No More Lessons!!!

[CHRISMIKAYLA]

I am very frustrated as I have recently spent over 200 on six lessons and my game is WORSE than ever. I have been playing seven months and hit the ball better after two months than I am now go figure!! I have tried to adjust my swing, ie swing with arms, keeping lower body quiet, body swing but still the same results. I am convinced it must be a grip, posture, or alignment problem. My typical shot is shanks or topped shots with irons and bad hooks with driver that either fly way high or too low. The only clubs I can hit halfway decent are hybrids. I wish I could use these on every shot. Someone suggested I try barely holding on to the club with my fingers so it can release properly. I have tried every tip, bandaid, etc so it HAS to be a simple solution such as grip or either this game is not for me. I considered myself fairly athletic at 6'0'' 200 lbs and a former basketball/baseball player but this game has me stumped!!

[Rackster]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

I considered myself fairly athletic at 6'0'' 200 lbs and a former basketball/baseball player but this game has me stumped!!

Join the club!

[slater170]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

I am very frustrated as I have recently spent over 200 on six lessons and my game is WORSE than ever. I have been playing seven months and hit the ball better after two months than I am now go figure!! I have tried to adjust my swing, ie swing with arms, keeping lower body quiet, body swing but still the same results. I am convinced it must be a grip, posture, or alignment problem. My typical shot is shanks or topped shots with irons and bad hooks with driver that either fly way high or too low. The only clubs I can hit halfway decent are hybrids. I wish I could use these on every shot. Someone suggested I try barely holding on to the club with my fingers so it can release properly. I have tried every tip, bandaid, etc so it HAS to be a simple solution such as grip or either this game is not for me. I considered myself fairly athletic at 6'0'' 200 lbs and a former basketball/baseball player but this game has me stumped!!

you have got to stick with it!
everyone i know has felt like you myself included
it takes time to groove a correct swing.
im just at the point after 2 1/2 years that i can trust my swing and it is fairly competent but thats playing through and tolerating the transitional period and plenty of time practising the correct things
good luck

[msklar92]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

were you hitting the ball well or badly during your lessons? and what did your pro emphasize? In addition, did you have a video of your swing, if yes what were the problems and good points?

[GregJWillis]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

To help you here, the first idea is that taking lessons can do exactly what has happened to you...get worse before you see permanent results. What is happening? your consistency is deteriorating, BUT you should see better shots when you do the new lesson's change correctly. If not, and all you see are worse results on every swing, then it is time to get a new teacher. You should be able to repeat the new swing correctly and say, "Ya! That is what I want!". Then the next few swings should be able to repeat it. If you then shank a few, or revert back to the old swing, you should be able to say, "No...that's not it, ok...let me do the drill or break the thought down again...". Then be able to hit the correct shot again. This is what's normal. If you never get to the "Ya!" moment, then you need deeper instructions, and the pro should recognize that.

Second, taking advice from several sources looking for quick solutions is risky. Find a good teacher and stick to that instruction only. Make sure you look at the investment as a longer term solution then just $200, and that should solve your problem.

Last, if you do change pros, make sure you let him know your situation first. You started out with this natural feeling swing that was working for you. Even go as far as trying to revert back to that and start from there...regardless of how the shot look (high, slices...etc) just as long as you are back to a consistent "good" feeling swing. Because if you can believe it, this swing is what was in you naturally and that is in most cases a good swing for you. All that is really needed is some slight adjustments to help reduce the large errors. Then, as time progresses, additions to new ideas can seed in to help adjust length, or ball flights...etc. Trying to overhaul a swing from the ground up is only good if you have a lot of problems that were causing several different undesirable results.

So make sure you get back to basics in you own swing again and start to change small things, and you will get to where you want to go.

[Martin Levac]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

Hi,

This is funny and you will laugh too once you realise what you are doing.

6 lessons, $200, a lot of time thinking about this technique, that technique and more technique. Have you learned what is more important than anything else during these lessons? There are only three things, the head still, the feet firmly planted and the focus. Every other technique will come to you at some point during practice even if you don't take lessons. There is one technique that helps to make a nice swing, it's the left elbow straight. Not rigid straight, just enough so that you can safely take it out of the equation. But it's not required really.

Your brain is phenomenal, it has the ability to work without your knowledge. The part of the brain that controls your muscles is called the motor cortex and it works so much better if you don't interfere. Give it a job to do and let it do it. Here, try it. Keep head still. Maintain feet planted firmly on the ground. Focus on making proper contact with the ball.

Notice that keeping the head still isn't technical really. All it is is an instruction, the technique you use to fullfil this instruction is pretty much already known to you and your motor cortex. Same for the plant feet firmly on the ground and focus on making proper contact with the ball.

Have you ever wondered what it was exactly that you were trying to do when you swung the club? The answer is simple but we often forget it because it is so simple. We're trying to swing the club. So, focus on that instead and forget about how you're supposed to move the body this way, the body that way, the body any particular way. I mean, if it prevents you from swinging the club properly and then striking the ball properly, why do it?

How about this, try to do exactly what you're not supposed to do. Or try the opposite of what you're supposed to do. If it doesn't work, at least you'll know it for real. Then you can try something else. I'm sure you can think of all kinds of things you're not supposed to do.

I mean, is it important that you move your head this way or that way or keep it down or keep your chin up? Only insofar that it allows you to maintain adequate focus with your eyes on the ball. That's what the "keep head still" instruction is for. Then is it really that important that you move your feet this way or that way? Only insofar that it allows you to maintain a solid platform on which you move the rest of your body. That's what the "plant feet firmly on the ground" instruction is for.

[BrianW]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

Hi Michael,

Listen to what Greg and Slater are telling you. I can relate exactly to what you are currently going through and had exactly the same thoughts and concerns once.

Most people start off with a home made swing that works reasonably well for a while, it does not bring great results but it is enough to give you some appreciation of the game.

What happens next is you have a bad game, then another and you start to question your ability, the downward spiral starts, you try too hard,swing too fast, you get frustrated and even angry, things get worse.

You get to a point where you want to either sort it or pack it in as bad job. You have taken some lessons to hopefully get you on the right track, I think that was the correct thing to do.

OK, now you want some results, quick results. The first thing to do is BELIEVE that you can get better at this game, and you can get better, much better, BELIEVE it. Next understand that it may not come as quick as you would like but it will come if you work at it.

Work on the sound fundamental principles that your coach will show you, practice them as much as you can, keep it slow and deliberate, start with easy half swings, hit the ball off a tee until you get some confidence, build up to full swings and don't get concerned with distance at all, it WILL come. Go out on a course and enjoy yourself, tee the ball on the fairways to start with, concentrate on direction and tempo for now.

You are correct there is a simple solution: Believe you can do it, take it easy, take it a bit at a time and practice. You will be breaking 90 before long.

[CHRISMIKAYLA]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

During the lessons I hit fairly well. He had me concentrate on left arm taking club back and starting the downswing from the bottom up. He also had me do a drill where I stood on large balls while I was hitting. I had to keep my lower body quiet or I would fall and this also led to solid contact. But what does this have to do with actually playing on the course? I think you guys were right about having a few bad shots which leads me not to trust what the pro told me. I change my setup, grip, swing constantly it seems in a rush to have a very good swing I can depend on.

[takinitdeep]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

Chris:
An old pro once told me a swing change will take 1,000 balls to feel comfortable, unfortunately, sometimes we have to hit rock bottom to learn how to move forward. It is not until you lose your old habits that the new concepts begin to take hold.
Stick with it, don't expect too much too soon, and, most of all, don't beat yourself(or your pro) up over this as it is only temporary.
I can tell you everyone who seeks improvement has gone through your situation; hang in there and take the lessons in baby steps.
There is an old adage in teaching, "change as little as possible." The more wholesale the change, the longer you will play badly until you adapt.
Hope this helps.

[Sumosid]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

I think all the previous posts were pretty much spot on. I think Greg has a good point about your instrutor.

One thing that I might add. Never listen to your golf buddies about your swing unless they are hitting 12 strokes better than you...

I like to reread Ben Hogan's book from time to time, some of the tidbits in the book inspire me in different ways at different points in my game.

Paraphrasing ben, he once said, practice all the wrong things and never improve. practice the right things and always improve. He was a firm believer that someone with a decent athletic build could be a low 80's golfer in less than a year of practice.

So practice the right things, play smart, know your abilities...

We have all been there. And the fact is, golf is not like riding a bicycle. Once you stop for awhile your game really pays for it. It is kinda like not going to the gym for 6 months and expecting to bench the same wieght as you used to.... Just ain't happen'n....

[Jeff Mann]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

You write-: " I have tried every tip, bandaid, etc so it HAS to be a simple solution such as grip or either this game is not for me."

I think differently, in the sense that I believe that you can only have a good quality full golf swing if you get evey aspect of the swing correct. There is no one single solution, no single tip, no single secret formula that will allow you to perfect your golf swing. I don't believe in band-aid golf. People use band-aid techniques to compensate for some major fault, but the band-aid is exactly that - a band-aid, when you really need a cure.

I think that a cure first starts with a decision on how to swing a golf club. You may decide to suscribe to Martin's belief that the golf swing is an "arm swing" and you may decide to follow Leslie King's "arm swing" fundamentals. If you do, make sure that you acquire a good understanding of ALL the fundamentals so that you can execute the swing well. Don't accept an incomplete understanding.

I am biased in the sense that I think that the best swing style is the lower body swing style that is used by Tiger Woods. If you choose that type of swing style, then you have to learn ALL the fundamentals that go with that swing style - and that includes everything (grip, address setup, ball position, backswing, downswing -- etc.). My favorite book on that swing style is "Swing Like a Pro" by Ralph Mann and Fred Griffin. Alternatively, you can read my just completed review of the total body golf swing (which is free) at http://perfectgolfswingreview.net

Whatever your source of knowledge, you have to get every part of the swing right, and it starts with having a very clear idea of what you should be doing at every stage of the swing. Knowledge is power!

Jeff.

[edshaw]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

Chris:
Seven months? In the life of
golf? Hah!
That's not even enough time
to tie the shoes.

[jambalaya]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

Try everything you can. Everybody should take lessons. Read golf magazines, read threads on this site. Google articles on the internet about specific topics in which your interested. I swang a golf club for a very long time with very little thought. I took lessons late in life when my game just fell apart and I couldn't get it back. I began playing golf with thought and that screwed me up more for awhile. I always thought practicing at the golf range was a very boring activity. I never dreamed of actively working on my set up or grip because I had no idea about why I would do one thing or another and the possible effects. People would explain things and they just bounced off me like it was a foreign langauge. Couldn't understand what they were getting at or why I should try it. I never wanted to practice until I took lessons, studied and learned there were things I had to achieve. One has to learn the fundamentals of golf and how the body works and groove a swing that fits. I am now at the point where I am trying to get back more feel in my golf swing. Kind goes full circle but it is a journey a lot of us have to make to get better.

[mariner]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

I've been playing 20 years and every time I go to the range (about twice a week) I'm trying something new

[shootin4par]

Re: No More Lessons!!!

Jam, that post is like music to my ears