I just had my first lesson...

After years of talk and procrastinating I finally went for my first golf lesson last night, after my family gave me a 4 leason gift voucher for my birthday.

The first thing I will ask you Golfshakers is; is there something about having a pro standing behind you that instantly improves your swing? My first 10 shots with my 6 iron shot straight and true to about 185yards. Lets just say I was struggling to knock my 3hybrid to 180yards!

That was before he even gave me any advice! I had to try to convince him that I don't usually hit shots like that!

After a few swing pointers, and a quick look at the laptop video etc. he asks me where I think I need to improve. I tell him that I have a tendency to miss greens from +120yards so my scoring on long pars 4's is dreadfull - my long to mid iron approaching is very inconsistant and I have trouble scoring consistantly.

He puts me through some alignment drills. As soon as I was able to align myself correctly I gained about 20/30 yards with each club. Pretty amazing instant results. I was delighted!

He ended the lesson by asking if I had an official handicap, I told him no, that a club membership is not possible in my household budget at the minute (3 month old baby at home!). He tells me that with a bit of sustained practice and bit of course managment and mental couching, I should really think about playing at a higher level than the social game I currently have.

I was like: WHHHAAAT?

I told him that I had yet to score a sub 90 on a proper 18 hole 6000+ yard course, (in fact my best is a 99 !) and that my only decent scores were on my two local 9 hole munis that are both sub 2500yards. 

He didn't seem to mind. He just told me to get out and play twice a week if possible and watch the scores tumble.

Needless to say I walked off the range with my head high and my chest out (Metaphorically). I'm playing on Thursday afternoon and again on Saturday morning. I hope I can score well.

Another question to you golf shakers:

 Anyone here have a decent swing, can hit good shots, but couldn't score in a proverbial brothel?

If so, does anyone have any more advice to help turn a good swing into a good scoring golfer?

Ray,

A Good Swing does not always mean Good Scoring in the beginning.

To quote Steve :-

"Short Game and mental practice for one, understanding when things go wrong is another".

Having a bad swing, that you have control of and know what is going on with it, will always produce better scores than having a good swing that you know nothing about.

Learn to play with what you have got and as you improve you will find the game easier. It is always what you think you can do rather than what you think you should do.

TheLyth

If you could join a golf club you would play more golf.

As you play more golf you would become more consistant with your scoring.

Add in a bit of putting/chipping/pitching and bunker practice and you're scores will tumble quickly.

Keep up with what you have been told and I'm sure that in the future things will change for you and you'll see your handicap come down.

Russ

I always bang on about this on here.  Short game, short game, short game.  You have got to work on this aspect of your game.  I'll now hit about 50 balls on the range with my short irons and then straight to the putting green. 

Putting is the only (may cause arguments here) part of this game were with enough practise you can be as good as the Pros.  I practose this part of my game more than any other and it is paying off big time - having that feeling 'I'm going to make this' all the time is brilliant.  My scores tumbled when I spent plenty of time each week working on getting up and down from around the green.

Short game, short game, short game. 

It is very interesting that a number of replies say Short Game but don't expand on it.

I have always believed that the main thing is "FEEL". Once you have it, it only takes a few minutes to get used to the conditions put in front of you. Practising is good as long as you change your distances after only a few shots. It is like hitting putts from 10ft on the Practice Green, One gets the 'line', two gets the 'strength' the rest should hit the hole.

TheLyth

When you want to work on your short game/approach I find that par 3 courses come into their own.  There's an 18 hole par 3 close to where I used to work in Wolverhampton (the 3 Hammers).  Longest hole is about 110yds, shortest about 65yds.  Greens are pretty smooth and true, bunkered and there's a couple of ponds too.  For £7 in the week, you can play all day and you can do a round in less than 2 hours easily (under 90 minutes if it's quiet).  It's a great wat to improve your short game and work on your putting too