Golf lessons killing me

[mickh68]

Ive had a few lessons over last few months with the pro @ west kent golf club. During lessons & at the range im mostly hitting it well,but as soon as i play im awful. Ive gone from mid 80s to mid to high 90s. Im at my whits end. :-(

 

[socky]

Exactly the same boat as you.... 109 in yesterday's midweek medal ! ONE HUNDRED AND NINE

I want to cry.

 

[pbrown7582]

Ive had a few lessons over last few months with the pro @ west kent golf club. During lessons & at the range im mostly hitting it well,but as soon as i play im awful. Ive gone from mid 80s to mid to high 90s. Im at my whits end. :-(

are you putting in some practice between lessons or just playing to change much you need to put hours of quality practice in hitting fewer balls correctly rather than just standing and bashing away a 100+,

stick with it you will see the benefits in time.

 

[mickh68]

I really dont know what im doing, try to clear my mind,but have so many thoughts.i could of easily walked off today,& thats really not me.

 

[bobmac]

Did your pro explain to you why ha has changd something in your game?

 

[mickh68]

Yes & i know what im working on.when playing i seem clueless

 

[jdchelsea]

I read somewhere that your range practice should be split between mechanical practice and then the other half purely target practice putting all mechanical thoughts to the back of your mind. I know that's easier said than done.For me I always find the more I think about swinging the worse the results tend to be.

What helps me is really focusing on my line I want to hit the shot on, picking a spot about 2 foot in front of my ball and concentrating on that spot really helps me clear my mind. Also I'm trying to develop a good preshot routine.

I hit similar numbers to yourself so I'm probably not the best to give advice but that's what seems to hels me. Now if I could only learn to pitch and chip better

 

[USER1999]

I don't know how severe the changes you are making are, but for me, I am only starting to see some benefit after about 6 months of lessons, and a heck of a lot of practice. I figure another year should do it.

A few lessons, and a bit of practice is never going to be enough to give you confidence to take it out on the course, and play with an empty head.

When you embarked on the lessons, did you think the Pro would tweak your grip a fraction, and then say you swung it like Luke Donald? Learning to hit the ball properly is never going to be a quick fix, unless that was what you wanted. If so, it is down to you to dicuss your goals and time scale with your Pro.

 

[Richardb1012302]

Tell me about it, the range is so much easier. I don't think the rain helps on the course, soft fairways are very forgiving :/

 

[thelank1985]

I'm exactly the same having regular lessons but can't seem to pull together a good round. Its a very frustrating game!

 

[Khamelion]

I started lessons 3 months ago mainly to try and cure my slice, after my first lesson it was pretty clear that I was going back to square one and quite literally start from the feet up.

So from the feet and ball position, to how my knees and legs work, the turn of my hips and body, to how my arms moved away from the ball on the take away, head position, hands and grip, club position behind the ball, plus a few more a cannot remember.

The point being you cannot remember all the things you are taught in one go, so you have to put in the practice and concentrate on one area until it becomes second nature, then you move onto the next.

When you're changing something, it'll take time for it to feel right and as written above you need to practice what you're shown for it to become second nature.

It's all about practice, practice and practice, 50 balls 3 or 4 times a week is better than 100 balls 1 or 2 times a week.

 

[Curls]

Hi Mick,

It's a common thread on here, putting in "lessons" and any other term to the effect that your getting worse and you'll come up with quite a few hits! The fact is it's not easy, it's not supposed to be, but if you want to get from where you were to where you want to be then they're probably necessary. I had lessons last year and after every lesson took a step back. I went from shooting mid 80s to mid 90s and thought about chucking it in. But in reality I wouldn't have become much better on my own. My swing had some fundamental flaws that with practice I could have played okay with but never broken through to the next level. I had my last lesson at the end of last season and worked on doing what my pro was trying to get me to do, balanced properly and striking the ball better. A lot of practice over the winter (and no lessons) and I started the season well, getting from 17 to 11 where I am at the moment. But I know where I am is where I'll stay unless I go back, and I'm willing to accept that when I go back I'll very possibly start scoring worse, but there's little chance of me making it from this level to the next without help and if that's where I want to be then I'll have to man-up and accept the difficulties that will entail. I'll probably leave it until the end of season, then start lessons and put in range time with less playing (and no competitive playing) over the winter. Hopefully by the start of next season Ill go lower.

You can see your improvement on the range, thats important because it shows you how good you will be, the problem is you haven't trained your muscles to do it without putting too much thought into it. That will always get in your way when you play, because you should be thinking about as little as possible at the moment of truth. Either stop the lessons and solidify what you have learned, or continue lessons and accept that you might not score too well for the time-being. Either way, dedicate more of your practice time to short pitches/chips, youll find you make up some of the scores you lose by wayward approaches with the new swing. Were you really going to go much lower with the swing you had? That answer to that is the answer to "should I have started lessons at all?"
Best of luck chap, you'll get there, everyone who commits to practising and enjoys their golf without being over-technical on the course gets there, its just "there" is lower for some than others depending on where you started.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I think I am yet to hit a good shot during a lesson with my pro, we instead try and get a "segment" of the process correct. I then go away for 5 weeks and practice at the range, do drills without a ball at home(/work) and drills with a ball at the range.

Its all paying off, more because I am putting 200+ balls a week of practice and doing 10+ mins of drills a day without a ball. Add to that supplimentary advice from the forum and youtube to correct minor issues with strength and flexability exercises.

All this has helped me shoot some good scores in the handful of rounds I have had this year.

The lesson should not improve your game, it should show you what you need to practice to improve your game!

 

[JustOne]

A few lessons, and a bit of practice is never going to be enough to give you confidence to take it out on the course, and play with an empty head.

When you embarked on the lessons, did you think the Pro would tweak your grip a fraction, and then say you swung it like Luke Donald? Learning to hit the ball properly is never going to be a quick fix, unless that was what you wanted. If so, it is down to you to dicuss your goals and time scale with your Pro.

^
^
^
This.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

You really need to put the hours and effort in on the range and work on the drills etc. Some changes can take what seems forever to bed in. I feel your pain as we all want to go out and enjoy the game but you have to look at the bigger and long term view. If the pro has told you what he's working on then stick with it and dont go back to old ways on the course.

Like Murph I started making swing changes, big changes, in December. Only since April/May have I started to see regular results and even now we are still making some tweaks and I'll go back for a few weeks until I get what he's showing me to work

 

[mickh68]

Thanks chaps, took replys on board & went range this morning, i worked hard on what the pro has been teaching me, i struck the ball very well. So lessons are working, just need to declutter my head when playing.

 

[patricks148]

Thanks chaps, took replys on board & went range this morning, i worked hard on what the pro has been teaching me, i struck the ball very well. So lessons are working, just need to declutter my head when playing.

Just keep at it.
I wish i had taken lessons 6 years ago when i first took up golf. I just worked it out formyself and got down to 7.5, but didn't have a repeatable swing.

When it was good it was ok, but when its bad its very bad.

started having lessons last year and this year working with a swing Gyde thingy.

its getting there but massive steps back to get things right

 

[Neddy]

Can't emphasise enough how important it is to stick at it. I had 8 lessons between March and the end of May. I haven't quite yet hit the scores that I was hitting last summer (having self taught for 6 months) but i feel way more in control of my swing and like i know what I'm doing, and when it all clicks i will go lower than i ever have.

I suppose what I'm essentially saying is, focus on how you feel about your game rather than what's on the scorecard. The two things very rarely match up.

 

[Lollfred]

I think you have a lot of sympathy, as lots of us are either in the same situation or have been there too.

Sometimes i hit the ball like a pro (te he) and sometimes i look as if i have never played golf before, but stick with it and i'm sure you will reap the benefits ....

 

[Dave3498]

I really dont know what im doing, try to clear my mind,but have so many thoughts.i could of easily walked off today,& thats really not me.

Don't lose sight of your primary reason for playing Golf. It is all about enjoyment. It's about fresh air and excercise in beautiful surroundings with friends and new acquaintances. Of course we all want to play well and improve our handicaps and that adds to the enjoyment, but if you are consistently walking off the course in a bad mood with your head 'done-in', then I suggest it is not just your swing that is at fault. There are always positives to be had from a game of golf, even a bad one, so dwell on these. I scored 22 points in my Midweek Stableford on Wednesday, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute of the 3.1/2 hour round.

Incidentally, 22 points isn't the worst Stableford score I've ever had!!