[Kubasarika]

I've never had an instruction.... After reading this, I'm thinking of scheduling my first one. Thanks for the inspiration

Make sure it is with a PGA Pro though. It is their job to be good instructors. I find that the best lessons are from the pros at golf courses, not driving ranges.

[mpegdvdclip]

good stuff paulo. I have never had a lesson before either, but I'm thinking of changing that this year. In fact I am going to a local golf show tomorrow that is going to have different PGA Pros from the local courses at it. I'm hoping to get the opportunity to talk to a few of them and see which one feels like a good fit.

[Yinekol]

I took group lessons years ago. They were for beginners but the pro had seen that I had been playing for a while, so I got a little more specialized instruction. When I was able to practice, it did me quite a bit of good, but I wasn't able to practice very often as it was the first full summer with my son, so my time to practice was limited. That fall I broke 100 for the first and only time in my life. Then I wasn't able to practice or play for a while. I would love to take lessons again, but I just can't afford it, so I have been doing it all on my own. Obviously not working real well, but I don't currently have a choice.

[Unonounaple]

Thanks for letting me know that a course pro will help more than a range pro... i wouldn't have thought there was a difference..

[zdlupikkkdi]

I took group lessons years ago. They were for beginners but the pro had seen that I had been playing for a while, so I got a little more specialized instruction. When I was able to practice, it did me quite a bit of good, but I wasn't able to practice very often as it was the first full summer with my son, so my time to practice was limited. That fall I broke 100 for the first and only time in my life. Then I wasn't able to practice or play for a while. I would love to take lessons again, but I just can't afford it, so I have been doing it all on my own. Obviously not working real well, but I don't currently have a choice.

Have you posted in the Ask The Pro section Ryan? If you can get a video of your swing from a couple of angles, there's plenty of experienced eyes on this forum who would be more than happy to offer some advice.

[buchmausar]

....up until yesterday!

Yep, I had my first ever lesson yesterday, and I've been left wondering why I haven't had some sooner! I've managed to get to a handicap of 5 without any instruction, and I think I've gone too long thinking I know my swing better than anyone.

First thought - seeing your swing from the outside is scary! There's no way I do all that!

Since I've been playing this year, I've noticed more inconsistency and a tendency to pull the ball, or balloon my irons.

Like many hard-headed people, I felt like I knew what I was doing wrong and I could probably fix it myself. BUT, for once, I decided to bite the bullet and have a pro look at my swing, see if he could give me a couple of thoughts to add some consistency.

Wow, looking at the video of my swing taught me a lot! I'm hunched over the ball, my legs are all over the place and due to this I'm creating no resistance to speak of. This is causing my hands to have to work through the ball and flick it to where I want it to go - hello inconsistency! I'm losing the flex in my right leg on the way back, overswinging, and forcing the club outside the line on the way down. This causes my hips to slide and not properly clear, so my left elbow comes out through impact to clear the club!

Soul destroying? Not so! Turns out my swing plane and body angle aren't bad at all, and it seems like all the above faults are being caused by the right leg and the hips! If I concentrate on retaining flex in my right leg, the backswing shortens, the resistance can be felt, and the trajectory and direction are much more consistent. Encouraging stuff!

So now I'm truely a Wilson staffer, as the same as Paddy, I'll be practising with a wedge under my right heel for the foreseeable future!

The moral of my story, I guess, is that I'm pretty ashamed that I haven't gone for a lesson before now. Just to see your swing and have someone point out a couple of basic improvements is such a great thing.
Having a purpose to my practice, and knowing I'm on the right track is encouraging. I'd also like to say that my club pro, Paul, is a teacher I think I could work with. Didn't try to change my swing, just looked at the fundamentals and gave me a couple of thoughts to work on - nothing confusing. I like this approach. Hopefully, the base of my swing will start becoming more solid from this point on!

So, guys....who loves instruction? And who can do without it?

Paulo my story is so close to yours it's almost scary. Like you I got myself down to a 6 alone. I finally decided to take a lesson last year and I my ugly swing was put on video as well:

-Like you I was completely straightening my back leg
-My hands were so low and close to the body I had no room to clear them
-I was losing posture during my swing
-I was always a sweeper with inconsistent contact

Within one single lesson, my back leg stuck still during the swing with great flex, my posture was perfect throughout the whole swing, this led to perfect contact and within this one lesson I was taking divots and felt crispness like I'd never felt before.

My first lessons was a glorious one, we finished off last year working on wrist hinge and am pumped to start lessons again.

[Yinekol]

Have you posted in the Ask The Pro section Ryan? If you can get a video of your swing from a couple of angles, there's plenty of experienced eyes on this forum who would be more than happy to offer some advice.

Actually, I have I posted one up back in October and got some good avice, which helped quite a bit, but I still think there are so many glaring problems that in person may be my only savior. My bigger problem with lessons is that I'm one who never asks for help and likes to do things on his own, so I learn more about it as I do it. This is probably also why I'm the world's least handy man.

[Verger99]

I really want to take lessons, I've definitely got a few gremlins in my game that I know i need a pro to help me out with. But at the same time, they just haven't been in my budget. Around here from what I've looked into runs anywhere from $50-80 per 30min lesson, with 1hr lessons starting around $100 a pop. Up until recently that has been too cost prohibitive for me, but I am really hoping that this spring I can at least get a 30min in to get some tips on improving my driver/swing.

[reaciciomarep]

I fully believe in lessons but it should be said that in order for the lessons to be effective long-term, you must practice what is taught. Now, onto my experience. I began taking lessons from a wonderful instructor last year who happens to be a former PGA President's Award winner. One thing that surprised some of my friends, is that my instructor is a woman. Don't ever let an opposite sex instructor bother you. She is great and knows how to tell me what I am doing both right and wrong. I have tried several different male instructors before finding her but they were all a bit to eager to show how they do things and how they hit it rather than working with me and my limitations...namely 2 hip replacements and 2 ruptured discs in the lumbar spine. I am looking forward to this season and have no doubt that if I hold up physically I will play better than ever thanks to instruction.

[heltduell]

I have had some bad lessons though. I paid a certified PGA instructor $20 per lesson for 5 lessons. The first three were very good. Swing fundamentals, distance control, chipping and putting were the first three lessons. Very good. Then came the long irons and fairway woods. Useless. I was just told to swing slower. Then came the bunker lesson. I paid for 30 minutes, I got 10 minutes of greenside bunker lessons and 20 minutes of talking about greenside bunkers. Then came the driver lesson. After taking a few swings with inconsistent results, I was told to slow my swing down. After being told to slow my swing down over and over, I finally hit a bunch of straight drives. They all went 200 yards. I looked at the instructor and said, "They aren't going anywhere though." His response, "At least they're straight." I wasted $100 on the guy.

And this in a nutshell is why I'm so hesitant to take a lesson. Never taken one but I feel like I've hit a wall with my playing.