First lesson today. Driving range or round of golf?

[Grantley1988]

I have been playing for a year now twice a week and thought it was about time I got a lesson to sort out my power fade (Slice)

I'm playing well. 15hcp and a personal best of 79

My weakness is 4 iron upwards. They are too inconsistent!

I had my first lesson today which was great, he changed my grip and filmed my swing to show my out to in swing path. After a while I was starting to hit a draw with my 7 iron we then moved on to my driver. Although not hitting a draw, most of my shots were straight and were carrying 250 yards which I have never done!

My dilemma is should I still be playing rounds of golf or just practising at the range?

I had a round today. Although not scoring well, I was hitting drives much further than I ever have but I didn't have the confidence attacking the flag on my second shot or with my short game.

I have a few rounds booked this week and I want to stick to what I have been taught and to show my instructor that I have took what he has shown me on board and hopefully swinging well for the lesson next week.

After a lesson do you guys try to stay away from playing and make the most of your lesson?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Do both

It's pointless having lessons if you then don't groove in the changes the pro is trying to make. Work on them at the range till they feel comfortable then get out on the course and put the changes to the test.

Good luck and enjoy :thup:

 

[Evesdad]

First rule after having a lesson for me is usually play like a numpty! Then it beds in a bit and I play a little better!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I prefer a range session after a lesson to get the changes feeling more natural and then go out onto the course and see how they hold up

 

[Retread61]

I would always say have at least one practice session after a lesson before you play again. That session should also be really strict in that you religiously apply the changes your pro has shown you. I often find that hitting 30 or 40 balls really focussing on my lesson does more good than hitting 120 when your concentration can slip.

 

[chrisd]

I had a lesson at 6pm this evening at my course and decamped to the range at 8pm for a 2 hour session. The range is great for grooving a new position

 

[hovis]

Think it depends on what's s been changed. Somethings bring instant success and others don't. Tiger woods said slightly changing grip needs at least 800 balls for it to start to feel normal.

 

[DAVEYBOY]

Think it depends on what's s been changed. Somethings bring instant success and others don't. Tiger woods said slightly changing grip needs at least 800 balls for it to start to feel normal.

I can vouch for this... Remember that round after Neil changed my grip :rofl:

 

[hovis]

I can vouch for this... Remember that round after Neil changed my grip :rofl:

I'd forgotten about that. Funny times

 

[pbrown7582]

Do both

It's pointless having lessons if you then don't groove in the changes the pro is trying to make. Work on them at the range till they feel comfortable then get out on the course and put the changes to the test.

Good luck and enjoy :thup:

this you need to groove those changes but if you feel confident enough to get out and try mthem on the course do so too but without too much expectation at this earlier stage. Good luck.

 

[Foxholer]

I say the same as others - Range first! Otherwise you are using the course as the range and the swing won't groove and the round is likely to be a disaster!

Keep your mind free of technical thoughts on the course (except perhaps a single 1) and let the swing happen! If it has bedded in, fine; if it hasn't, then more range work is needed for it to do so.

 

[SVB]

I do both. The pro I have lessons with suggests thinking of a white line you cross as you step onto the 1 st tee. Permission to play as you like to get round but equally the expectation that on the range you will only hit balls practicing on the changes. That way you have a chance to enjoy your golf (it is only a hobby after all), and the changes make their way into your game through osmosis rather than struggling feeling as if you have to play with the changes straight away. May take a bit longer overall I guess but a lot less stressful!

Simon

 

[the_coach]

I have been playing for a year now twice a week and thought it was about time I got a lesson to sort out my power fade (Slice)

I'm playing well. 15hcp and a personal best of 79

My weakness is 4 iron upwards. They are too inconsistent!

My dilemma is should I still be playing rounds of golf or just practising at the range?

Something worth considering is any elite am or tour pro making any kind of change to either 'static alignments'{grip, address alignments, posture etc} or any changes to any part/parts of the swing motion, will put a bunch more time into working on these than most folks realize, so they are working both often & regularly at the practice ground.
Takes a long time to make changes stick, they'll never stick if the proper time is not given to that work.

So you need to be at the range/practice ground often & as regularly as the other things in life allow. It's better to go say 3 even 2 times a week for 30 mins proper practice, than just one longer 60 min+ session a week. Better while your doing it to put a proper practice station down with couple alignment sticks (clubs) so you know from the get go your aimed properly (important you still work to a target direction but not distance) & the ball position is constantly in the right place.

This doesn't mean you can't step out on the course in between sessions, but out on the course with the pressure of hazards etc or a 'counting card' be aware that pressure will more likely make you slip back into default mode & the 'old' swing motions {so with you, most likely back to hands/arms/upper body starting transition with then the right shoulder arms & club moving first 'outwards' to the ball/target line, so steeper out to in swing, (instead of right shoulder first moving downwards towards the ground) then dependent on where the face is looking as to the starting direction & end destination of the ball!}

Thing worth considering too, is most elite ams, tour pros, when working on changes do a bunch of slow-motion position movements both to the selective parts of that swing change, plus whole slow-mo swings to enable them to 'feel' those changes properly, usually with a mirror {just feel, as to what you think you're doing, often not doing what you think you are the unless you can see it too} but oft times too they work with a phone/tablet/camera, useful too to have with you at practice a video of you making the correct motion that your pro has taken & approved, so then you have something to compare what you're doing too, hopefully 'new swing' rather than 'old swing'.

These elite players will intersperse all this slow- mo 'feel' both full & part motions with hitting shots.
But key here they won't be swinging at balls flat out normal speed - you simply don't have time at normal swing speed to feel the changes your trying to make anyways properly - that's why you'll see them make a bunch of swings at 50%/60% swing speed.
That's why I initially said work with a 'work station' to direction & aim, not distance.
If you only swing at the range trying to make changes at full speed (so trying to hit to your 'normal' distance with clubs) the changes will never really take, just means you go back to swinging with your old swing tendencies, as you'll be swinging a good ways to fast to make or feel those changes that have been advised by your Pro.

[video=youtube_share;ogiq_UHKg74]http://youtu.be/ogiq_UHKg74[/video]