out some things. My biggest issue is getting quick in the downswing but I don't always know when I do it.

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I enjoyed the read, thanks for sharing. I was intrigued by your starting the sessions with a 9 hole eval, I thought that was great.

 

Did he ask you what your goals were? I've had 3 regular teachers in my golfing two of them started with that question because the answer would shape their instruction. As the first guy said if my goal was to play on the Champions Tour I had a lot more work to do than if it was to get from a 5 to a 3. (He got me from a 5 to a 3 and the next guy, after I moved to FL, got me from a 3 to a 2). The current guy, whom I really like, is helping me hold on as long as possible in the mid single digit range.

 

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Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

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Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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I enjoyed the read, thanks for sharing. I was intrigued by your starting the sessions with a 9 hole eval, I thought that was great.

 

Did he ask you what your goals were? I've had 3 regular teachers in my golfing two of them started with that question because the answer would shape their instruction. As the first guy said if my goal was to play on the Champions Tour I had a lot more work to do than if it was to get from a 5 to a 3. (He got me from a 5 to a 3 and the next guy, after I moved to FL, got me from a 3 to a 2). The current guy, whom I really like, is helping me hold on as long as possible in the mid single digit range.

 

Sent from my VS986 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Yes, he wanted to know why I was talking lessons and what my goals were with my game. I told him that I needed to improve off the tee big time and develop a more repeatable swing.

"I'd play a ladies set of clubs if it allowed me to break par."

PING G410 LST Fujikura Pro 2.0 Tour Spec 6

Titleist 17, 19, and 21 degree 818 H2 Hybrids

Ping G700 5 - GW

Titleist Vokey SM7 54 Wedge

Titleist Vokey SM7 58 Wedge

Evenroll ER3

Snell MTB-X

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Yeah, interesting read .. thanks for taking the time to put it all out there.

 

Question:

Is the instructor you ended up with the pro at your club?

 

If not, how did you find and evaluate him?

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
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nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

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Awesome post!!! I stated in another thread that swallowing my pride and getting lessons was the greatest thing ever.

 

I always thought that I never moved my lower body and turns out that was the majority of my problem, too much lower body movement (see swaying). Now I am much tighter and hitting the ball much much better. As Crossfield says strike is king.

 

 

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Great post and read! Very interesting to see the changes and how committed you had to be to get them to stick!

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Yeah, interesting read .. thanks for taking the time to put it all out there.

 

Question:

Is the instructor you ended up with the pro at your club?

 

If not, how did you find and evaluate him?

 

I read a bunch about different golf instructors throughout the valley. In fact there are so many I actually had decision paralysis for a few days. As luck would have it, the club I play at most of the time signed up with a new company and they were offering a special on 4 packs of lessons. I decided that since everyone I had read about seemed to be good according to the reviews I could find I would just jump on this as it would be convenient.

 

Admittedly that wasn't a real scientific method to making a choice, but luckily for me it has worked out quite nicely.

 

My instructor is not a pro at the club, his company works with three other courses in the valley and he is the one assigned to the course I play at.

"I'd play a ladies set of clubs if it allowed me to break par."

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Titleist 17, 19, and 21 degree 818 H2 Hybrids

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Titleist Vokey SM7 58 Wedge

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I read a bunch about different golf instructors throughout the valley. In fact there are so many I actually had decision paralysis for a few days. As luck would have it, the club I play at most of the time signed up with a new company and they were offering a special on 4 packs of lessons. I decided that since everyone I had read about seemed to be good according to the reviews I could find I would just jump on this as it would be convenient.

 

Admittedly that wasn't a real scientific method to making a choice, but luckily for me it has worked out quite nicely.

 

My instructor is not a pro at the club, his company works with three other courses in the valley and he is the one assigned to the course I play at.

Sounds good! Thanks for that.

 

Trying to do a little research but not finding a lot of good - independent - info around here. Seems like the top instructors are the pros at the best (read: most expensive) private clubs. Will keep searching....

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

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Sounds good! Thanks for that.

 

Trying to do a little research but not finding a lot of good - independent - info around here. Seems like the top instructors are the pros at the best (read: most expensive) private clubs. Will keep searching....

 

I don't know what you consider expensive. Most of the stuff here in the valley of the sun equals 70 to 125 bucks an hour depending on who you go to and how awesome they claim to be!

"I'd play a ladies set of clubs if it allowed me to break par."

PING G410 LST Fujikura Pro 2.0 Tour Spec 6

Titleist 17, 19, and 21 degree 818 H2 Hybrids

Ping G700 5 - GW

Titleist Vokey SM7 54 Wedge

Titleist Vokey SM7 58 Wedge

Evenroll ER3

Snell MTB-X

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I don't know what you consider expensive. Most of the stuff here in the valley of the sun equals 70 to 125 bucks an hour depending on who you go to and how awesome they claim to be!

Oh, I meant to join a private club around here.... $125 - $150 seems to be the hourly rate here, which is ok if I could find the right instructor (on one of the public tracks) for me.......

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Original post updated with my last two lesson notes and overall impression.

"I'd play a ladies set of clubs if it allowed me to break par."

PING G410 LST Fujikura Pro 2.0 Tour Spec 6

Titleist 17, 19, and 21 degree 818 H2 Hybrids

Ping G700 5 - GW

Titleist Vokey SM7 54 Wedge

Titleist Vokey SM7 58 Wedge

Evenroll ER3

Snell MTB-X

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Great follow-up! And good narrative, too.

 

Best of luck with all of your new skills .. hope you put them all to good use and continue to improve

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

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  • 1 month later...

Great post. Thank you very much.

 

I just had my first lesson today and I'm definitely in the uncomfortable and not hitting the ball well phase, but glad to know there's light at the end of the tunnel.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, if you can find an instructor who emails you something like this after your lesson, you may have found a good teacher for you:

 

"My only goal when teaching is to help someone enjoy the game as much as I do. If, in any way, I can do that then we both win."

 

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

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Great post! What is the overall Timeframe for all these lessons?

 

MDGolfHacker

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  • 3 weeks later...

Great post!

 

I have been thinking about taking lessons, but I hate the thought about spending the money on lessons instead of rounds of golf.  This article makes me seriously reconsider my position.

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... What an excellent description of the learning process. I taught full time for 5 years but had to stop after back surgery. I was with the IPGA and teaching was as much a learning experience as being s student. Here are some brief thoughts about things I learned as an instructor for those of you considering lessons:

1. You need to have a good relationship with your instructor. People process information differently and hopefully your instructor can fine tune their lesson to your personality. Getting along is just as important as knowledge and information. Meaning if you are a feel player, an instructor that deals in mechanics and positions may not work best for you. If you are an introvert, getting you to explain everything back can be a disaster. Your instructor should figure out how you like to learn and devise a plan for you only. It was common for me to tell a student the exact same information different ways until the light bulb went off in their head. "Why didn't you tell me that to begin with?" Of course I did, 7 different ways but the 8th way finally made sense to you. Many instructors repeat the same information the same way not really understanding their student does not process information the same way they do. Talking more or less, more visual and less verbal or the other way around. You should know after the first lesson if you have a connection but certainly after 3 lessons. Never feel bad about leaving an instructor if you are not completely comfortable. 

2. It is the job of a good instructor to help you evaluate what you are doing wrong, and communicate to you if you are capable of changing it. To be honest, most are not. The longer you have played, the harder it is to make a change in the true nature of your swing. If you have an over the top swing, starting from the top and cutting across the ball with a weak slice most students are not capable of completely changing their tendencies and starting the swing from the ground up, dropping the club to the inside and hitting a straight shot or even a draw. What you can do is turn your natural move into a tighter, slightly over the top swing and turn your weak slice into more of a power fade. The OP had a shorter swing, knockdown move he was comfortable with and that was a real bonus for him and his instructor. Most do not and should be content with ... and this was the foundation of my personal philosophy "Learn to do what you are doing now much better".  Yes, I ran across students capable of completely revamping their swings but they were few and far between and willing to put in years of work and tons of range/mirror/practice time. So be realistic in your goals. 

3. I started every lesson by asking my student to produce their very worst swings and worst shots. "If you can't hit really bad shots that's OK, but it really helps me if you take your worst swings". It was my way of loosening them up and taking the pressure off of what is a very intimidating endeavor, being vulnerable in front of a stranger. 

4. And for me the most important rule is give out information by the teaspoon not the shovel. I may give an overall description of what we will try and accomplish but in very general terms, not specifics. I like one swing thought at a time. As the OP said, he was trying to think of 6 things at once and we are only capable of thinking one thing at a time. We can go back and forth between thoughts very rapidly of course, but down that road lies madness as you are still thinking 6 different things at different times in one swing.

Often my student may hit a bad shot while I am excited about the one move we are working on. It will all come together in the end but almost never in the beginning. Putting the swing together one element at a time is imo by far the best way to learn. If you are swinging way past parallel, then coming over the top and hitting with your hands and cutting across the ball I would start with just shortening the swing and getting to the root cause of why the swing is too long. Breaking down of the wrists? Arms? Tilt? Whatever it is, there is plenty to work with and that one change alone will feel like a completely new swing even though we are just tightening up the swing you already have.

We will get to coming over the top after you have the club and your body in a better position to do those things. If I tell my student we are gonna shorten the back swing. Then we are going to fix the over the top move caused by starting the swing with the hands not the lower body. And then we will start dropping the club inside or at least keeping it on plane for the downswing those thoughts are in the students head and they will be aware of them when they practice or play on their own. All I want them doing is shortening their backswing and once we have accomplished that goal, we will move on to the next goal. 

Teaching is a special calling and not many are really good at it. If you can find an instructor you click with like the OP, you are halfway there. If you don't click with your instructor, do not hesitate to find another. 

Driver:     :taylormade-small:  Qi10 10.5* ... Ventus Red Velocore 5R
Fairway:  :cobra-small: Aerojet 3/5 ... Kai'li Blue 60R
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I have been playing seriously for about 4 years. I have never taken lessons, so my swing is completely homemade. For me, building my swing consisted of testing different techniques/fundamentals and seeing what worked and what didn't. I have gotten to the point where I can consistently shoot in the upper 70s to low 80s range. I know lots of people who have swing coaches, and they are much better than me. When they are on, they are really on (I'm talking -3, average). But here's what I have that they don't: I have the ability to self-adjust. I can correct flaws in my swing, and get my game back on track. They rely completely on their swing coach. When something happens to their swing, they become helpless. So, that is my theory on swing coaches. Don't get me wrong, lessons are still a great idea, as long as you don't become dependant on you coach. I am sure I would also start taking lessons, if I could afford it! BTW, congratulations on the improvement you're seeing :)

 

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... What an excellent description of the learning process. I taught full time for 5 years but had to stop after back surgery. I was with the IPGA and teaching was as much a learning experience as being s student. Here are some brief thoughts about things I learned as an instructor for those of you considering lessons:

 

1. You need to have a good relationship with your instructor. People process information differently and hopefully your instructor can fine tune their lesson to your personality. Getting along is just as important as knowledge and information. Meaning if you are a feel player, an instructor that deals in mechanics and positions may not work best for you. If you are an introvert, getting you to explain everything back can be a disaster. Your instructor should figure out how you like to learn and devise a plan for you only. It was common for me to tell a student the exact same information different ways until the light bulb went off in their head. "Why didn't you tell me that to begin with?" Of course I did, 7 different ways but the 8th way finally made sense to you. Many instructors repeat the same information the same way not really understanding their student does not process information the same way they do. Talking more or less, more visual and less verbal or the other way around. You should know after the first lesson if you have a connection but certainly after 3 lessons. Never feel bad about leaving an instructor if you are not completely comfortable.

 

2. It is the job of a good instructor to help you evaluate what you are doing wrong, and communicate to you if you are capable of changing it. To be honest, most are not. The longer you have played, the harder it is to make a change in the true nature of your swing. If you have an over the top swing, starting from the top and cutting across the ball with a weak slice most students are not capable of completely changing their tendencies and starting the swing from the ground up, dropping the club to the inside and hitting a straight shot or even a draw. What you can do is turn your natural move into a tighter, slightly over the top swing and turn your weak slice into more of a power fade. The OP had a shorter swing, knockdown move he was comfortable with and that was a real bonus for him and his instructor. Most do not and should be content with ... and this was the foundation of my personal philosophy "Learn to do what you are doing now much better". Yes, I ran across students capable of completely revamping their swings but they were few and far between and willing to put in years of work and tons of range/mirror/practice time. So be realistic in your goals.

 

3. I started every lesson by asking my student to produce their very worst swings and worst shots. "If you can't hit really bad shots that's OK, but it really helps me if you take your worst swings". It was my way of loosening them up and taking the pressure off of what is a very intimidating endeavor, being vulnerable in front of a stranger.

 

4. And for me the most important rule is give out information by the teaspoon not the shovel. I may give an overall description of what we will try and accomplish but in very general terms, not specifics. I like one swing thought at a time. As the OP said, he was trying to think of 6 things at once and we are only capable of thinking one thing at a time. We can go back and forth between thoughts very rapidly of course, but down that road lies madness as you are still thinking 6 different things at different times in one swing.

 

Often my student may hit a bad shot while I am excited about the one move we are working on. It will all come together in the end but almost never in the beginning. Putting the swing together one element at a time is imo by far the best way to learn. If you are swinging way past parallel, then coming over the top and hitting with your hands and cutting across the ball I would start with just shortening the swing and getting to the root cause of why the swing is too long. Breaking down of the wrists? Arms? Tilt? Whatever it is, there is plenty to work with and that one change alone will feel like a completely new swing even though we are just tightening up the swing you already have.

 

We will get to coming over the top after you have the club and your body in a better position to do those things. If I tell my student we are gonna shorten the back swing. Then we are going to fix the over the top move caused by starting the swing with the hands not the lower body. And then we will start dropping the club inside or at least keeping it on plane for the downswing those thoughts are in the students head and they will be aware of them when they practice or play on their own. All I want them doing is shortening their backswing and once we have accomplished that goal, we will move on to the next goal.

 

Teaching is a special calling and not many are really good at it. If you can find an instructor you click with like the OP, you are halfway there. If you don't click with your instructor, do not hesitate to find another.

Great post - great info and great insights ... Thanks!!

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Really interesting read.  I think lessons are a really interesting topic.  I have been playing seriously for about 5 years and I have had a range of experiences from worthless to really good.  In that time I have managed to go from an 18 handicap to 5.  Some key learnings (i.e. the best lessons I had) were:

- Early stages, focus on:

1. Fundamentals - setup (grip, posture etc.) - still in the top 2-3 lessons I have had

2. Strike

Note - I naturally knew how to hit a ball with reasonable power from the start through my sporting history so these provided me a foundation to get better

 

Next I would do a gapping lesson, understand the distances you hit (not what you think you hit, what you actually hit).  This plus a putting lesson got me to single figures

From a quick improvement standpoint, the best lesson I have ever had was a putting lesson.  I was a terrible putter, I found out that I aimed left and swung right and also my putter was too long for me.  The pro helped point this out and gave me drills to help fix it as well as drills to maintain it (and cut down my putter on the spot).   

 

Having got myself to about an 8 the next step was building consistency (full swing).  As per the original discussion this is where you can go backwards quickly and things can get really frustrating!  I found changes to improve one part of the game impacted others.  Positions and swing flaws were easy to spot and difficult to fix and marrying up a swing thought to the issue felt really tough.  Some issues I had was early extension, flipping the club on the back swing (which led to going over the top - pretty much like everyone).

 

The lesson that turned my fade to a draw (sometimes hook) was a simple one.  It was around the back swing.  Basically when your hands are above your trail foot, make the clubface point to the ball.  Initially I would move the club to that point and stop (coach would check) then I would make the swing from there.  Do this for all clubs, longer ones to have to move you hands further before having any wrist break...We tried things after this but nothing helped and we ended up moving back to this principle above.

 

Funnily enough after working on being able to hit a draw my coach and I agreed that focusing on hitting a fade as my stock shot was the way to go.  The changes I did above really helped make me more consistent and essentially built on the above.

 

The key thing is having an open mind, actually practicing the changes and then reporting back the findings.  And if a certain coach isn't clicking go elsewhere (if you can).  Also stat tracking apps and shot tracking products are good because it allows you to provide a coach with meaningful information and help guide the development focus.

 

That's my 2 cents anyway.  Great post and interesting topic.

WITB

Titleist 917D2 Driver - Speeder Evolution 757 Tour (Stiff)

Titleist 915F Fairway (15 degree) - Diamana 70g (Stiff)

Titleist 915H Hybrids (21 and 24 degree) - Adila Rogue 85H (Stiff)

Mizuno MP54 Irons (5-P) - Nippon NS Pro 950 (Stiff), 2 degrees flat

Mizuno MPT5 Wedges (50,54,58), 2 degrees flat 

Scotty Cameron Futura X7 (33')

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