lessons or learn from books

[quinn]

reason being ive been having lessons for a while now and cant seem to get what the pro is trying to get me to do, he wants me to make a bigger shoulder turn, but everytime i do i end up with a big slice or the dreaded s word, asked him what was causing it, but he just seemed to want me to keep turning the shoulders and not worry where the ball was going,anyway i was flicking through an old mag and came across a article which said " imagine you right shoulder dropping down first to start your downswing to get the club on the right plane" , went up the range to try it and was twatting it, do i carry on with lessons or save myself some money and go back to the books ??????

 

[Macster]

Lessons win every time, you just need to find a Pro that you connect better with.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The first thing I would do is go back to your pro, explain it isn't working and go over the drills he must/should have given you when you had the lesson. It's important to get these drills off pat and I usually spend two or three range sessions after every lesson just working on them. I find it makes integrating the changes into the full swing a lot easier.

There is a lot to be said for looking at the teaching material available both in print and on video on the net but the biggest problem is interpreting what is actually being said and not swapping one swing fault for another. For me, if there was something I read or saw which I thought might help I'd get a lesson with my pro, explain hat I wanted to do and see what he said from there. He might say it is a good idea or he may say that your swing doesn't need that change. A good pro will see what is and isn't working and should be able to build on the good points and cure the bad.

 

[sweatysock41]

As I use the same pro I think you should talk to him about your issues in applying what he is trying to get you to do.

When he was giving me a lesson on driving he noticed that I changed my swing a lot from the swing I used with my fairway woods and was coming round into the ball on a very flat plain. He then got me to hold my position on the top of the backswing and very deliberately moved the club slowly on the plane he wanted me to take. Funnily the thing he said to me was that I should feel the right shoulder drop into the swing - which seems to me that's what you've found in your book.

Be very careful when reading books and comparing them to what a pro is trying to teach you - they will generally only work on one thing at a time so as not to over complicate things . He said in my first lesson the first thing he was going to do was get the grip and setup right, then the shoulder turn, then he would improve the strike quality. A solid swing will come from good fundamentals - talk to him and stick with it you will notice the difference.

 

[quinn]

could be right there, just doesnt seem after 5 lessons what he's got me doing is working, if anything ive got worse,i was thinking of changing pros but as thats the only range i use it could be a bit awkward, bit like bumping in to your ex mrs and having to explain the reason why you left

 

[quinn]

probably right there think he,s just trying to get me to do the basics first, im probably trying to run before i can walk

 

[sweatysock41]

Have a good chat with him - he's one of th most approachable guys I know. Ask him to explain what he is trying to do and how he is trying to build your swing. I'm sure he will happily explain.

The reason he gave me for the full shoulder turn was to add distance to my shots without any increase in effort as he felt I was losing a lot of power and he told me the same thing 'don't worry where they go' with practice it will come together.

 

[Region3]

Have a good chat with him - he's one of th most approachable guys I know. Ask him to explain what he is trying to do and how he is trying to build your swing. I'm sure he will happily explain.

The reason he gave me for the full shoulder turn was to add distance to my shots without any increase in effort as he felt I was losing a lot of power and he told me the same thing 'don't worry where they go' with practice it will come together.

That's the big thing to me. You can't expect to hit the ball great while your trying to change something about your swing, at least not straight away.

How much time are you giving to the drills and practice using the changes?
Your practice <u>has</u> to incorporate what he's trying to do with you. It's no good hitting 25 bad shots and going back to what you think works best.

I've mentioned this before, but if you google 'clap hands golf drill' or something similar, that gives me the feeling of the right shoulder dropping down perfectly, as opposed to throwing it out towards the ball which I'm sometimes guilty of. Cue big slice.

 

[timgolfy]

The advantage of books is that you have access to the best teachers in the world for just a few quid.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The advantage of books is that you have access to the best teachers in the world for just a few quid.

And if you don't interpet the infomation correctly or already have an exisiting swing fault?

 

[timgolfy]

And if you don't interpet the infomation correctly or already have an exisiting swing fault?

And if you get a pro who teaches the wrong thing/doesn't know his ar$e from his tit or you interpret the information incorrectly or don't practice what taught?

 

[quinn]

so do you think theres any point in me hitting balls whilst im going through my swing building, would it just be better practicing what hes told me so far, just seems pointless, im getting pissed of because i havent hit a ball half decent for about a month, should i just be practicing the drills hes given me and leave hitting balls until the lesson

 

[HomerJSimpson]

And if you don't interpet the infomation correctly or already have an exisiting swing fault?

And if you get a pro who teaches the wrong thing/doesn't know his ar$e from his tit or you interpret the information incorrectly or don't practice what taught?

Sorry but don't know too many of those. That is why they have to do the PGA exam. There is a difference between not explaining something in a way a pupil understands and not knowing what they are talking about. Good job you don't need lessons as you are clearly pro standard already. If you don't practice what you've been shown then I agree you are wasting your time but that isn't the fault of the pro. He can only provide the information to help you swing better. If you choose to ignore or not integrate that into your game, he's been paid so he won't worry

 

[quinn]

And if you don't interpet the infomation correctly or already have an exisiting swing fault?

And if you get a pro who teaches the wrong thing/doesn't know his ar$e from his tit or you interpret the information incorrectly or don't practice what taught?

Sorry but don't know too many of those. That is why they have to do the PGA exam. There is a difference between not explaining something in a way a pupil understands and not knowing what they are talking about. Good job you don't need lessons as you are clearly pro standard already. If you don't practice what you've been shown then I agree you are wasting your time but that isn't the fault of the pro. He can only provide the information to help you swing better. If you choose to ignore or not integrate that into your game, he's been paid so he won't worry

Dont mess with the homer one nil

 

[EZprophet]

Lessons 100% and its not even close...

Like Homer said the problem with reading books/ articles/watching videos isnt their content, its interpreting the content thats the problem for 99% of golfers.

The reason why your pro probably has you doing what hes asking (even though its not improving your ballflight straight away) is because he clearly believes that there is no possible way that you can improve your golf swing with the current "move" or bad habit that you have in your swing, and hes trying to stop you doing that and get you to do something new.

A lot of people think that when they get a few lessons, a pro should tell them a couple of things they need to change, practice them for a bit and then BOOM, theyll be a great ball striker. Unfortunately it is never that easy as changing bad habits in your brain and learning new motor patters takes a lot of time and practice.

My guess is that there are probably 10 things that your pro wants to change about your swing, but there is no point looking at the other 9 until you can do number 1 correctly.

My advice would be to ignore everything you read and to trust what your teacher says 100% without questioning it, and just do it.

Trusting your teacher is so unbelievably important that to be honest if youve already lost faith in your current one, you should just find another one with good credentials, and then just trust what he says.

Also, as to whether you should be hitting balls during your changes I would say yes, but you have to try to ignore the results and just trust what you are doing. Its WAAAAY easier to say that than do it ( and I know!!) but its the only way that you are going to improve.

No one said it was gonna be easy! Good luck.

 

[pokerjoke]

I think you can get to a certain level reading books,dvds and the internet,im proof of that.However now to take me to the next level i think i will need lessons,the hard part is getting one that can take you to the next level,you definately need a good understanding of what hes trying to teach.Thats where communication comes in,talking to each other,any questions,ask him,theres nothing worse than bottling something up because then you try and work it out yourself and that defeats the object of lessons

 

[MashieNiblick]

What a book can't give you is feed back on what you are actually doing. You may think you are doing what the book says but how do you know? That's what you get from having a pro watch you. At a recent lesson I was hitting some good shots, then a little tweak from the pro, result, great shot. I would have been happy with the good ones but the pro could see where I could improve.

 

[quinn]

thanks for all the advice from everyone, il stick with same pro as i know he's good, think i just need alot more patience and time, bloody annoying game, but would i ever give it up ? no chance

 

[nowtfancy]

Lessons are only worth it if you think they are (if that makes sense?!)

Other people might think the fella teaching you is great, but if you're not getting what you want/expect from it, then change.
I did, and my lessons, practice & playing became much easier, more enjoyable & better value.
It still riles me to think of the time & money I wasted on the first pro, because he was the one at my nearest range.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

The thing with lessons is that correcting one fault often highlights or creates others. This is uderstandable as you are putting your body in different positions which you need to learn. Quite often during lessons last year my pro told me to ignore the flight of the ball but always explained to me what he was trying to achieve and the reason the ball was doing what it was.

Sounds like you need to speak to your pro to me. If you start trying to incorporate stuff from books you are just wasting your money. If you see something in a book you think might help, speak to the pro about it before doing aything. He can help you interpret it better.

Books have a lot of good info but they can't see your swing and can be easily misinterpreted.