What is wrong with lessons from a golf pro?

[HawkeyeMS]

I am a 28 handicapper i can play to mid/low 20's at times and play twice a week. I have had about 9 lessons this year spread out with plenty of range time. However, whilst my swing is getting better the scores aren't. In fairness to my pro my putting has always been a two put with the odd three but lately i have had a lot of three put rounds, at least 8-10 shots lost which i suppose brings my average score a lot lower since lessons. Putting hasn't been covered in my lessons as on my course lessons it has always been a strength.

I have no real desire to play to a single figure handicap i just want to play to mid teens or just to a point where i feel comfortable to play with anyone without embarassing myself.

If you're a 28 h'cap and you play to low to mid twenties occasionally then you're playing to your h'cap. If you're swing is getting better you should be finding you're hitting it straighter which is a start. The next step to getting better is to stop worrying about embarressing yourself. Finally, the biggest and quickest way to improve you scores is to practice your short game and putting. As a 28 h'cap, I'm guessing you don't hot many greens in reg and find yourself just off the green several times a round. If you get get up and down regularly your 28 h'cap will reduce by maybe 6-8 shots without doing anything else to improve your swing. As your swign gets better you'll start having some of those up and downs for par instead of bogey and a few more shots come off your h'cap.

There is gonna be a period when you don't feel like you're improving even though you're having lessons but you will, you just need to stick with it. In the meantime, improving short game and putting will see your h'cap tumble.

 

[Spoff]

Second time at the range today after six months out.

It would appear I have forgotten how to swing!!!

I'll be seeking out a pro as soon as money will allow.

Yeah, you're probably right. Was due to be playing nine this evening but the weather not great. another bash at the range instead I think.


I wouldnt panic just yet Spoff. While your saving your few bob for the Pro get out on the course and visit your range a couple more times....Rome wasnt built in a day and if you've takin 6 months out it wont come back to you overnight......Keep your money in your pocket just a little bit longer and be patient.
If you were swinging ok before the layoff there isnt much wrong id say.....Maybe the parts are a little bit rusty yet.

 

[USER1999]

For those who take lessons, do you also have pschological coaching?

A lot of golf is mental (read that as you wish). Surely only having lessons on technique is only looking at part of the picture. People seem willing to spend time, money and effort perfecting a swing, that falls apart as soon as it is put under pressure.

For a lot of the guys I medal with, it is not their swings that are holding them back.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

In my entire golfing life I have had about 20 lessons.

My first was when I began playing (age 11) the local club pro gave me some very basic pointers but said that my swing was such a good natural one that I should wait until I grew for more intensive lessons.

I then had a few lessons when I was 15'ish and went down from 28 to 15 in 1 year.

I've now been going to the Belfry for lessons, had about 6 or 7. Have come down from 10 to 8. My long game is great now. I hit it along way & accurately. But my short game & mental game now need work.

As such I will have a few short game lessons, check technique, posture etc

I will also have a playing lesson. I had one a couple of years ago & the pro was amazed at how little I thought about my golf. ie where to tee up, what shape to hit shots, which chips/pitches to play.
That did improve for a while, but as Murphthemog says golf is a very mental sport and your thinking can/should be improved.

But the caviat for all of the above is that I do want to improve. Not everyone does. To me the joy of golf comes in trying to get good at it. To others, it's just getting out, having a laugh, walk & drink in the bar afterwards.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

For those who take lessons, do you also have pschological coaching?

A lot of golf is mental (read that as you wish). Surely only having lessons on technique is only looking at part of the picture. People seem willing to spend time, money and effort perfecting a swing, that falls apart as soon as it is put under pressure.

For a lot of the guys I medal with, it is not their swings that are holding them back.

This is a very good and valid point. I have never had psychological coaching but could have done with some about 3 years ago. The problem is, I didn't recognise it then Towards the end of last year I read a few of Bob Rotella's books which have changed the way I think on the golf course and I believe have helped me quite a lot. I've always blamed my swing for my failures but realise now that while that is flawed, the biggest problem was inside my head. I've had lessons before, I normally have them over the winter every year, a lot of what I am currently being told in my lessons is not new to me, I'm just in a better mental state to grasp and execute it. As an example, since I joined my club in 2006 and got given a 9 handicap, I have never once played to it in a qualifying competition ( ). I've had a couple of bad injuries and been through a divorce in that time but even so, it's been very frustrating. Despite having lessons and shooting regularly in the 70's when playing socially I've not been able to do it for my h'cap. As a result, my h'cap got up to 12.6 at the end of last year.

Since reading the Rotella books, I think differently on the golf course and that, combined with my latest set of lessons, has resulted in me getting 2 cuts in the 4 events I have played this year. I'm now playing with less pressure on myself and more confidence, I am thinking more clearly and I'm able to take something out of the bad shots I hit rather than just beat myself up over it.

If I'm not an advert for psychological coaching, or at least reading some books on the subject, then I don't know who is