Take lessons or not?

[Kevblue]

Hello all,

I'm fairly new to this super but immensely frustrating sport (played about 5 rounds - best score 110)

i am told by a few experienced golfer friends that i have a very natural swing and a lot of potential but i keep seem to be topping the ball.

My friends are all giving me well meaning tips but should i just take the plunge and book some lessons from the club pro?

I know they are expensive but it'd be well worth it if it boosts my enjoyment of the game.

Has anyone else experienced big improvements due to lessons?

Thanks in advance,

Kev.

 

[snake]

No matter how well intention they may be, get to your pro and take lessons before bad habits set in. If you wait it will only get harder to correct them.

As for just taking up golf, WELCOME TO THE ASYLUM

 

[RGDave]

Has anyone else experienced big improvements due to lessons?

Thanks in advance,

Yes. 24 h'cap to start (1993). Best 8.4 (1996). Lessons on and off for all that time....(3-6 a year).

Simple. 99% sure I wouldn't have got under even 20 without.

At my first lesson, the pro would have laughed out loud if he'd not been a true professional. He told me a year or so later (off 14?) that no matter what I'd done or how much work I'd put it, I'd never have got even half decent.

 

[Yips]

I'm not new to the sport but back from injury, I've never had lessons but it's the first thing I'm ordering afer new clubs. My cousin dropped his H'cap by 8 shots in a year thanks to his local pro and some regular lessons.
It goes to show that the pro's are in their job because they can teach a hacker to become a good golfer.

good luck

 

[brendy]

I went from 12 to 6 in a few months before giving it up for a couple of years. I will be going back for more soon as I am fed up wrecking cards with one or two bad shots which Iput down to an inconsistant swing.

 

[DCB]

No matter what handicap level you are, lessons from your PGA Pro are bound to assist you in your goal of getting as low as you can.

I've got another trip to the Pro arranged for later this week, not for anything specific, just that I wasnt a better more reliable game.

 

[birdieman]

Remember there are no quick fixes.
If you go to the pro you will likely take 2 steps backwards to take 4 forwards as he will probably implement several changes which will feel weird initially and can take some time and practice to bed in.
It is worth going to the Pro but see it as an onging process yielding results in the medium to long term, not necessarily the short term.
You might be lucky and he'll change very little.

 

[sawtooth]

Try this tip to stop topping the ball. Pick a spot on the golf ball, stay on the shot never taking your eyes of that spot until the ball is airborne. Sounds easy but too often the tendency is for the head to move before the ball has been struck.

Exaggerate staying down looking where the ball is (was) long after the ball has been struck as a drill.

Most golfers will tell you that its common to top the ball or thin it when playing into bright sunlight, worried that you dont lose sight of the ball in the air you come off the shot.

Have a few lessons by all means and enjoy!!

 

[Andy]

I'd add, that you should look at the back of the ball and not just anywhere. Look at where you want to strike the ball, hence looking at the back and not top or front.

Andy

 

[Kaizer_Soze]

Been thinking about this for a while, I'm sure there are one or two tweaks a teaching pro could make to my game, any good advice is helpful advice IMO.

 

[colint]

get lessons, but check out the best teachers in your area first. Might be worth saying where you are in the country to get some recommendations. I pay quite a lot to the pro I go to (£35 per 30 minutes) but he is superb, coaches a lot of top amateurs, walker cup players etc.

It's made an unbelievable difference to my game, I only have 1 every month so not too expensive.

 

[Kevblue]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I Live on the outskirts of Liverpool, i have only played at the Beacon park golf course in Lancashire.

Has anyone ever met the pro at that golf club or could recommend someone nearby?

Thanks.

 

[THJahar]

I've been playing for 2 years, and rarely beat 100.
I was mostly self taught but had 3 lessons, each one-offs from a different pro and felt ripped off each time.
First pro: £25 total advice = Here's how to hold a club
Second Pro: £25 total advice = Here's how to chip
Third Pro: £25 total advice = You're bending your left arm

Now I've just been bought 5 lessons and whilst I still get the feeling they aren't valuable and that the information provided can be crammed into just a single lesson. The pro has rebuilt my swing from scratch and I just went out and hit a 90! a full 9 shots below my previous best.

The moral of this story is that golfing lessons do feel like a rip off but you must always buy them in blocks of at least 5 or 10 to get any benefit out of them.

 

[JustOne]

I was mostly self taught but had 3 lessons, each one-offs from a different pro and felt ripped off each time.
First pro: £25 total advice = Here's how to hold a club
Second Pro: £25 total advice = Here's how to chip
Third Pro: £25 total advice = You're bending your left arm

You don't think that learning a proper grip, chipping and stopping your left arm collapsing is good advice and value for money?

 

[CrapHacker]

I was mostly self taught but had 3 lessons, each one-offs from a different pro and felt ripped off each time.
First pro: £25 total advice = Here's how to hold a club
Second Pro: £25 total advice = Here's how to chip
Third Pro: £25 total advice = You're bending your left arm

You don't think that learning a proper grip, chipping and stopping your left arm collapsing is good advice and value for money?

£75 for that lot ? Good advice, yes. Value for money, no.

I could get advice like that from someone just playing a friendly round with me .

To find a good pro ( and by good I mean good for YOU )takes trial and error imo. But once you find one you can talk openly to and get an honest reply that is aimed at you, rather than just a generic response, you will take great strides forwards.

But there's no point having lessons if you don't put the effort in after the lesson to drill the message into your muscle memory. I had a lesson last Monday and tried to take it out onto the course after one session on the range - nightmare. Loads more practise is required before I can start getting the natural muscle response I need.

 

[Paul65]

Never had a lesson mate, picked up tips from friends and as for topping the ball, just don't lift your head to soon.

 

[Imurg]

But there's no point having lessons if you don't put the effort in after the lesson to drill the message into your muscle memory.

And this has always been my issue with lessons. Its the practice to implement any changes that makes the lessons worthwhile or not. I find it hard to get enough time to put in the range work needed to make any changes stick - I guess this is one reason I go through really bad patches now and again - but that's my problem. I've only ever had a free 30 minute session when I first joined a club in the 90's. He said I was dipping my right shoulder in the backswing - stop that and you'll be ok. Got to a handicap of 8 on that....

 

[Hendy]

I always remember taken a few lessons with a guy in my local range.

He always made me play the ball off my left heal.. That goes for driver right down to S/W. Always thinking he might have been wrong in saying/doing that from what i have seen on tv etc.. tho not being at the a game long time and him being a pga pro i did not question it.

In saying that i am going to get some more lessons over the winter with a different guy just to see if his teaching is any different.

 

[freddielong]

I would say lessons are always worth it and I think everyone would improve using a decent coach.

 

[Whereditgo]

He always made me play the ball off my left heal.. That goes for driver right down to S/W. Always thinking he might have been wrong in saying/doing that from what i have seen on tv etc.. tho not being at the a game long time and him being a pga pro i did not question it.

Seems there are 2 different schools of thought on this one, I have had lessons where the pro reccomended placing the ball in the stance in line with the logo on my shirt for every iron shot. The thought seemingly being why have a different ball position for every club in your bag.

My current pro however, has me altering the position of the ball, starting approximately mid stance for short irons and moving it slightly forward for the longer irons.

This second method seems to work best for me personally, so I guess its a question of working out which method suits you best as opposed to there being a right and a wrong?