making lessons stick

[PJ87]

how on earth do you make the lessons you take stick...

I have had 6 lessons with my new pro and I swear the stuff I learnt in lesson one has been pushed out by the stuff on lesson 4..

lesson 1 and 2 was all irons.. I was hitting some beautiful iron shots... nice slight draw at the end.. good distance on them aswell.. very consistent

next was driving... my driving then improved.. started to hit some beautiful drives.. straight and far

I managed to hit some decent rounds but was really let down by my short game... massively.. I managed one round where I was striking my irons so well I was on a lot of greens in reg but in the most my short game would let me down

so I decided lets have a short game lesson

my wedges felt great from there.. but here is where its all gone wrong

my irons now completely shank and loose distance..

the shot he likes me to produce with my wedge is a slice style swing from out to in.. produces a great flight but has completely ruined my irons.. I cant seem to hit from the inside anymore

driver is hit and miss now.. ive lost about 50 yards of distance but flights semi decent

so I went back for a iron lesson.. its made them worse.. he got me "on plane" with my irons.. rather than going back to what we did before we did something new that I just cant bloody get it clicking... just come in from the range completely beaten

I started off on the chipping green... nice wedge shots

went on range hit some irons.. shank shank shank

so got the driver.. some nice little draws .. whilst the distance loss is still there the flight was nice so ill take that

back to irons.. shank shank shank... managed to get about 15 (out of the 55 iron shots I hit) flying nice however to a grand total distance of 100 yards with a 7 iron!! (which before the short game lesson I was hitting 130 nicely)

tbh I feel dejected

whilst I have won my past 2 events it feels rubbish because I cant actually hit an iron! I played the last 2 rounds using driver, woods, hybrids then wedges.. so basically the gap in my bag is 4 hybrid (goes about 150) to PW which goes 100 yards

nice 50 yard gap there

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Like you, I have found that sometimes you can have this with lessons. I have found it works better for me to concentrate mainly on the swing rather than specific clubs, and by getting the swing right for me to then appply it to the different clubs. You do have to accept that sometimes one part of your game won't play ball and be in line with the rest of your game, but thats just golf.
When practising though, I will just pack up and leave rather than continue when I am unable to correct something that has moved into my swing. Practising "in" an issue only leads to self taught correction which leads to more problems I find.

 

[garyinderry]

Did u ask him why he wants you hitting nice draws with your irons but slice swings with your wedges?

Is that full shots with wedges?

 

[PJ87]

Did u ask him why he wants you hitting nice draws with your irons but slice swings with your wedges?

Is that full shots with wedges?

Finesse shot with wedges nothing more than 3/4 and a slice swing to have more control on the wedges but draw on irons for more distance and better connection

 

[mteam]

What has your pro said about shanking your irons?

 

[shortgame]

How often do you have the lessons?

 

[PJ87]

Every 7 weeks now,

Pro says try to hit inside of ball and if ness line up out the heel and focus on hitting out the face

He did say shanks are due to me having the face to open and I need to close it.

I feel progress in every single club bar the irons which should be the easiest!!!

 

[Jamesbrown]

It’s an uphill battle golf. What one lesson cures, another problem appears.
And it’s an endless cycle of that. One lesson could be a repeat of another but reiterated in another way.
Have the lessons, practice what you where told, video yourself to make sure do what you were taught. Create a new fault. And then another lesson. Repeat.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I usually work on the range post lessons and grind in drills or the changes. Once the back is better I have to shorten the swing, take it inside and flatten the wrist. I know what Paul wanted me to do but found it hard to make it stick. I hope that I can get it sorted and really change the swing this winter. Historically changes have bedded in prettily easily so back to the range and grinding it out. I'm hoping no other issues will creep in

 

[shortgame]

It’s an uphill battle golf. What one lesson cures, another problem appears.
And it’s an endless cycle of that. One lesson could be a repeat of another but reiterated in another way.
Have the lessons, practice what you where told, video yourself to make sure do what you were taught. Create a new fault. And then another lesson. Repeat.

Truth!
Sometimes the faults come from over exaggerating the changes, as you say it's an endless battle

 

[shortgame]

Every 7 weeks now,

Pro says try to hit inside of ball and if ness line up out the heel and focus on hitting out the face

He did say shanks are due to me having the face to open and I need to close it.

I feel progress in every single club bar the irons which should be the easiest!!!

That's quite long between lessons, IMO 3-4 weeks is optimum

Is the coach at your range or club?

Does he ever check on you in between lessons?
Best coach I've had would always spare a few minutes for a quick check which was invaluable to helping keep on track

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Truth!
Sometimes the faults come from over exaggerating the changes, as you say it's an endless battle

And why many on here argue that tuition can be a bad thing in that you are simply masking one fault with another. I like tuition, I like working on my game and I enjoy the challenge of trying to get better. Whether that's always reflected in a handicap change is arguable but I know when a lesson has worked and I am hitting it better and enjoying it more.

What I'd love to do with the stuff I was shown on Friday, is have one last go at making a massive change to swing. I need to find a way to stop at a good position and not add the extra six inches of swing that I've always had and which cups the wrists and then finding a way to drop the club flatter. Both are going to take lots of time and work. I agree with a couple on here and with what Paul Foston said that getting it to work will make a massive and positive difference. Whether I can and it sticks is a whole different matter. Frustrated the back is knackered and I can't go out and do anything with it yet

 

[PJ87]

That's quite long between lessons, IMO 3-4 weeks is optimum

Is the coach at your range or club?

Does he ever check on you in between lessons?
Best coach I've had would always spare a few minutes for a quick check which was invaluable to helping keep on track

At one of the ranges I go but only go for lessons use other for practice

7 weeks I found better as 4 weeks was just too short. Burned through the lessons and money fast without getting time to practice

 

[lukeysafc100]

Well firstly never ever expect to take a lesson and fix everything - it simply doesn't work like that!
I like to take note of everything that happen in that lesson and take away key drills to help maintain what has been said.

It takes discipline and practice if you want to make it stick - discipline in practice, discipline to practice correctly.

don't take the lessons expecting it to happen - get on the practice facilities and work on it!

 

[lukeysafc100]

Every 7 weeks now,

Pro says try to hit inside of ball and if ness line up out the heel and focus on hitting out the face

He did say shanks are due to me having the face to open and I need to close it.

I feel progress in every single club bar the irons which should be the easiest!!!

mmm - could be with the face open however think about where you sternum is when you strike the ball - your weight could be too far forward - which would also lead to a shank.
Sternum should be over the ball not in front of it - get a camera on your phone and see

 

[PJ87]

Well firstly never ever expect to take a lesson and fix everything - it simply doesn't work like that!
I like to take note of everything that happen in that lesson and take away key drills to help maintain what has been said.

It takes discipline and practice if you want to make it stick - discipline in practice, discipline to practice correctly.

don't take the lessons expecting it to happen - get on the practice facilities and work on it!

It's weird took driving lesson driving was fine

Took chipping lesson it improved straight away but within a month it had slowly ruined the irons

Maybe your correct about the weight I do try and keep the weight on the front foot a lot

 

[lukeysafc100]

It's weird took driving lesson driving was fine

Took chipping lesson it improved straight away but within a month it had slowly ruined the irons

Maybe your correct about the weight I do try and keep the weight on the front foot a lot

Just check it out - because that's where shanks come from - if you're forward on the ball with the ball and club coming from inside its going to hosel rocket.
Its all about the separation between upper and lower body. Let your hips move forward, but keep sternum over the ball hope it helps

 

[PJ87]

Just check it out - because that's where shanks come from - if you're forward on the ball with the ball and club coming from inside its going to hosel rocket.
Its all about the separation between upper and lower body. Let your hips move forward, but keep sternum over the ball hope it helps

I'll give it a go

Got a friendly round Friday so they don't mind if I play 2 balls to try and get my irons going again

 

[PJ87]

Improvement today.. 60 balls about 10 shanks max.. some very decent connections

carrying over 100 yards.. so whilst I dont take much notice of the distance (after reading about range balls on another thread) its 25 yards further than last time but with better direction

just keep slowly plodding along

 

[mteam]

You could have a look at this from about 4.50

https://www.facebook.com/harry.brandt.5/videos/1865210333495491/