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Lessons

Lessons

  • Take Now

    Votes: 15 23.4%

  • Take in the Spring

    Votes: 5 7.8%

  • Take Some Now and Some in the Spring

    Votes: 44 68.8%
  • Total voters
    64
9-Iron Man

9-Iron Man

Exciting Times
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
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Location
Alberta, Canada
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I have a couple quick questions about taking lessons. Please forgive me if this has been discussed before, there are a whole bunch of threads on lessons and I couldn't read them all.

To start off, I suck and therefore need lessons. I'm tired of losing strokes to lost balls and duffed shots. I want to break 100 and eventually get my handicap down to the 15-18 range. There's no way I'm going to be able to do that on my own, so I need lessons. Which leads me to my dilemma.

I've got maybe 2 good months left of golf before the temperatures start to fall up here and the snow starts falling. Sure I can head to the sim, but that won't happen every week just due to the cost. So after the start of October, I won't be on the course again until April or May.

So do I start taking lessons now, to help my game for the last few rounds of the year, or do I wait for spring so I don't lose everything I learned over the winter? Or do I take some now and follow up in the spring? What do you think THP?
 
Now and follow up in spring, at least it will give you some techniques you can practice in your garage over winter months
 
I would start taking them now. Then you could always ask about certain drills that you can do in your house(without Adamsgirl killing you). I started taking some lessons for the first time in my life about 6 weeks ago. I've already seen more consistency in my game.
 
i agree. it would definitely be beneficial to take some now and get out on the range/course a few times and see if you can set a base and get a good groove going before packing the sticks up for the winter and then taking a refresher in the spring.

as said ^....you can learn some good off-season drills as well. putting and chipping are things you can do within your house (usually). and if you have enough space and high ceilings, it's always good to get some swings in (always good to do while watching The Golf Fix!)

I live in NW PA and we get snow a lot as well. I try to visit an indoor range at least twice during the winter (and that's not all that much really) but you'd be surprised how much it helps.

Good luck!
 
Anders73 said:
Now and follow up in spring, at least it will give you some techniques you can practice in your garage over winter months
Click to expand...

Exactly the post I was formulating in my head as I was reading OP's post.
 
Take them now and play as much as possible and be sure to take some video of what you are working on. Then find a place over the winter that you can swing a club - even without a ball to hit - at absolutely every possible opportunity, every day if possible, and use a mirror to check your positions while swinging. In the spring you will be ahead of where you would be if you had put off the lessons and having a club in your hands every day will help you to retain some feel and will make it that much easier to get to where you want to be in the spring.
 
I would try to find a teaching pro now who you share similar thinking with and approach to the game. That can take a why so I would start the search now. Take a lesson from more that one person and see which one works best for you. If you find this match quickly then I would suggest, like others have said, get a few lessons in now and get a program to work on over the winter. Come spring, get back with the same pro and pick up where you left off. Based on bad experiences in the past of not working with the right coach I was determined to get better without the help of lessons. Through a friend I met my coach and we talked for two weeks via e-mails before I signed up. I have now had 5 of my 6 lessons including getting out on the course for a lesson which I thought was awesome and very beneficial as I play the game there and not at the range. My game and my mind set is better than ever and I am very happy I signed up, so much so that I will be going through another set of lessons just to continue the process I have started.
 
The best time to start lessons is yesterday. :)
 
I'm gonna against the grain here and say wait. Enjoy the last fleeting weeks of your golf season, sure you can try to work on a few things yourself like short game stuff, but wait on winter. Find a great teacher and spend the entire winter overhauling your swing. By doing it over the winter you won't find yourself on the third tee playing golf swing, you'll be playing golf. The winter will pass sooner and you will have time to own your new swing. If you try it now by trying to rush a group of lessons in before the end of season, yeah you may get better or correct a flaw here and there but having several months to revamp a swing will be much kinder.
 
I had my first lesson around 1973 I think and my last three weeks ago. Mine are really just tuneups everytime something is wrong than a full blown lesson. If needed, I would take one with two weeks left in the season. Even the pro's see their teachers on a regular basis. We should be no different.
 
Thanks for the input so far everyone!
 
9-Iron Man said:
I have a couple quick questions about taking lessons. Please forgive me if this has been discussed before, there are a whole bunch of threads on lessons and I couldn't read them all.

To start off, I suck and therefore need lessons. I'm tired of losing strokes to lost balls and duffed shots. I want to break 100 and eventually get my handicap down to the 15-18 range. There's no way I'm going to be able to do that on my own, so I need lessons. Which leads me to my dilemma.

I've got maybe 2 good months left of golf before the temperatures start to fall up here and the snow starts falling. Sure I can head to the sim, but that won't happen every week just due to the cost. So after the start of October, I won't be on the course again until April or May.

So do I start taking lessons now, to help my game for the last few rounds of the year, or do I wait for spring so I don't lose everything I learned over the winter? Or do I take some now and follow up in the spring? What do you think THP?
Click to expand...

I would take some now, and some more in the spring, but, I know after my first couple of lessons, even with hitting the range 3-4 times per week, I was worse on the course than before. My instructor said he expected that as we hadn't completed the process and I really had no business back on the course yet, so if you do start with lessons now, don't be surprised if you do not get instant results.
 
Start now. Make sure you are comfortable with the instructor and if so, follow up in the spring.
 
I want to second the thoughts of White Rhino above. You might get lucky finding the perfect coach/pro on your first attempt, but then again, you might not. Over the years, I've probably taken lessons from five different pros. The one I have now is far and away the best as far as figuring out what I'm doing improperly with my swing and putting in corrections that I understand. So start now finding someone to work with that is a good fit. Yorkem also makes a great point in that sometimes with lessons you will need to unlearn some bad habits. So you might feel you've taken a step back, but realize it's only so you can take TWO OR MORE steps forward.
 
I think even if you took one lesson, you would see drastic improvements now, and you would be surprised how well you retain what you have learned through the winter season.
 
You'll have a lot more fun the rest of this season after a lesson or two. Do it dude.
 
theres never a bad time to take some lessons...
 
I have had a quite a few lessons and need quite a few more as the years move on. You can not see yourself, and my scores and ball striking becomes so much better after seeing a golf pro. I need to get back with mine in the next week for a 4 - pack to get ready for Blairsvillle!
 
9-I, I would think if you have only 2 more good months a couple of lessons on the short game and putting would really benefit you the most right now. You could get in a little parctice with the techinques of each during the winter inside. Foam balls and a rug and you can chip to your hearts content and an indoor carpet allow for all of the putting practice you can stand. If all of this practice is technique focused instead of results focused you should have that part of the game ready to go at the start of next year, then a few lessons on the full swing and course management and you are on you way to the mid teens handicap. Good luck.
 
Take some lessons now and keep doing drills around your house and take a few more next spring and make sure to do the drills you learn now in the spring.
 
Todays lesson will help tomorrows round. Why wait?

P.S. The longer we hang on to our bad swing habits the harder they are to break.
 
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i just had the same decision to make a month ago... as i don't think i "suck" i have been contemplating taking lessons for a few years now... after my free Golftec lesson i decided to keep going and taking lessons.. i want to make a MAJOR swing change but i am playing some great golf right now. so i decided to take short game lessons now and after the season i am going to be working on my swing.. It gives me stuff to work on now and isn't ruining my rounds by having me do to much and get frustrated cause i start having all these problems.. although i have lost some strokes here or there trying to chip, pitch, and putt a different way than i am used to i DEF see a huge improvement when i do the shots i am working on correctly and that feels great! not sure what you really need to work on but i would talk to an instructor and see what he says. i am just trusting my instructor and things have gone well. i go about once a week now and now that im starting to feel more confident and getting a feel for my chipping and pitching its nice seeing those shots get close to the hole. if i was you id def start now especially if youre struggling! Good Luck
 
You should take advantage of the summer months you have left and take some lessons now. You will most likely improve by the end of this season giving you something to look forward to this winter. Remember just because there is snow on the ground doesn't mean you can't work on your game. Take the winter to work on putting, chipping if you have a dome around, and ball striking. Some of my best thoughts on improvement for myself come in the off season! Good luck!
 
always good to take lessons periodically to improve on an aspect of your game
 
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