Why is "Get a lesson" Always the answer?

However, I'm also a fan of experimenting myself.

Me too. I think if you understand the fundamentals of ball flight & know your own game it's possible to work a lot of things out for yourself and, having done so, you have a better understanding of how your swing works. It amazes me, the people who have had lessons and cannot tell you where the clubface & swing path were pointing when they hit a bad shot. If you don't understand that you're flogging a dead horse.
 
A lot of the problem with self analysis and fixes picked up from the net or playing partners is that a lot of good information is misplaced with the best intentions. We've all had the playing partner whose favourite phrase is "what you need to do is..." Or "this worked for me..." He means well, but because he doesn't fully understand the diagnosis the cure isn't neccessarily the best. The saturday girl at boots might be able to tell you which Benylin to take but she could never tell you that it's something more serious causing the cough. There are merits to mixing the two(in golf at least) as long as you understand the ball flight laws and can ditch something that doesn't work before it becomes a problem.
 
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