First Lesson Impressions

Aztecs27

Aztecs27

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Well, initial thoughts are: :(

The reason for this is because I went down early to warm up with a basket of balls and felt pretty good about the way I was striking the ball.

Step into the lesson and I'm still striking the ball pretty well as she takes a look at my setup, swing etc...and then gives me a metaphorical kick to the family's by breaking down the problems with my swing...which in short is everything.

My ball striking is "really good" but the rest is pretty pitiful! I'm doing everything wrong (pretty much). My takeaway is on an outward plane (I knew this, but have been trying to square it up), I'm set up too much over the ball and my hands are too close to my body so I need to "stand up" a bit more.

My alignment isn't very good (I also knew this) and I sometimes "reverse pivot" (I think that's the term) at the top of my backswing (but not all the time)...Oh and I don't get my right arm and hands tucked enough on the down swing.

My stance is also too wide.

So...after breaking all this down and trying it all out, I'm still hitting the ball ok when it all works (this all with my 7 iron)...Lesson ends and I still have alot of balls to hit, so I'm trying the same drills shes given me with my "V-Easy Alignment Sticks"(tm) :(

But, it's all good, because I know, long term, it's going to benefit. So she's told me to really go away and work at getting my swing right for the next two weeks, then we'll start looking at some other areas. So I fear I have a long two weeks ahead of me!

All in all, a pretty good session, and my neck didn't bother me at all. :cool:
 
I guess it was better than it sounds on here. At least you knw what the problems are and where you need to go from here. Stick to the drills she showed you and don't be disappointed if you take two steps backwards to start with. The season doesn't really get going until April so plenty of time to sort the swing issues and come out firing
 
I guess it was better than it sounds on here. At least you knw what the problems are and where you need to go from here. Stick to the drills she showed you and don't be disappointed if you take two steps backwards to start with. The season doesn't really get going until April so plenty of time to sort the swing issues and come out firing
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This is the hope! Nothing great was ever achieved without hard work.

Might need to re-think my handicap target for the year though :D
 
Glad to hear it went well mate,somtimes you need to take a step or two back before going forward. Just remember to practise what you were shown and worked on in your lesson or your wasting your time and money.

Good Luck Mate
 
I agree steve, you have to believe in what you are learning, even if you feel like its not going right, short term loss for long term gain, good luck with the changes fella...

Andy! :P
 
I agree steve, you have to believe in what you are learning, even if you feel like its not going right, short term loss for long term gain, good luck with the changes fella...

Andy! :P
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:D

But yes I agree. I'm quite willing to take two steps back before progressing if it means it's going to make me a better golfer.
 
then gives me a metaphorical kick to the family's by breaking down the problems with my swing...which in short is everything.
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You and I must be brothers! I had the exact same thing done to me late last summer.

I stuck with it and now I hit a really nice draw rather than a distance sapping strong high weak fade.

DO stick with it, they know what they are talking about, Richard Smith at South Winchester is a fantastic coach and did a wonder job on me. I bet your pro can do a great job on you to!

The best thing is when they see you do a good shot on the course. I drew a 5 iron in uphill, into the wind, to a pin cut behind a bunker to about 7 feet from about 165 yards out with him watching from the marshal buggy behind the green!
 
I have had 5 lessons now and even though I am a long way off having it all ingrained its certainly helped massively. what I have found when up the range (not been on a course yet so not sure how that will pan out) and I start to slice again I go back to a few drills my pro taught me, this helps get me back to the basics and start hitting straight and confidently almost immediately.

Keep up with it and before you know it everything clicks into place (sort of haha) :D
 
Been taking regular lessons since I started playing 18months ago. It's taken me longer than most but the hard work is finally paying off. As others have said stick with it and be patient. Look forward to the updates on your progress and don't write your handicap target off yet!!!!
 
cant have been that bad, did you 'smash it' ;)
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:D :D :D

I went through a similar series of fundamental changes in November:

Address - stood too close to the ball
Weight shift (1) - getting stuck on the back foot
Weightshift (2) - losing balancing on follow through
Backswing (1) - taking away on the inside
Backswing (2) - not getting the club face vertical when shaft horizontal
Hands - not getting through the ball/breaking wrists at impact
Finish position - weight still on ball of back foot

Everything felt completely alien to start with but I spent a lot of time, 800 to 1000 balls a week at the range, trying to groove the changes. It feels much more natural now and the results both at the range and on the course have been spectacular - beat my personal record at my home track by 7 shots :D

So trust your pro, stick with the changes, put in some time getting it all to feel more natural and once your confidence in the new swing grows theres no reason you can't achieve your seasons goals. :)

Good luck and keep letting us know how it's going!
 
Appreciate your honesty mate! Finally getting my first lesson this weekend,and expect exactly the same assessment! Good luck with the new swing. ;)
 
It is only my opinion but I think it is very important that you enjoy the process of retraining your muscles and mind. I had my swing picked apart a few weeks back and I have been to the range every day bar today since. I had to do what could be very boring drills for days. Hitting half shots with an 8 iron while stepping through the shot to make my weight move, 300 balls over 3 days. Putting a rubber tee peg behind the ball to FORCE me to come from inside to outside, 300+ balls over 3 days. Putting a towel under my arm to help me keep my right arm closer to my body and help me not over swing. Playing a mock tennis forehand topspin to help both weight and shot shape. I could go on. I have really enjoyed the whole thing and am seeing some startling results. Yesterday I took the day off drills and worked on alignment and it really looked great, I let myself play full shots (not over swinging) and all my hard and enjoyable work started to come together and actually feel natural. I laughed out loud as my ball had a wonderful, beautiful, natural draw, knocking down the 150 marker more than ever before.

Can I do it when it matters, no idea, will I keep drilling, hell yes I am onto the right path at last, did I enjoy the process, hell yes.

I read this last night:

“The average handicap in the UK has not improved in the last 20 years. If you are one of the unfortunate ones who back this statistic up then one thing is clear; if you keep doing the same thing this year then the chances are you will be in the same situation this time next year. Another year passed, and your handicap not improved or worse!
So we need another strategy . And that is less golf and more practice. As a full time golf coach for the last 10 years one thing that’s clear to me is that the pupils I have who are improving considerably with their game are practicing deliberately. And that is the key – deliberate practice. This is a term coined by a professor from Florida state University, Dr Anders Ericsson, who has carried out extensive research on the subject of `expertise`. He found out those who had gained expertise in any domain not only practised but practised `deliberately`.
The key rules to practice by are: identify your strengths and weaknesses, split your time equally between the long and short game, stay with it even if it’s not enjoyable , do it alone and test yourself.
What I will hang my hat on is that if you increase your volume and quality of practice over the winter and decrease the number of rounds, you will see improvement.”

This is part of a debate on practice V playing winter golf so take what you will on those comments.

I hope this is of some use to you as it was for me because I had to type it all out and my copy typing is not good.


sorry it was a bit of a wall of text. Last thing from me, I always learn more ofter my lesson than I do during it as I have my own time to digest it.


Al
 
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