first lesson..interesting

recently ive played well and made the mistake of thinking i was starting to get better and undewrstand a bit about the game / swing etc...then booked a lesson..it made me realise i have no idea whatsoever..thought id share the experience for any opinion / comments on what i was told...

grip was too weak..i was stood too close..sometimes rocked weight onto heels pre shot.., stance wasnt wide enough and i wasnt "behind ball" enough with shoulders (open to target?)...i leant towards ball through swing...my swing was too around me and should be steeper??

i was told...........my take away is to get until shaft goes horizontal..i am then to bend my wrists..at this point my swing should go up steeper and go out away from me..as swing goes back keep left arm straight and wehen swinging back i need to not sway but use coil??

i get it and hit a few shots very pure this way..though more were not good at all...i hit shorter than before and the pro says this is supposed to happen with a higher ball flight and my accuracy / consistency will improve.., my flight was too low previously???? i could hit long at cost of accuracy apparently??...he says this new swing promotes more backspin and minimises side spin so accuracy should improve..previously i hit 7/10 where i wanted too.....in lesson i hit 2/10/....i plan to practice hard and see what difference these changes make..the ones i hit were straight and felt effortless but so much to think about with all the changes mid swing threw me off...hopefully ill be able to make this more natural through practice...

Hi Gavin

Your a 10 handicapper, in mostamatuer golfers eyes thats very good.

Its unusual for a pro to take your swing apart as is suggested.  Far from helping you it will more than likely kill your game.

Most pro's approaching a lower handicapper work on little tweeks, each resetting the things that are not helping your game.

What your lesson taught you is probably accurate, however if it was me I would seek another teacher, too much too soon will destroy what can't be that far away.

I have gone from a nine to a 17 due to seriuos back injury, my pro accomadates this injury & just points me in a better direction.  normally after a lesson & a few practices improvement is made, then I go back say 2 months later he works on something else.  A peice at a time, hopefully I can get back to single figures, although I used to hit 300yds with driver now its more like 240 max.  That no one can change!

I wish you luck!

This would have been a great lesson had it been your very first  one having just started the game.

As it is now, I am sure you will find it difficult to incorporate all of these little bits of instruction into your game. You will tend to revert to your comfort zone, thus destroying all you have been shown.

I agree with David, in that all you really needed was a little tweak.

I have never come across a player who has managed to completely change their swing so that I could not recognise it. Golf swings are personal.

john and david thanks fpor the comments...

david, i thought the same and all the thoughts stuffed me and stopped me swinging freely (i guess practiccing changes this?)..the few i did hit felt great and had a "lovely" flight...

the pro suggested me swinging around myself and leaving shoulders open was the reaosn for my lack of girs and accuracy...he says the new steepper swing with early wrist hinge would create more backspin than sidespoin, would help accuracy and consistent strikes?..if it would improve me so much is it not a good approach?..at the start of the lesson i said i wanted to be good..4 hcp or less and i wanted to be more consistent..said id put the time in to get there? could this be the reaosn for his approach?

JOhn,  again i felt he changed a lot though i guess stance / grip could be seen as basics??

is it fair to say i could only get so low with my current ability??

As for going back to my old swing for me thats near impossible.now.ive been told i must do different to improve and a few shots have given me an insight of a differnt ball flight and swing..my mind willl not have confidence in my old swing now i dont think??

Gavin, it appears to me that you are prepared to take on board what the professional is telling you, nothing can beat good instruction.

Good striking ability is only a fraction of what you will need to achieve your goals, there are other facets to this game which can be more demanding than just hitting the ball.

You will only know if you are going to make it, when you are low enough to enter scratch competitions and then be in a position to win amongst your peers.

If you can do that then a professional career could be on the cards, but then again there are hundreds of good players who cannot yet get their card to play on tour.

Thanks john. For me its just about finding out how good or bad I cn be. I'd love to gt to 4 or less if its possible but cnt imagine ever being a tour pro as I'm 30 already. I may hav reached my peak or I maybe able to b a lot better. In my mind I've only played the game regularly fr 2 years with no formal guidance. . I guess I will hav bad habits but I'm happy to b given a swing tht I cn work with, also its broken down so I cn maybe understand it better. My swing was just something I did if tht makes sense? I couldn't have talked you through it. All I focused on was tempo. Anyway. This is my first lesson si ill gt practicing and see what happens.

Tempo is one of those things that can make or break ones game and if this comes naturally to you then you are blessed.

Any swing, on occasion, will hit a good ball, but to consistently hit good shots requires a sound and repetitive method.

Always remember that you are on the inside looking out when you swing and the little faults that creep in are difficult to see. Only an outside agency - professional, will be able to spot these and correct them for you.

Gavin, your original swing must have been very quirky for the Pro to make such changes. The PGA's coaching guide, when they teach the pro's to teach, is to work with what the individual player has unless he/she is a rank beginner.

My swing remsembles an octypus putting on a sweater in a phone box, and about 10 years ago I went for the full remodelling. After a year of perservering, lots of lost balls and a h'cap of 7, I reverted back to my old(current) swing.

My son gives me the odd lesson but only tweaks what I've got if there's something going wrong. He cringes at my swing but is more interested in what I score, and recognises the result justifies leaving the swing alone. To quote, "it's ugly but don't ever play him for money."

I'd be having a conversation with your teaching pro and asking why he's changed so much, and if it sits with what you want to achieve and the pain you'll go thro' to get there then commit to it.

I had a lesson last night as the last few rounds have resembled those of someone who had never even held a club before. I thought the pro was making too many changes at once and was starting to have a few doubts but when he started putting a ball in the way I was striking it well and long with my natural draw returning (I had been pushing, fanning, shanking, thinning......). Turns out that all the changes her made were small tweaks but several of them and all linked together; you had to make all of them or none of them. I need a couple of range sessions, coupled with the exercises he gave me and I should be back on track

hi brian, your swing sounds interesting..are you really jim furyk?? ..dont know how quirky mine was..i shot a 76, 78 and 79 at my course with it and genuinely felt i was getting better...i thought it looked and felt ok if not a tad out of control sometimes coming down and through ball....i hit clean though not always accurately...went for a lessona s i felt i was makimg progress and wanted to do even better...

my experience seems similar to chris`s except i had small tweaks and one main change in how i swing...i used to swing round.ish...i now takeaway to horizontal..then hinge wrists then go up and out..not practiced enough to have a solid opinion yet...the other tweeks on stance..grip..posture and not swaying could be seen as small couldnt they??  opinions much appreciated