• We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all at Golf Monthly. Thank you for sharing your 2025 with us!

Refusal to have lessons

I have never been blessed with natural skill in any of the sports I achieved a modicum of success in and had to work hard at my technique constantly. I am a fan of lessons and they have let me get to a decent level again and can get further. It's like anything in my opinion and you only get out what you put in unless you are lucky to be blessed with more than your fair share of natural talent.
 
For me its not the refusal to have lessons but simply not being able to afford them after paying my green fee monthly I am left with little money to be able to take lessons. I know I have a half decent game within me and have been playing well in bounce games coming in with scores between 36 and 45 points. Most of my lessons come from YouTube and other such sites when problems arise or from playing partners. My biggest problem is with my mental game, if I have a bad hole then my head drops and the choice words are relentless. Nothing that a good shrink couldn't sort out
 
You may have 4 faults in your swing.
How do you fix them?
What order do you fix them in?
Will you tube do that for you?
How many cures will you try before you find the right one for each fault?

Your pro will probably know that all 4 faults are actually caused by 1 problem and he/she will probably give you the one drill that will cure all 4 faults.

You tube wont give you that
 
bobmac said:
I respectfully suggest your handicap is wrong
Click to expand...


So do I, am trying and would love to get down to 18 but just seem to fall apart in comps and usually end up with an NR. I don't play in swindles or play for money against friends as I know I can play fairly decent golf. Take today, managed to hit 8 pars 7 bogeys, 2 doubles and blobbed the 4th hole after taking three off the tee and not being able to find my ball. It is there I just need to start doing it in comps.
 
Of course with me and lessons it comes down to would it be worth it. I don't like practicing - I never have done - other than on the course. I don't practice because I prefer to play but also because when I do practice - after a few decent shots it all goes t**s up. But maybe I am talking cause and effect. If I don't get taught what to do to correct my faults and have forgotten myself how to do it - then when I practice I just practice my rubbish. I have nothing to go back to - no principles set out by a pro who can see where I am now going wrong. I can go on for as long as I want about how I learnt out of Hogan's Fundamentals of Golf. But that was then - thirty five years ago - this is now. And I have the flawed technique that I have developed over the last ten years, and that no amount of reading a book will rid me of.

Notice - denial then acceptance - boy it feels good. I will go to Rob with a spring in my step and seek his help and guidance. That's what he's there for. That's why my club has it's own professional golfer.
 
morgs said:
So do I, am trying and would love to get down to 18 but just seem to fall apart in comps and usually end up with an NR. I don't play in swindles or play for money against friends as I know I can play fairly decent golf. Take today, managed to hit 8 pars 7 bogeys, 2 doubles and blobbed the 4th hole after taking three off the tee and not being able to find my ball. It is there I just need to start doing it in comps.
Click to expand...

So no NR needed, hit another ball off the tee for 5 off the tee and carry on with your round..... You might be better playing strokeplay against friends, play a pound for the front pound for the back and a pound overall. I used to hit over 100 in comps ALL the time. Then realised that I just needed to have the same fun in a comp, since that revelation I have had a 1 under and 3 level rounds.

Stableford is one form of the game that takes the risk of a terrible hole away. In strokeplay if you have a bad hole its a card wrecker, get used to playing with that risk all the time..... And you will start to relax and score better
 
stevelev said:
So no NR needed, hit another ball off the tee for 5 off the tee and carry on with your round..... You might be better playing strokeplay against friends, play a pound for the front pound for the back and a pound overall. I used to hit over 100 in comps ALL the time. Then realised that I just needed to have the same fun in a comp, since that revelation I have had a 1 under and 3 level rounds.

Stableford is one form of the game that takes the risk of a terrible hole away. In strokeplay if you have a bad hole its a card wrecker, get used to playing with that risk all the time..... And you will start to relax and score better
Click to expand...

I do feel relaxed when i play in comps, it's the mental side of it that gets me. Played last week in the stableford and had 17 points come the turn. Now, our 10th hole is a bugger to play into the wind but on this day the wind was with us and after a good drive and a well hit 5 iron i was on the green with about 10 feet to the hole. Great, the most I'm going to walk away with is a par. I then hit my first putt about 5 feet past the hole and left my second putt about 2 inches short. Now feeling very angry with myself instead of putting out for an easy two points the red mist desended and i kicked the ball into the water. I then take about a hole for the anger to subside enough for me to carry on.
 
The only reason I got down from 17 to 12 in the first 18 months after taking up golf is because of lessons. I had one lesson every 4-6 weeks and the improvement speaks for itself.

I had about 4 lessons before my first competitions, which I won two of the first 3. I think after the 18 months I won almost half of the cost of the lessons back in pro shop vouchers and prizes!
 
I had one lesson when I was a 16 handicap. we never got further than the grip. he seemed to want me to hold the club is a seriously stong left hand position.

i didn't feel i got value for money for the lesson so never went back.

i am thinking of getting lessons after this season just for a bit of a challenge. i can hack the ball around most courses in and around my handicap but im usally working very hard on the short game to score well.
 
that said, the lesson did open my eyes to the impact a different grip can have on the swing. :thup:


to say ive had no help would be silly though. ive watched nearly every clip there is on youtube. its all learning material.
 
morgs said:
I do feel relaxed when i play in comps, it's the mental side of it that gets me. Played last week in the stableford and had 17 points come the turn. Now, our 10th hole is a bugger to play into the wind but on this day the wind was with us and after a good drive and a well hit 5 iron i was on the green with about 10 feet to the hole. Great, the most I'm going to walk away with is a par. I then hit my first putt about 5 feet past the hole and left my second putt about 2 inches short. Now feeling very angry with myself instead of putting out for an easy two points the red mist desended and i kicked the ball into the water. I then take about a hole for the anger to subside enough for me to carry on.
Click to expand...

Wow, you must be a right bundle of laughs to play with. A bogey, and that's it, light the blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance?
 
morgs said:
I do feel relaxed when i play in comps, it's the mental side of it that gets me. Played last week in the stableford and had 17 points come the turn. Now, our 10th hole is a bugger to play into the wind but on this day the wind was with us and after a good drive and a well hit 5 iron i was on the green with about 10 feet to the hole. Great, the most I'm going to walk away with is a par. I then hit my first putt about 5 feet past the hole and left my second putt about 2 inches short. Now feeling very angry with myself instead of putting out for an easy two points the red mist desended and i kicked the ball into the water. I then take about a hole for the anger to subside enough for me to carry on.
Click to expand...
You might be better off spending your money on anger management sessions than golf lessons :)

I get it though. It wasn't the bogey, rather the squandered opportunity which upset you.
 
morgs said:
I do feel relaxed when i play in comps, it's the mental side of it that gets me. Played last week in the stableford and had 17 points come the turn. Now, our 10th hole is a bugger to play into the wind but on this day the wind was with us and after a good drive and a well hit 5 iron i was on the green with about 10 feet to the hole. Great, the most I'm going to walk away with is a par. I then hit my first putt about 5 feet past the hole and left my second putt about 2 inches short. Now feeling very angry with myself instead of putting out for an easy two points the red mist desended and i kicked the ball into the water. I then take about a hole for the anger to subside enough for me to carry on.
Click to expand...

You won't get to 18 playing like that, but you will if you play bogey golf. We all mess up putting, but kicking the ball away when you have 2 inches for a bogey........ best give up now :whistle:

Serious note, look to play bogey golf, it'll help get you where you want to be.
 
Jay Gee said:
You might be better off spending your money on anger management sessions than golf lessons :)

I get it though. It wasn't the bogey, rather the squandered opportunity which upset you.
Click to expand...

It certainly was the missed opportunity that riled me the most. If I hadn't kicked the ball away would have come in with 33 points which isn't a million miles off my handicap. I know its just a game but I suppose I go to the course with high expectations and when things go wrong I struggle to get it back, kicking the ball away for two points as stupid and childish as it was. Didn't take me long to pick my toys back up after I had apologised to my playing partners.
 
Every time i have been for a lesson with a fault in my swing etc straight away my pro has said "oh you are doing this" and within 10 minutes im hitting the ball better. Its weird how ive had 2 spells of having lessons and straight after them i have had handicap cuts and won prizes etc.

Youtube or the internet wont tell you what you are doing wrong within a few minutes of looking at your swing will it? A golf pro will.
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
I can go on for as long as I want about how I learnt out of Hogan's Fundamentals of Golf. But that was then - thirty five years ago - this is now. And I have the flawed technique that I have developed over the last ten years, and that no amount of reading a book will rid me of.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest you video yourself and then compare that to Hogan's 5Ps. You've obviously been able to apply them in the past to get to a decent level. Then all you need to do is recognise the delta between your swing and Hogan's and try to reduce/eliminate it. Hey presto, you've been your own swing coach again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

I
first timer golf lessons - new clubs needed from the start?
2 3
Replies
46
Views
4K
Voyager EMH
Voyager EMH
H
Technology and lessons
2 3 4
Replies
60
Views
6K
jim8flog
jim8flog
Orikoru
'Second Club' Dilemma
3 4 5
Replies
94
Views
11K
Deleted member 21784
D
W
Best Professional to Have a Lessons with
2 3
Replies
45
Views
10K
tigerwes
T
J
Have YouTubers helped you?
2 3
Replies
43
Views
5K
MadAdey
MadAdey
Top