The value of a playing lesson ...

[rudebhoy]

Been hitting my irons absolutely dreadful since we came out of lockdown 3. Most annoying thing was i was hitting them fine on the range, but as soon as I stepped on the course, they were terrible. Tried to fix my swing by watching YouTube videos, this only made things worse.

Decided 3 weeks ago to go for my first ever playing lesson. Due to various diary clashes, the first time we could do this was this Wednesday. Played on Tuesday and was so bad I had to walk off after 5 holes.

Had the lesson and the pro got me to make a few changes. These felt strange at first, and I hit quite a few bad shots during the lesson, but he told me it was going the right way, and not to worry. Played yesterday and could see signs of improvement. Went to the practice ground this morning for 30 mins before our 9 hole comp. Was hitting it well consistently. went on the course, and played out my skin, 22 points for the 9 holes, scored on every hole with 3 4-pointers in a row in the middle. Only 2 bad shots that i can remember.

Chuffed to bits! Am off to block Danny Maude and co from my inbox

 

[evemccc]

Good scoring.

Do you think a standard lesson (range) would have had the same benefit or impact?

 

[rudebhoy]

Good scoring.

Do you think a standard lesson (range) would have had the same benefit or impact?

not in my case. Last time I had the same problem, I booked a lesson, creamed everything and the pro said after 5-10 minutes "you can either pay me to watch you hit good shots, or we can forget about it and I won't charge you".

I think to be fair, my swing had got a lot worse this time round thanks to me consciously trying to break my wrists as advised in a certain YT video.

 

[Orikoru]

If/when I finally have a lesson I'd have to have an on course one. I hate hitting on the range. Quite often used to get the shanks on the range but not on the course, so if that happened it would be a total waste of a lesson.

 

[rudebhoy]

If/when I finally have a lesson I'd have to have an on course one. I hate hitting on the range. Quite often used to get the shanks on the range but not on the course, so if that happened it would be a total waste of a lesson.

I find the range far more forgiving, or maybe I should say far too forgiving.

Part of my problem was having the clubface too far open, leading to slices or even shanks on the course. At the range, the same technique ends up with the clubface sliding under the ball, resulting in what looks like a good shot.

 

[Orikoru]

I find the range far more forgiving, or maybe I should say far too forgiving.

Part of my problem was having the clubface too far open, leading to slices or even shanks on the course. At the range, the same technique ends up with the clubface sliding under the ball, resulting in what looks like a good shot.

I still have no idea what my problem was, but I solved it by not going to the driving range anymore.

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

Been hitting my irons absolutely dreadful since we came out of lockdown 3. Most annoying thing was i was hitting them fine on the range, but as soon as I stepped on the course, they were terrible. Tried to fix my swing by watching YouTube videos, this only made things worse.

Decided 3 weeks ago to go for my first ever playing lesson. Due to various diary clashes, the first time we could do this was this Wednesday. Played on Tuesday and was so bad I had to walk off after 5 holes.

Had the lesson and the pro got me to make a few changes. These felt strange at first, and I hit quite a few bad shots during the lesson, but he told me it was going the right way, and not to worry. Played yesterday and could see signs of improvement. Went to the practice ground this morning for 30 mins before our 9 hole comp. Was hitting it well consistently. went on the course, and played out my skin, 22 points for the 9 holes, scored on every hole with 3 4-pointers in a row in the middle. Only 2 bad shots that i can remember.

Chuffed to bits! Am off to block Danny Maude and co from my inbox

I had a playing lesson as part of a group of six, which were taking place in the formative period of me trying to assemble some sort of golf game in advance of me putting in my first handicap cards.

The playing lesson didn't really engage with any technical stuff about hitting the ball. It was about decision making, what shot to play, why, what options I had and that kind of thing. It wasn't the place to do technical work (though once or twice the coach would say something to remind me of an issue we had previously worked on. The playing lesson was an absolute revelation and has helped me at least as much, if not more, than the more technical lessons.

 

[JustOne]

....and I hit quite a few bad shots during the lesson, but he told me it was going the right way, and not to worry.

They always say that.... did he manage to get you to book 10 more lessons?

Seriously though, you should never walk off after 5 holes, just reset your mind and start playing what is in front of you.
Scoring doesn't matter at this point, just mentally put yourself on the driving range and just start hitting the ball.

 

[MarkT]

Had one playing lesson in 40 years and, over just nine holes, he could tell me more about my golf and mind than any lesson on a range. Makes you jittery in a good way and shows what you're really like

 

[HeftyHacker]

I had one the other night, unplanned. We were originally meant to be working on my short game but when I arrived I asked if we could look at my irons as my short game had been decent for a few weeks. He suggested just jumping on the course for 5 holes.

This was at St Annes Old Links so I obviously jumped at the chance (I'm not a member). Unfortunately I was let down by my golf. After par on the first I genuinely duffed 5 shots off the tee on the par 3 third, it was so embarrassing! He was trying to tell me what was happening but I was in my own head by then.

He was saying that getting out on course with clients also exposes things that the student might not realise themselves, or give him something else they should be prioritising that may not be picked up in a range session.

 

[rudebhoy]

They always say that.... did he manage to get you to book 10 more lessons?

Seriously though, you should never walk off after 5 holes, just reset your mind and start playing what is in front of you.
Scoring doesn't matter at this point, just mentally put yourself on the driving range and just start hitting the ball.

My head was gone, was duffing every shot. It wasn't enjoyable and it wasn't fair on the guys I was playing with.

And no, he didn't try to sell me any more lessons!

 

[Deleted member 1147]

In my experience playing lessons don't tend to be about technique, except for some shortgame work.
They are more about the approach to the game, issues around shot selection, anything that stands out as different on course such as aiming etc

 

[SaintHacker]

I find the range far more forgiving, or maybe I should say far too forgiving.

Part of my problem was having the clubface too far open, leading to slices or even shanks on the course. At the range, the same technique ends up with the clubface sliding under the ball, resulting in what looks like a good shot.

This. If golf was played only on a range I would have a wardrobe full of green jackets. I.m sure its because a mat is so much more forgiving to a less than perfect strkie than grass is

 

[Canary Kid]

This. If golf was played only on a range I would have a wardrobe full of green jackets. I.m sure its because a mat is so much more forgiving to a less than perfect strkie than grass is

Absolutely! If you hit behind the ball on a mat, the club just carries through ... but on soft ground, it will dig in. I had a great range session a couple of winters ago ... seemed like I was sweetly striking every iron ... then went straight out on the course and was like a digger!