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Spectacular failure after lessons


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I have been playing off and on for 20+ years.  Only really tried to get serious about getting better over the last year-ish.  I was progressing, I knew I needed some help and went for lessons.  I don't want to discourage anyone from getting lessons from the same place I did so I won't mention them, but the are really known for their golf-tech...  During my sequence of lessons, I started getting worse and worse on the course.  Finished my lessons after those 2 months and went and played and continuously got better.  I was down to ~14 and even had a hole-in-one when everything was going great.

Fast forward a few months, things seemed off, I was not getting the distance with my driver that i thought i should be.  I am 52 and only hitting it ~220 or so.  I really felt like I should be in the 240-250 carry range.  I went back for more lessons, with the same golf-techy company, just a different location and my game is now worse then it has ever been, without exception.  

I love to play, but now I find myself not wanting to.  The embarrassment is at an all time high.  Both of my instructors are good, and qualified and the tech used is good, and I can see reasons for my misses.  But Jesus i seriously suck now and not sure what to do.  Take some time off, take more lessons, play more?  Worse part is when my wife goes with me.  She knows how much I paid for my clubs, and tells me that it isn't because the clubs...

Anyone else having post lesson failures?  What did you do to get out of the slumps?

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8 minutes ago, GStepp said:

I have been playing off and on for 20+ years.  Only really tried to get serious about getting better over the last year-ish.  I was progressing, I knew I needed some help and went for lessons.  I don't want to discourage anyone from getting lessons from the same place I did so I won't mention them, but the are really known for their golf-tech...  During my sequence of lessons, I started getting worse and worse on the course.  Finished my lessons after those 2 months and went and played and continuously got better.  I was down to ~14 and even had a hole-in-one when everything was going great.

Fast forward a few months, things seemed off, I was not getting the distance with my driver that i thought i should be.  I am 52 and only hitting it ~220 or so.  I really felt like I should be in the 240-250 carry range.  I went back for more lessons, with the same golf-techy company, just a different location and my game is now worse then it has ever been, without exception.  

I love to play, but now I find myself not wanting to.  The embarrassment is at an all time high.  Both of my instructors are good, and qualified and the tech used is good, and I can see reasons for my misses.  But Jesus i seriously suck now and not sure what to do.  Take some time off, take more lessons, play more?  Worse part is when my wife goes with me.  She knows how much I paid for my clubs, and tells me that it isn't because the clubs...

Anyone else having post lesson failures?  What did you do to get out of the slumps?

You have said a lot in this post but here are questions and quick thoughts. 
 

1.  Not sure what driving distance has to do with playing ability, but why do you think you should be hitting it longer?  What is your measured swing speed?  
 

2.  Implementing changes to the golf swing is hard and we often take steps backwards while we learn to ingrain the new patterns.  It feels different and we perceive different as bad.   The one thing I did t see in your what should I do list is practice.  How much time do you dedicate to practicing what you are asked to do in a lesson?  How much you pay for clubs does not relate to playing ability.   
 

3.  What are your issues on the course?  Do these issues correspond to what happens when you swing during your lessons?

4.  Golf-tecs strategy from what I remember is based on taking measurements and getting you into positions.  Maybe your body doesn’t allow you to do those things.  Can you execute with some success during the lesson?  Have you talked with your coach?  You didn’t like golftec the first time, why did you go back and how did you decide this location was better?

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My take, from virtually same position as you (age, ability, newfound desire to improve, coaching).

I have been lucky to have a coach I can go see about every three weeks, and have been doing so for almost a year.  He has tamed my gorilla swing to something far more controlled and consistent.  It has been hard.

What a great way to learn about muscle memory, the body's desire to repeat actions in spite of your brain's desire to do something different.  I needed to learn how to roll my wrists, swing inside out, drop my hands, on and on.  Gaining consistency across all these changes has been a long, long road.  Coach does this without tech, but I try and add that other places (real feedback away from his expertise).

All this to say, what I started out as thinking was a few lessons has lasted a long time.  My focus now is on the process and not all on the outcome.  This is hard stuff.  I'll know when I have reached my goal.

Golf is Life. 

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2 hours ago, GStepp said:

I have been playing off and on for 20+ years.  Only really tried to get serious about getting better over the last year-ish.  I was progressing, I knew I needed some help and went for lessons.  I don't want to discourage anyone from getting lessons from the same place I did so I won't mention them, but the are really known for their golf-tech...  During my sequence of lessons, I started getting worse and worse on the course.  Finished my lessons after those 2 months and went and played and continuously got better.  I was down to ~14 and even had a hole-in-one when everything was going great.

Fast forward a few months, things seemed off, I was not getting the distance with my driver that i thought i should be.  I am 52 and only hitting it ~220 or so.  I really felt like I should be in the 240-250 carry range.  I went back for more lessons, with the same golf-techy company, just a different location and my game is now worse then it has ever been, without exception.  

I love to play, but now I find myself not wanting to.  The embarrassment is at an all time high.  Both of my instructors are good, and qualified and the tech used is good, and I can see reasons for my misses.  But Jesus i seriously suck now and not sure what to do.  Take some time off, take more lessons, play more?  Worse part is when my wife goes with me.  She knows how much I paid for my clubs, and tells me that it isn't because the clubs...

Anyone else having post lesson failures?  What did you do to get out of the slumps?

I experienced something similar in my early 20's. I was playing to a 9 handicap and was in a real serious mode of my golf career. A local pro was recommended by one of my Dad's golfing buddies who had taken lessons from the guy. He had me making some pretty significant changes that I just never could get use too.  I really gave it an honest chance and stayed with it while my game went into a horrid, erratic mode.  After the lesson series ended (which were probably not spaced far enough apart), I couldn't even find my way back to the pre change swing.  I grew really frustrated with the game and, combined with the start of military service, just gave up playing.  When I finally returned to the game, I had pretty much lost the caustic mix of swing thoughts and just restarted my natural swing.  While my handicap had initially increased to DB golf, I was having more fun. 

The fact of the matter is that not all students and instructors are compatible.  I firmly believe that some swing mechanics are not achievable for some players - they simply do not align with physical limitations.  Now having completed two fittings and upgrading my equipment (from 30 year old technology), I'm thinking about lessons this winter in AZ.  I've gotten to know one of the pros in recent years and we seem to hit it off personality wise.  He's seen me on the range enough to know my swing.  If I opt to do lessons, I'm going to really clear that I'm looking for subtle, targeted changes to "tune" the weakest aspects of my swing... now at 60, I don't have the time or patience to repeat the previous experience.

In answer to your question, I would suggest just doing some range time and swing freely - that is to say try not to focus excessively on all the swing mechanic thoughts. If you opt to try lessons again, share this experience with any perspective instructors.

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Let's face it, golf is a hard sport. You wouldn't think so. The ball is not moving and the club is bigger than the ball. But, your body has to go through so many different moves and positions in order to bring the club back and then deliver it to the ball perfectly square at the impact position.  

If you have been at least an active forum reader you have probably noticed that you are not in this boat alone. Many have gone through swing changes and taken a downward slump and then it clicks and gets better. There are a few that went through many different coaches / instructors until they found the right fit.

My thoughts are:

Find an instructor that you relate to and is willing to work with what you have and not try to build you from scratch into a specific model swing type. Everyone is different. We all have different body types and flexibility.

Practice with a goal. It can be your goal or practicing something from a lesson. Work on one thing at a time. Keep it simple!

Don't worry how far you hit the ball right now. (The woods are always filled with long hitters) Better to be short and in the short grass! Distance will come one you are making a good swing and making proper contact.

Be patient! Don't give up or get frustrated. (I know, easy to say not easy to do) Frustration leads to tension and stress. These lead to a poor golf swing and poor results. 

 

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Getting better at golf is a continual process, not continuous. 
 

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3 hours ago, GStepp said:

I have been playing off and on for 20+ years.  Only really tried to get serious about getting better over the last year-ish.  I was progressing, I knew I needed some help and went for lessons.  I don't want to discourage anyone from getting lessons from the same place I did so I won't mention them, but the are really known for their golf-tech...  During my sequence of lessons, I started getting worse and worse on the course.  Finished my lessons after those 2 months and went and played and continuously got better.  I was down to ~14 and even had a hole-in-one when everything was going great.

Fast forward a few months, things seemed off, I was not getting the distance with my driver that i thought i should be.  I am 52 and only hitting it ~220 or so.  I really felt like I should be in the 240-250 carry range.  I went back for more lessons, with the same golf-techy company, just a different location and my game is now worse then it has ever been, without exception.  

I love to play, but now I find myself not wanting to.  The embarrassment is at an all time high.  Both of my instructors are good, and qualified and the tech used is good, and I can see reasons for my misses.  But Jesus i seriously suck now and not sure what to do.  Take some time off, take more lessons, play more?  Worse part is when my wife goes with me.  She knows how much I paid for my clubs, and tells me that it isn't because the clubs...

Anyone else having post lesson failures?  What did you do to get out of the slumps?

Lessons are a two way street. How much time did you practice implementing the changes from the lesson? For reference I got a lesson in Jan of 2018, it took me over a year before the changes became part of my swing. If you are expecting to take a lesson and then take it to the course it just won't happen without some practice time. 

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I can't wrap my head around anything too "golf-tech".  Found a pro that can teach without "golf-tech" and I can wrap my head around the ideas much better.  Too many positions and angles running around my head and I'm a mess.....  

 

Check out Danny Maude.....he's a great example of trying to simplify things without getting too technical...as an example.

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I don't really have much to add here other than you have to grind your @$$ off when in a slump.

On the instruction side, I have personally found it beneficial to focus on "feels". If I'm taking a lesson and the coach has me make a change, I try to focus really hard on what I'm feeling in my body to achieve that position so it is easier to replicate on my own. It also never hurts to ask your coach how they would achieve the same position. What would be their "feel"? Another thing you can do is ask about some pros who you could possibly try to model after or who have made similar changes to what your coach is trying to make with you. It's not a great path for everyone, but I have found some success with it.

 

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I took a package of lessons from golftech 4 or 5  years ago and really didn't gain much from it, other than a lighter wallet.  They focused too much on trying to get me into positions at different points in my swing that mimicked a couple of tour guys.  Pretty big age difference and athletic ability between me and those guys.  Anyways, I found a great teacher here in Oldsmar, FL that really worked with me and got me from in the 16 index range down to a 6 in fairly short time.  @GSteppif you have any interest PM me and I will get you his contact info.  It's not that far of a drive from St Pete up here and it may well be worth your time.  

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