had lessons? What changed YOUR game

Hi, I'm interested in finding out about peoples experiences with lessons, I've just booked on for a course of 5 and I'm wondering what benefit others have seen.

How many lessons has it taken to change your game? did it change your game at all? was it worth the money?

any comments will be appreciated

I've had lessons on or off for all my golfing life, took the game up about 11 years ago, now mid 40's.

I had a package spread over 6 months before I set foot properly on a golf course which really did help me understand how to play the game.

I started at a 24 handicap and now down to 10. I've probably had about on average 5-6 lessons a year but had lots to start with in the first 3-4 years, then maybe a year without. I haven't had any lessons this year but possibly thinking about getting some in over the winter.

In my opinion don't expect the pro to be a miracle worker and get you down to scratch in a month or so. It takes time. Lessons do really help your game.

Plenty of golfers think they know whats wrong with their swing, set up etc but until someone who actually really does know points it out and helps you fix it you won't progress.

First ever lesson i had basically got my Left arm staying straight as i thought it was supposed to bend on the backswing! Apparently not, and took me a good 10 swings to nail it and after that ive never looked back and it altered my game for ever. Now its the first thing i look for when any newbies play with me, as its an easy but very effective way of helping your swing.

"Plenty of golfers think they know whats wrong with their swing"... totally agree. I hadn't taken lessons for a few years as I was improving bit by bit. I took the plunge a couple of months ago to try and really attack my handicap.

First lesson - he videod me on his iPad and played it back. What in my mind was a pretty good swing looked awful... how did I even hit the ball????

3 lessons in we have broken the swing down bit by bit to correct it. My game has suffered but am now starting to come out the other side feeling like I am now ready to improve.

It has been said before and I repeat it here... practice, practice, practice... the piece by piece changes that I am making have had to be drilled in on the range trying to correct years of bad habits and reprogramming the "muscle memory".

Having taken these lessons I am vowing to take a course of lessons every year. Starting with the build up to the summer and then one every 4-6 weeks to work on anything that needs it.

Best of luck with yours...

Paul Ive never had a lesson before and I think the same would happen when I see my swing. "Oh my Gawd is that me"? How does the first lesson work? Do you tell the pro what you want. Does he tell you what he can give ? Im abit in the dark as ive never had a lesson. Dave CAC handed Geoardie.

sounds interesting Paul. Ive had a few lessons but all with different coaches. Usually im told to take a 6/7 iron and the lesson is spent on grip and strangely different coaches tell me different things. This time I have 5 booked with the same guy so hopefully I will develop a bit more. This time he has already told me to "bring the bag" which for me is a great sign, I think to get a good assessment of my game I would have to hit a variety of clubs/shots. my first lesson is Thursday so ill update then. One thing I can confidently say is the lessons I had on chipping and putting definitely had an effect. I thought I was a decent putter and chipper but after my chipping lesson it became my favourite part of the game.

It varies a lot from pro to pro. If you have a recommendation, go with that. I went for my first lesson of this latest lot with a detailed list of what I wanted (always good to be armed with this even if it doesn't pan out this way). The package I got was 1 x 50 min "video lesson" and 5 x 30 min lesson with someone who has helped me before, now at Singing Hills GC.

I explained to the pro that I had recently moved to East Brighton GC where you ALWAYS get a fairly strong wind - so I want to learn to work the ball in different directions to cope with the wind. On the first lesson he said I could never shape the ball properly swinging like I was (so true - I could work a slice somewhat but could never draw). We agreed that we would rework the swing to enable this. Now I'm just getting to the point were my new swing is bedding in.

As it happens, he does a quick video on his iPad at the start of each lesson. I do find this REALLY useful as I can see for myself both the faults he is picking up and the progress I am making.

My husband and I pay a monthly fee and can have as many lessons as we want with our Pro. Husband (2 hcp) has a 10 minute lesson each week just to make sure everything is still ok and to make sure he hasn't picked up any bad habits. He also practices about 6 hours a week in addition to any matches/competition rounds.

I have 1 half hour lesson a month and I then practice what he has shown me in between. I practice about 3 hours a week in addition to matches/competition/social rounds.

I have had lessons right from the start and I really don't think I would have progressed without them. I'm not a natural and I just don't have the talent to do it without someone telling me what to do.

My lessons sometimes is me asking for help in a particular area and sometimes he just watches me hit a few and then we work on what he picks up. He has taken me from an absolute beginner 3 years ago to a 22 hcp. It may not sound much compared to you single figure chaps but I am chuffed to bits.

I have found that as I have improved the lessons have a bigger and bigger impact. At first I was just mushing along but more recently I get a significant jump after lessons and I can feel that my swing is improving. I just have to be patient for the consistency to really catch up.

I took the plunge with lessons last July - paid for a batch of 10

I decided to change everything from grip upwards - my handicap at the time was 24

The first 3 months were not easy, 4 times a week practice on the range and did not go near a course during this time. My coach said he loses a lot of his clients during the first 2 months as people are not prepared to get through the "game gone to pieces" period.

He said to me "believe in me Nigel and your game will catch up in the end"

Now a year and a bit down the line my handicap is now 11 and even more importantly my coach has got me enjoying the game and wanting to play all the time.

Yes lessons are not for everyone but it was the best thing I ever did in my opinion.

Well done judy, 22 is decent, also well done Nigel dropping 13 shots in just over a year. How bad did the "gone to peices" stage get to? What can you do now that you couldnt ? Or are you just a lot more consistant? Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Hi Dave

Basically I had to start from scratch again. On my first lesson my grip was rebuilt and the first impression was good god I don't feel like I can even hit the ball with any force with this grip. It just felt totally wrong. Probably took 2 to 3 weeks for my brain to accept the grip and then it went from feeling wrong to feeling ok.

The bigger battle was when my swing process was changed this is what took nearly 3 months of solid practice to show any benefit. It was kinda like 2 steps forwards and 3 back - I remember on my 3rd lesson we changed my setup slightly and no kidding the next dozen balls I hit were all shanks! Mentally it is hard work to convince yourself to carry on when there is little or no improvement. However after 3 months it all started to bed in and things went the right way!

For me the the biggest improvement has been with my Irons - more consistent striking, no fats and divot after ball etc. We concentrated on long game for the first 6 lessons, then moved on to short game.

I have now had 11 lessons in total, and plan to have a new one every 2 to 3 months I guess. I try and decide what I want to look at in advance plan ahead a bit now.

Hope this helps a bit. GL

Thanks for that nigel, im looking forward to starting the process this week.

I'm late posting to this but I'd like to add that I've had lessons throughout my golfing time. Its important to get your swing filmed to allow you to see what's happening. Plus, new coaches have different ideas about things like chipping and I like to learn. Recently saw two guys who tell me the hands forward chip shot isn't the best method so I'm trialling it. Better understanding of the game has enabled me to get to 5.4 officially. Lessons help with understanding