DCB
Well-known member
Read thru and and it's been pointed out there are bad pros and good pros, there's also bad pupils and good pupils 
Lessons...a complete waste of money?
- Thread starter leaney
- Start date
Doon frae Troon
Ryder Cup Winner
There are good and bad Pro's out there but there are also good and bad pupils.
My Uncle was a great coach, he taught many champions and top pro's with a very simple method [Luke donald style if you like]
He was well respected by his peers and the SGU but he would occasionally get pupils who had only been playing for a couple of years who thought they knew better than he did.
My Uncle was a great coach, he taught many champions and top pro's with a very simple method [Luke donald style if you like]
He was well respected by his peers and the SGU but he would occasionally get pupils who had only been playing for a couple of years who thought they knew better than he did.
drawboy
Tour Winner
My pro took me for lessons and did try to get me swinging more on plane but I just didn't have the time to practice this into my game. After two lessons with my head swimming with swing thoughts I slowly fell apart. I had no choice but to go back to my old ways and my game then picked up to where it should have been. I went back to the pro and told him I still needed him and his help to improve but it had to be around what I had and that we would have to try to work with that. So it's putting, chipping and inside 100 yrds that I will concentrate on according to him it should reap real benefits in my game. Moral. Let him know what you want.
smange
Journeyman Pro
As has been said, there are good teaching pros and some not so good and what one of us finds works may not work for another
Homer, as you rubbish the OPs opinion in favour of telling us how great your pro is can I ask you a couple of questions
How many different pros have you had lessons from in the last 10 years?
Approximately how many lessons have you had in the last 10 years?
What was your handicap 10 years ago?
What is your handicap now?
Homer, as you rubbish the OPs opinion in favour of telling us how great your pro is can I ask you a couple of questions
How many different pros have you had lessons from in the last 10 years?
Approximately how many lessons have you had in the last 10 years?
What was your handicap 10 years ago?
What is your handicap now?
DCB
Well-known member
BTatHome
Tour Winner
I tried some lessons when I first restarted the game, in an attempt to control the over the top swing I have, but struggled to get anything (apart from a lower bank balance and lots of hooks) from the routines that I was given to practise. Since then (around 5 years ago now) I haven't been near a pro. I do get to occasional patch when I reconsider it, but then it clicks again and I wonder why bother.
freddielong
Tour Winner
Lessons with the right teacher are worth every penny and more, also it's really important to work on what you have been told and not do half of it cause it's hard or not feeling any better
Jay Gee
Assistant Pro
You seem to have been very unlucky, but I think your statement is still OTT. Just how many Pros have you seen to tar 'the vast majority' with the same brush?
I've seen 4 Pros since starting out in January. 1st one was on holiday, 2nd was at a club near work, 3rd at a club nearer home (as it was more convenient) and 4th is at another local club which offers group lessons. In that short time, I've gone from shooting 79 over 9 holes to 101 over 18 holes and there's still a long way to go.
Each pro I've seen has had a different style of coaching, but they have all identified areas for improvement and effectively communicated this in a way that make sense, together with how to go about improving each aspect. I think it's great that you've been able to fix your swing from Youtube videos, but that wouldn't necessarily work for everyone either. It also seems very hit and miss. There could be 101 different reasons why your swing wasn't working - how did you narrow it down to your wrist action? Then having found 3 different ways of cocking your wrists, how long did it take you to determine which was the right method for you?
In my limited experience, this is exactly the sort of thing my coach does for me, without all the guesswork or potentially endless trial and error. Maybe I've just been fortunate to have found some of the rare decent coaches. I watch Youtube videos too, but without having some idea of what needs fixing to begin with, I don't think that would provide all the help I need. Great that it worked for you though.
Slicer30
Q-School Graduate
Read thru and and it's been pointed out there are bad pros and good pros, there's also bad pupils and good pupils
So far I have not went for lessons as I dont totally beleive I need them. Bit hard headed and still going down the teach myself route. I just dont think I am ready for my swing to be pulled apart and would probably defend it a little.
I guess an analogy here is the Guy who does DIY and does not want to call in the professionals because he knows they will point out all the mistakes he has made.
So in reply - I think I'd be a bad pupil
hovis
Tour Winner
why would anyone not want their swing to look like a tour pro's. i wish mine did
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
What's your h/cap Leaney?
BTatHome
Tour Winner
Does his handicap really give you any information to help out in the original query ?
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
I am arguing that good pros WILL treat you as an individual and a bad one will try and mould your technique into a method they prefer. That is when you need to be bold enough to say you aren't happy and find someone else. My club pro is a perfectly capable teacher and has done good things with a lot of our members and got a few playing very well. I've had some lessons with him and I understand what he is saying and trying to get me to do. However, his methods never seem to ever stick. I can take what I've learned and work on it and for a few weeks it seems fine but then seems to drift off and I could never recapture it. The last guy I used long term (18 months or so) has fantastic teaching credentials. He is very technically focussed and while I got a lot out of it in the end again I thought I reached a plateau and didn't seem to be moving on despite working hard on drills
In the end I went to a local club pro on word of mouth recommendation. He said he taught "Plane Truth" which was something I had no idea about. He explained it before we even hit a ball so I could understand the process. In the 14 months I have gone from 14-10 and I am hitting it as well and more regularly than I have in a long time. It is the short game that is killing me but we are working hard to address that.
What I'm saying is you need to look around rather than writing your experiences off as the way everyone does it. I wasn't saying your opinion was rubbish although re-reading it I can see thats how it comes over - SORRY. I do think the argument in your opening paragraph that they are money grabbing con men is surely flawed. Many like Bob on here and my own pro put a lot of time in away from the teaching bay helping pupils with quick pointers.
leaney
Challenge Tour Pro
Why do you want to know? Are you going to suggest that teaching 'Luke Donald swings' is best suited for certain handicaps?
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
How many different pros have you had lessons from in the last 10 years? 3 first one took 18 months out for two knee operations hence the switch to pro 2. Was with him for 18 months felt we'd reached a plateau. Moved to my current guy in December 11
Approximately how many lessons have you had in the last 10 years? Probably 60-70. Didn't have any lessons when I first game back to golf and was only in the last 5 years I really started again. Gaps between each and usually only a couple during a season. Most work done in the winter
What was your handicap 10 years ago? When I came back to Ascot in 2005 my first handicap was 18
What is your handicap now? 10 although I got within 0.2 of 9 last year
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
Not at all. Just wondering how you've got on h/cap wise in the 2yrs that you've been playing.
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
It does a little, natural ability and also ability to learn/implement change.
rosecott
Money List Winner
What a difference a year makes. Here's a quote from a posting by the OP last February:
"Lessons are definitely the way to go if you want to improve. Although I've had a couple of lessons that I felt weren't very good, the others (5 of them) were very good. And as a result I'm on an 18 handicap in 9 months of playing. I couldn't recommend them enough! "
He also had strong views on "older golfers".
"Lessons are definitely the way to go if you want to improve. Although I've had a couple of lessons that I felt weren't very good, the others (5 of them) were very good. And as a result I'm on an 18 handicap in 9 months of playing. I couldn't recommend them enough! "
He also had strong views on "older golfers".
The Sclaffer
Assistant Pro
To me it makes far more sense to invest in a series of lessons from a Pro who knows his stuff rather than blow £300 on a new Driver which may, or may not improve your game.
However in my experience a video lesson is superior in every aspect to the normal method of tuition.
However in my experience a video lesson is superior in every aspect to the normal method of tuition.
BTatHome
Tour Winner
Hmmm, really? Surely you'd just be guessing, or worse assuming, that certain handicap level gives some of those characteristics.
I'm not sure I have a very good ability to "learn/implement change" in relation to the golf swing. I wonder what that means in relation to handicap
