Lessons... They work.

[HomerJSimpson]

No you won't. No chance I'm all for positivity but there's got to be some evidence of progression.
I quite enjoy lessons, I enjoy trying to understand my swing. I've had one this winter. I'll probably have 2-3 more. I don't expect to improve straight away, but I expect reduce the damage of my bad shots.

Well qualified for Hillside, with a second place at Camberley and proceeded to come third. Won a comp at the club and maintained my handicap at 12 despite a shocking short game for most of it. It will improve in terms of handicap as my general game has. I'm happy, enjoying my game and happy where I'm going

 

[One Planer]

Lessons certainly work.

Below is an image from my last lesson (Thursday just gone). I have always had quite a bit of lateral head movement in the downswing. This is one of the things I want to sort this year.

Line represents my head position at address (Right ear)

My pro is happy with the difference and so am I.

Again, still room for improvement but I'm confident in moving the right way.

As an aside, I've dropped the technical side of the swing completely. I think this is the issue with a lot of people who get too hung up on the mechanics and forget to actually swing the club.

I've been there and hated it.

 

[User20205]

Well qualified for Hillside, with a second place at Camberley and proceeded to come third. Won a comp at the club and maintained my handicap at 12 despite a shocking short game for most of it. It will improve in terms of handicap as my general game has. I'm happy, enjoying my game and happy where I'm going

Enjoying it is the main thing :thup:

If you do get to single figs & prove all us knobs wrong, what will be the sub heading of the blog??

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Enjoying it is the main thing :thup:

If you do get to single figs & prove all us knobs wrong, what will be the sub heading of the blog??

To each and every one that said I couldn't :ears::clap::thup:

 

[Fish]

Well qualified for Hillside, with a second place at Camberley and proceeded to come third. Won a comp at the club and maintained my handicap at 12 despite a shocking short game for most of it. It will improve in terms of handicap as my general game has. I'm happy, enjoying my game and happy where I'm going

OMG, Hillside was 2014, do you really need to hang on to accomplishments like that and roll them over into the following season to show or prove any alleged improvements😂

So in truth you've had 7 lesson, loads of range/practice sessions and maintained your handicap of 12 over this season/year being 2015, but lessons work and your happy😳 I bet your Pro is happier, Ker-Ching 💷

I admire your optimism and positive attitude Martin and I hope you and everyone for that matter reaches and achieves their goals, but I'm sorry you've treaded water at best this year and with the amount of work & dedication you put into your game that does not transpire into anything that resembles an improvement, IMHO

 

[ChrisB0210]

FWIW I started lessons with my current teaching pro about 2 years ago. The difference in my golf between then and now is immense. Two years ago I would hit the ball and it was anyone's guess as to where it would end up (usually sliced to somewhere right of the intended target). As a variation on my bad shot, I tended to skull it, thin it and every other variation on this theme, either leaving it miles short or sending it way past where I wanted and needed it to be.

Nowadays the bad shot is a fade, occasionally being a slice, mainly with the longer clubs. My irons have started to draw, the good shots are really satisfying and the not-so-good less damaging than they used to be. Oh, and I managed to win a matchplay KO comp this summer, smashing my target of winning one match to improve on previous years efforts. It made the changes started last year worthwhile, initially I took massive backward steps before going forward, as my coach told me I would

I'm proof that lessons, practice and a bit of graft do make a difference. My technique has been almost completely changed, but I'm lucky to have a coach that gives me what I need to play well, rather than reciting a coaching manual at me.

To the OP and other members that have lessons, enjoy and hope that you get your game to where you need/want it to be

 

[HomerJSimpson]

OMG, Hillside was 2014, do you really need to hang on to accomplishments like that and roll them over into the following season to show or prove any alleged improvements😂

So in truth you've had 7 lesson, loads of range/practice sessions and maintained your handicap of 12 over this season/year being 2015, but lessons work and your happy😳 I bet your Pro is happier, Ker-Ching 💷

I admire your optimism and positive attitude Martin and I hope you and everyone for that matter reaches and achieves their goals, but I'm sorry you've treaded water at best this year and with the amount of work & dedication you put into your game that does not transpire into anything that resembles an improvement, IMHO

Well you're wrong on count 1. Hillside (The Race To Hillside) was this year. If you want to slag me off then at least get the facts right. As it goes, I moved pros this year as I thought I wasn't making any progress. Simplified it inside three lessons, and I'm happy. Won a club comp for the first time in several years so I think progress. As I've said I've argued my corner too many times to be bothered to go through it again. You're entitled to your opinion which you made and disagree with it and leave it htere

 

[garyinderry]

Homer have you been using linier chipping since 2011?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Homer have you been using linier chipping since 2011?

No. Learned it about 2011 and stuck with it but foolishly decided to pursue a more "orthodox" method for a while. Kept dabbling in and out whenever the "proper" way fell apart and had far more consistent results. Got caught in my own mind between a rock and a hard place of sticking with it or doing something that is textbook and does work, but hit and miss and fell between the gap. Time to grow a pair, make the final decision once and for all and go for one or the other which is where my winter work lies once I've done this. Linear all the way I think from now.

 

[garyinderry]

Ive seen you post about it now and again. in all fairness it doesn't seem to be too different to any chipping technique that uses the bounce.

If you have tried it before and didn't really take to it, it might not be worth forcing it upon yourself.


I find it best to tailor the technique to the shot. Not try and force a technique on the shot.

Sometimes I will slide the club in using the bounce, others I will hit down steeply.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

OMG, Hillside was 2014, do you really need to hang on to accomplishments like that and roll them over into the following season to show or prove any alleged improvements😂

So in truth you've had 7 lesson, loads of range/practice sessions and maintained your handicap of 12 over this season/year being 2015, but lessons work and your happy😳 I bet your Pro is happier, Ker-Ching 💷

I admire your optimism and positive attitude Martin and I hope you and everyone for that matter reaches and achieves their goals, but I'm sorry you've treaded water at best this year and with the amount of work & dedication you put into your game that does not transpire into anything that resembles an improvement, IMHO

He managed to go to Hillside this year by coming second behind me at Blackmoor ( I couldn't make the Hillside date ) then came halfway in a field of 6 or 7.

 

[Fish]

Well you're wrong on count 1. Hillside (The Race To Hillside) was this year. If you want to slag me off then at least get the facts right. As it goes, I moved pros this year as I thought I wasn't making any progress. Simplified it inside three lessons, and I'm happy. Won a club comp for the first time in several years so I think progress. As I've said I've argued my corner too many times to be bothered to go through it again. You're entitled to your opinion which you made and disagree with it and leave it htere

I'm not slagging you off, it's my opinion based on observations from reading numerous posts you make on your current game after every weekend and weekday practice sessions, oh, and wasn't it Blackmoor not Camberley if you want to talk facts and split hairs?

He managed to go to Hillside this year by coming second behind me at Blackmoor ( I couldn't make the Hillside date ) then came halfway in a field of 6 or 7.

Yes I remember now, he qualified by default and then was one of the also rans in a small field, I forgot it was this year because it didn't materialise into a big forum meet like the previous year so was easy to forget and I had to cancel due to my hand surgery. Doesn't change my opinion though based on what I read, especially when most posts are full of negativity but then now he's "continued to improve" and is "happy where he's going" but for me, he hasn't gone anywhere?

Oh well, nowt stranger than folk as they say..

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I'm not slagging you off, it's my opinion based on observations from reading numerous posts you make on your current game after every weekend and weekday practice sessions, oh, and wasn't it Blackmoor not Camberley if you want to talk facts and split hairs?



Yes I remember now, he qualified by default and then was one of the also rans in a small field, I forgot it was this year because it didn't materialise into a big forum meet like the previous year so was easy to forget and I had to cancel due to my hand surgery. Doesn't change my opinion though based on what I read, especially when most posts are full of negativity but then now he's "continued to improve" and is "happy where he's going" but for me, he hasn't gone anywhere?

Oh well, nowt stranger than folk as they say..

There is one number that measures improvement - your Handicap and your scores

I know I have improved this year based on my HC finishing lower than I started and having more rounds better than my HC

Next year you will improve and your HC will reflect that . It's the one simple pointer.

 

[Fish]

There is one number that measures improvement - your Handicap and your scores

I know I have improved this year based on my HC finishing lower than I started and having more rounds better than my HC

Next year you will improve and your HC will reflect that . It's the one simple pointer.

Yeah, I'm confident the 2016 #YOTF will be bare fruit, if I hadn't had hand surgery in April it was on big style for this year, now with the new bats, wedges & putter which I'm playing better with each round, I'm confident of some decent downward movement, I got 2 small cuts towards the end of the season immediately after my 1 and only lesson in 2015 and missing 22 qualifiers so I still finished lower by 0.8, not much but in the circumstance still lower :thup:

 

[User20205]

I'm the first to have a gentle pop at homie, but the above is a bit much IMO. I know he bangs on about lessons, linear method, aimpoint, NGT etc (have I left any out) but diminishing his achievements, impressive or otherwise is akin to trawling hdid for ammunition

 

[User20205]

Yeah, I'm confident the 2016 #YOTF will be bare fruit, if I hadn't had hand surgery in April it was on big style for this year, now with the new bats, wedges & putter which I'm playing better with each round, I'm confident of some decent downward movement, I got 2 small cuts towards the end of the season immediately after my 1 and only lesson in 2015 and missing 22 qualifiers so I still finished lower by 0.8, not much but in the circumstance still lower :thup:

Carry on improving you'll be on 1 shot a hole soon:thup:

 

[Fish]

Carry on improving you'll be on 1 shot a hole soon:thup:

Yep, I'm looking forward to that, cheers, although in most if not all the opens I play in I have to anyway, so no biggie :smirk:

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Some might say it's handicap cuts and I'd disagree. Not the only measure and the work to make the changes, short game especially, will lead to cuts next season. Funny how its the same old faces first in line to have cheap digs at me (crack on I've a hide of a rhino on here) and yet others post their own views (and have yet to make big handicap changes) and not a word. Says it all. I'm done. Answered all I'm prepared to and can't wait to ram a few words down throats next year

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Just so everyone is totally clear on the subject

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Yeah, I'm confident the 2016 #YOTF will be bare fruit, if I hadn't had hand surgery in April it was on big style for this year, now with the new bats, wedges & putter which I'm playing better with each round, I'm confident of some decent downward movement, I got 2 small cuts towards the end of the season immediately after my 1 and only lesson in 2015 and missing 22 qualifiers so I still finished lower by 0.8, not much but in the circumstance still lower :thup:

Yep it wouldn't surprise me to see you down below 18 by May - just relax and don't chase it and it will happen