First lesson = Disaster!

leaney

leaney

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So....after shooting 108 in the pouring rain on Sunday, I thought I would get some lessons in to find out where I can improve.

Basically I was doing nothing right apart from hitting the ball.

We worked on my stance which with practice will become second nature to me. We also worked on my swing which I don't think is a million miles from what I was doing anyway, so not much of a problem there.

But the BIG problem is that I have had to change my grip. And I cannot for the life of me do hit the ball well at all.

It feels so uncomfortable and so unnatural, I was close to walking out of the lesson. As I was hitting the ball a million times better before I paid the pro £43 for a lesson and now my gran can hit a ball further than me.

I'll keep practising as I can't give up on things but I'm annoyed to say the least.
 
Stick at it lessons is the way to go.

Your body needs time and practice to adjust, it will get better the more you work on it. Your swing will be all the better for it though you prob don't think that at the moment. :cool:
 
Don't panic! It's supposed to feel uncomfortable. If it does, it means it's working.

Persistance is the key. It will start to feel more natural and you will become a better golfer for it.

Almost everyone takes a couple of steps backwards after having a lesson before progressing, it's perfectly normal.
 
I recently reached a plateau on my game, wasnt getting any better, not getting any worse.

Had a few lessons, and for a few weeks my game was rubbish, but now I am seeing the benefits and im now back to where I was on my plateau and I can see lots of scope to make better scores in the coming weeks.
So Dont be disheartened, dont give up, keep practicing what you have been taught

and remember, No Matter What, There are always Golfers Out There Who Are Worse Than You

Keep us posted on your progress

Fragger
 
I was hitting all shots left of the target area i.e. a nine iron to a large green would, if I was lucky, hang on to the left putting surface and the problem meant hitting a fairway was easy ... just not the one I was playing!

I went for a lesson and the fault was spotted by the time I had hit two or three shots ... I was rotating my hands as the club left the ball - now I argued that that was not possible without me realising it so video evidence proved once again, I was wrong!!

Changing my take away to what everyone on here does naturally was so alien to me that I could not hit a ball!

It was the re-teaching of my memory/muscles, I think, that was the big problem but all was OK within a week.

This may be your current problem, the memory/muscle thing!
 
Spent 18 months hitting it all over the show. Now striking the ball better than ever, with more control and more distance, a consistent shot shape and all because I had faith.

I hit a PB in the medal to get my only cut to date, but had this horrible pull hook shot. Pro changed my grip and I couldn't hit a ball for three weeks. Now I'm playing btter than I was before the grip change.

Stick with it, it will get better I promise!

:)
 
I got very consistent with a swing early this year, shooting mid-low 80s. Went to the pro for a lesson when I started shooting high 80s and my swing was horrible.

Turns out my old swing had got me so far and my good short game had got me to low 80s. Now I have a new and improved swing that has all the potential to get me shooting high 70s when I get more consistent. I have never had so many birdies in a weekend (4) since I made the change!
 
Am in exactly the same position as you - shooting late 90's ish - had a lesson and my grip has been immediately changed.

At first hitting a barn door was a struggle, am practicing a lot and am gradually getting more consistent just now with better ball flight. Still saying that can now no longer hit a driver for toffee, whereas it was my go to club before.

Have promised myself that i will stick with it come what may theory being two steps backwards - four steps forward...

Next lesson is on Saturday

GBC
 
It was the same for me with my first few lessons - every time the pro made a few small changes I could no longer hit the ball - at all - I mean air shots and everything.

Then it all starts to fall into place again and you get a little better until the next lesson.

No, I'm finding the changes come easier and I don't loose the ability to hit a shot immediately after a lesson. Stick with it and it will come.
 
You've taken the first step, you now need to back that up with lots of practise on the particular area that was covered in the lesson. It takes a lot of work to get to the 'unconscious competence' stage.

Stick with it, ask the pro for one or two simple drills you can use to ingrain the work you have done then practise.
 
So....after shooting 108 in the pouring rain on Sunday, I thought I would get some lessons in to find out where I can improve.

Basically I was doing nothing right apart from hitting the ball.

We worked on my stance which with practice will become second nature to me. We also worked on my swing which I don't think is a million miles from what I was doing anyway, so not much of a problem there.

But the BIG problem is that I have had to change my grip. And I cannot for the life of me do hit the ball well at all.

It feels so uncomfortable and so unnatural, I was close to walking out of the lesson. As I was hitting the ball a million times better before I paid the pro £43 for a lesson and now my gran can hit a ball further than me.

I'll keep practising as I can't give up on things but I'm annoyed to say the least.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a great lesson to me. :D

Imagine if he'd said, "yep there's nothing wrong at all, just a little bit of weight shift required and that should knock off 28 shots...". Then I would walk out of the lesson.

A big change in grip means a big change. It takes time to adjust but will be worth it in the long run; ONLY if you are serious about improving though.

There are NO magic fixes in this game. They all take time, practice and patience.

Good luck! :cool:
 
Oh one thing that helps me is taking a club into the living room when you're watching telly. Taking the proper grip
And just sit there holding the club. Helps it feel more natural when you come to hit balls. :)
 
Think Piece summed it up pretty well. Above all resist the temptation however strong to revert to type or you are just wasting your time and money. It will take time and effort and will be frustrating. Work on the grip, hit some balls at the range if you can and keep going. It will feel natural soon and from a stronger foundation you can build a decent swing. It didn't sound like too much else was wrong at this stage so stick with the programme
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

I'm happy to report that after hitting the range this evening, I was hitting it a bit better than I was after making the changes yesterday. And I'm hoping when I go down there tomorrow, things will improve further.

When I was with the pro yesterday, I was shown the interlock grip (probably because i was doing a poor version of it beforehand) but now I have moved to the vardon grip and it feels a lot better.

Who else uses the vardon grip?
 
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