Done the right thing?

[Swingalot]

So, started playing golf around 6/7 years ago and have been pretty self taught getting down from high 20s to a best case 12, with only the odd lesson when real problems have arisen.
Stayed at 12/13 for a few years and starting to creep up and noticed that my bad shots vary from a sharp right, to a pull hook, so I have gone to a well known top 100 golf coach for a course of lessons. He has made a few changes and told me to come back in 2 weeks and I have committed to him that I will practise what he has told me for 3/4 sessions per week. The changes are pretty dramatic, for instance I used to have a flat/inside takeaway and now I'm working on getting far more on plane and vertical, but this is having some instant negative effects. I would say 80% of my hits are hozel rockets. At the lesson it was 95% so some slight improvement, but still I have gone from someone who could normally get around and shoot a score to someone who has just had to pull out of this weeks medal and also a work golf day next week as I'm completely unable to hit a golf ball.
Have I done the right thing? Has anyone else had to go through this pain before?
Just got back from the range and it was pretty embarrassing standing in a bay where I used to hit my fair share of sweetly struck shots to a jibbering fool who looked like his first day with a club.

 

[Khamelion]

I played golf in my younger days and I grooved in some really bad habits, when I started playing again a couple of years ago my game was rubbish 13months ago I started having lessons and like yourself I went from hitting the ball reasonably well to hitting a lot of shockers.

This is all part of the learning process when getting lessons, getting rid of your old bad habits and trying to groove in new good habits, will mean 1 step forwards and 2 steps back, or at least that is what it will feel like.

Stick with it, the improvements the coach is trying to get you to do, will click and you will see good gains.

 

[In_The_Rough]

You couldn't have been happy with how your game was going which is why you went to a coach in the first place. Things will get worse before they get better. It took me around 6 months to remodel my swing from an over the top action with poor weight transfer to where it is now. Stick with it and it will improve. Yes you have done the right thing providing to continue to practice what you have been told

 

[pbrown7582]

i can understand where you are at. It's not nice and can last a while but no pain no gain after a couple of months just in time for some nice sunny weather you'll be creaming it and on your way to single figures. Stick with it and hope it improves sooner but the hard graft will pay off.

 

[bladeplayer]

Got first ever lessons at start of this year , worked hard at what I was shown , was told to stand taller & take away was very flat , so we went about changing that .. suffered terribly for a few weeks , even had thoughts of I hate this game & don't wana bother anymore .. but golf is my game so I kept working hard ,its coming good , last 2 comps were 75 & 78 gross ..
6 qualifiers started with 3x 0.1 , buffer , 0.8 cut & buffer again .. still don't feel im swinging natrualy as I used to but scores are coming .. not saying its better but its getting there ..

Keep at it & good luck

 

[Swingalot]

Much appreciate the comments to date, just low as a worm at the moment. Just amazing how you can go backwards so quickly, but as said above, sometimes you have to go back to go forward.

 

[Swingalot]

You couldn't have been happy with how your game was going which is why you went to a coach in the first place. Things will get worse before they get better. It took me around 6 months to remodel my swing from an over the top action with poor weight transfer to where it is now. Stick with it and it will improve. Yes you have done the right thing providing to continue to practice what you have been told

No your right I was not 100% happy. There was still too many rounds when a bad shot came from nowhere or I would hit a fade all day one day a draw the next. The pro thinks the issue was I was all hand / eye coordination so this was just getting me out of a pretty flawed swing, but with at times unpredictable results. Funny thing is, I thought about a year ago I had this game sussed.

That was probably my biggest mistake!

 

[In_The_Rough]

No your right I was not 100% happy. There was still too many rounds when a bad shot came from nowhere or I would hit a fade all day one day a draw the next. The pro thinks the issue was I was all hand / eye coordination so this was just getting me out of a pretty flawed swing, but with at times unpredictable results. Funny thing is, I thought about a year ago I had this game sussed.

That was probably my biggest mistake!

Nobody has this game sussed mate thats why the world number 1 has a coach, there is always room for improvement no matter how good or bad you are. 1 day I can go to the course and shoot level par the next time I play I can shoot in the nineties thats what keeps everybody returning you never know what can happen. I have got my swing to where I want it to be now to lessons and practice but it is a painful journey when rebuilding a swing. Stick with it

 

[hovis]

my pal plays off 9 and has a unique swing ( a pro's nightmare) after persuading him to have lessons he went up to 19 over night. he stuck with it for 3 months, 1000's of range ball and repeat lessons and no good! he went back to his old swing and is now off 8. i think the key is finding a pro to work with the swing you already have. would a pro change jim furyk's or dustin johnsons swing? hell no!

 

[jimbob.someroo]

my pal plays off 9 and has a unique swing ( a pro's nightmare) after persuading him to have lessons he went up to 19 over night. he stuck with it for 3 months, 1000's of range ball and repeat lessons and no good! he went back to his old swing and is now off 8. i think the key is finding a pro to work with the swing you already have. would a pro change jim furyk's or dustin johnsons swing? hell no!

Whilst I agree with your advice of finding a pro to work with the swing, to go from 9-19, you'd have to shoot 100 competitive rounds over par ...

 

[hovis]

Whilst I agree with your advice of finding a pro to work with the swing, to go from 9-19, you'd have to shoot 100 competitive rounds over par ...

he didn't play one comp with his swing. i was stating 19 handicap from his stableford score for maybe 30 games

 

[duncan mackie]

Much appreciate the comments to date, just low as a worm at the moment. Just amazing how you can go backwards so quickly, but as said above, sometimes you have to go back to go forward.

easily......

as long as you are on the same page as your Pro with regard to the objectives, and stay focused with belief, it will come.

I still remember 15 years ago when I was off 7 doing exactly this in an agreed affort to get to 2 (his assesment of realistic potential) and having to hit 1000 balls at the range letting go at impact with the right hand - a drastic drill considered necessary at the time!

just don't go half measures - that way lies pain.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

When I used to coach I would say.

If you know you have been doing it wrong and I show you how to do it right, if it feels all wrong then it must be right and when it feels right it must be wrong. Eventually what feels wrong will feel right.

 

[golfdub]

Whilst I agree with your advice of finding a pro to work with the swing, to go from 9-19, you'd have to shoot 100 competitive rounds over par ...

Yep agree thats 100 games played to get from 9 to 19 and every game would be over hc. That would be nearly two years.
I started new lessons in November last year off 11hc and never shot my handicap until last month when I went 9over and now hitting the ball well again. You have to be in it for the long run to make it get anywhere as it just dont change over nigth.

Good luck

 

[duncan mackie]

When I used to coach I would say.

If you know you have been doing it wrong and I show you how to do it right, if it feels all wrong then it must be right and when it feels right it must be wrong. Eventually what feels wrong will feel right.

surely you mean 'Eventually what feels right will be right'?

 

[jimbob.someroo]

When I used to coach I would say.

If you know you have been doing it wrong and I show you how to do it right, if it feels all wrong then it must be right and when it feels right it must be wrong. Eventually what feels wrong will feel right.

surely you mean 'Eventually what feels right will be right'?

you lost me at feel! :mmm:

 

[Doon frae Troon]

surely you mean 'Eventually what feels right will be right'?

Duncan you are getting ahead of this!
But of course you are right...right.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

I have suffered over the years with intermittent bouts of the Shermans, very upsetting and nearly put me out of golf, had a series of lessons in 2011, lots of hard work but things have improved, so I would say you are doing exactly the right thing. Good luck and stick at it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I would be going back to the pro and asking for him to look over what you are doing as he shouldn't have left you in a position where you can't get the ball going forward. I understand the fact that you usually go backwards but there has to be a limit to how far you are prepared to regress.

 

[hovis]

i really dont understand this ''you've got to expect your golf to get worse before its gets better after a lesson'' if you went to a guitar lesson and you left playing worse you'd want your money back. is this what they teach pro's on their first day. day 1 being ''how to drop in a get out clause on your lessons''