Lessons - go for it or no?

[gatorguy146]

Whats up guys,
I've gotten a lot better over this summer, going from a 20 handicap all they way down to a 3. The issue now is that I want to ofcourse get better and get to scratch by the end of the summer. One of my friends gets lessons from a guy that used to play on the nationwide tour and really knows his stuff, a lot of kids on my golf team go to him as well and they seem to be satisfied. I've talked to the guy and he said he could definitely get me shooting in the 60's if I stuck with him. I think I'll be ready to fork out the money after my highschool golf season ends, but I just want to know what all of you guy's experiences have been when taking lessons and how much you think it could help.

Thanks a lot.

[klaymon]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

I've been taking lessons and they have made all the difference in the world. Granted, I started in September 2007 shooting in the 110's, but after 3 lessons I'm shooting 95-97 regularly. My coach said the first few lessons make the most dramatic difference because of getting the fundamentals down. After that, it gets harder to nail down the specific flaws and get those last few strokes off. So, I think this may boil down to how much time/money you are willing to invest to shake that last bit of HC.

[BrianW]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

Consider your ability with a clear realistic mind. I would suggest to go from a 20 HC to shooting in the 60's in a year or so is unrealistic unless you are really something special in which case you are not on the right career track.

[gatorguy146]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

See that's the whole thing my goal is to get to some qualifying tournaments and hopefully make the Nationwide Tour after graduating college, and after my progress this summer I feel like it is actually within reach but I have to keep working at it and I think maybe lessons are the next step.

[bruin]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

consider how much you could earn if you are indeed a gifted golfer, a relatively small outlay now could reap huge dividends later, i would suggest you 'go for it', you only get one life, don't have regrets later on.
good luck

[arch11]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

[QUOTE=gatorguy146;10552236]Whats up guys,
I've gotten a lot better over this summer, going from a 20 handicap all they way down to a 3.


Whats your secret?? Whoever taught you should take up a career in coaching? Mere mortals can only dream

[gatorguy146]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

Whats your secret?? Whoever taught you should take up a career in coaching? Mere mortals can only dream

lol, I think it was more of a mental thing for me more than lessons or anything. My manager at the golf course I work at helped me with my swing but never really gave me a lesson, I think it was more from just playing everyday and more of teaching myself the short game and just the repetition of hitting shots everyday to help groove my swing. He basically told me I'll get your swing down to where you can get it on or around the green almost every hole and it's up to you to either make the putt or get up and down.

That's why I feel I should get the lessons though because I think I have kind of taught myself all that I can, and how the other guy said you only live once, I believe that and I don't want any regrets in 10 years or the rest of my life.

[daviesec]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

Going from a handicap of 20 to 3 in one summer is crazy. There must have been a drastic change in your game for this to have happened. Fair enough the Golf Manager could tell you how to play but actually you doing it is something completely different.

I understand what the Manager said about getting the ball on the green and you holing the putt. If I could putt my h/c would be 1 or 2, last year in played in a tournament and shot a gross 72. On paper I should have been pleased but when I analyised my round I realised that i'd had 34 putts!!!! 16 greens in regulation. You could argue that my shots into the greens weren't close enough to the pin but I missed 9 putts from inside 10 feet.

[gatorguy146]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

I can't really explain what happened, I just got tired of shooting the scores I was and made it my mission to get into the 70's and I guess that drive helped me to accomplish that.

[bdbl]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

Whats up guys,
I've gotten a lot better over this summer, going from a 20 handicap all they way down to a 3. The issue now is that I want to ofcourse get better and get to scratch by the end of the summer. One of my friends gets lessons from a guy that used to play on the nationwide tour and really knows his stuff, a lot of kids on my golf team go to him as well and they seem to be satisfied. I've talked to the guy and he said he could definitely get me shooting in the 60's if I stuck with him. I think I'll be ready to fork out the money after my highschool golf season ends, but I just want to know what all of you guy's experiences have been when taking lessons and how much you think it could help.

Thanks a lot.

I'll take the contrary and rather controversial view and ask you a question first.

Mentally are you a Laura Davies, a Nancy Lopez, a Lee Trevino, a Seve Ballesteros; i.e someone with little if any formal training - and that from mainly from family and / or trusted allies - or are you more of a Faldo or a[insert your own list here].

Your progress this summer [when did you have one?] suggests the former and you might be better working by yourself for a while longer or with the manager of the golf centre.

As for whether a "pro" would help, well a good one possibly but it depends what they try and do, doesn't it. I'm sure that the coaches who drove the likes of Hal Sutton, Sandy Lyle and Ian Baker-Finch into despair were good coaches and the changes they tried to make to take them to the next stages were sincere; they just didn't work.

[bill reed]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

hi bdbl
i think you make some really good points and have found when i have gone to a teaching pro he had always wanted to change my swing and i did end up changing for many years but now back with the old swing, if you do swing different to that normal the golf teacher will always want to change it even if its not hurting your game.

i do believe parts of the game can be helped like teaching you the short game or to play out of sand as your can keep your swing and still improve, putting is another part of the game we never seem to take a lesson but like Trevino said, " I'll not take a lesson of a player that cant beat me." so if you take a putting lesson make sure the teacher can at least putt better than you.

Davie, you said your putting was poor last year but you sure it was your putting and not where you put the ball on the green, many player play to get closest to the hole and not to where they would have the best chance of making a putt.
playing to the hole often leaves you with a putt with a break on it rather than a putt thats up hill you can hit with a bit of pace to take out and little break.
you can save two shots a round playing to where you would like to putt from rather than closest to the hole and find you have a 5 footer with a lot of break.
give it a try Davie it might same you two shot and get you closer to scratch.
cheers
bill

[gatorguy146]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

You guys definitely gave me some good points there. I don't really want to fork out the money anyways with the gas prices killing me. It's still early in the year and golf isn't what it will be when the weather warms up. (if it ever happens lol) I think I'll forsure wait until the summer and see how things are working out, I feel like I'm going to be even better than I was last summer because over the winter I think my distance has increased because I'm hitting the same clubs into the green i was in the middle of the summer last year in 40 degree weather and almost hitting all of the par 5's in 2 which was rare for me last summer. As always I'm going to keep working on my wedges and short game because that's where you can save the most shots. I've been tirelessly working on my putting over the winter not going a day without practicing for atleast half an hour on my boomerang. I think wedges will be my next goal because the pros from 100 in are spot on so I think I'll need to work towards that to get better.

[bdbl]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

Remember I'm only throwing out a word of caution, I'm not saying "don't!" .

Bill though has a good point; while your general game is improving under your own steam why not invest in some specialist teaching.

Me if I'd gone from 20 to 3 in a summer I'd write a begging letter to Tony Johnstone (he lives a short drive away from me in Sunningdale - try Google if you don't know him) asking for as many hours in the bunker and around the green with him as he could spare. With his short game I'd be on scratch a little while later.

Sadly I'm still on 20 so its back to the 3Skills book for me.

[jambalaya]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

I say start playing as much competitive golf as possible. That is what is going to show you how you stand with other good golfers. Handling the pressure of playing in a tournament is a big step. If you play tournaments and start to have success there too, that proves you really have something going on. The best players in the world have golf coaches so you eventually are going to want to seek out a good one for yourself.

[gatorguy146]

Re: Lessons - go for it or no?

I play golf for my highschool and our season just recently starter. I've been close to the best score on my team just about every day and had the best around 3-4 times in practice and matches. My friend that goes to this guy currently can't break 50 so unless he has some great improvement by the end of the season I think I'll keep teaching myself, it's a lot cheaper than going to this guy that might not help me at all anyway. I don't want to change my swing I don't think that's the issue and I'm afraid that he'll do that. I don't think I should worry about it now because playing golf in the conditions right now is tough just because it's wet and cold and the greens are all being airified so maybe I'll decide in the summer but right now I'm leaning towards keeping my money.