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Getting a new instructor?

ShotScope
Golf Chick

Golf Chick

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I've stopped seeing my regular golf instructor, mainly because I only practice/play on the weekends so it was pointless to keep having lessons. Now that its daylight longer, I'm thinking about going back. But was thinking of I should find another instructor. The one I have, she's great, but she's a cheerleader and not really what I'm looking for. She's taught me the basics and the fundamentals, now I want to find someone who can tweak it a bit and make me hit the ball better and to improve :) Should I let my current instructor go and find another one? Are you able to "test drive" instructors to see if he/she is a good fit for you and what you are looking for before making the commitment?
 
There is nothing wrong with shopping around and finding an instructor who will take you in the direction you are looking to go. Have you talked with your current pro to let her know that you want more than a cheerleader? If you like her you may want to see if she is able to get you what you want out of your lessons.

If not ask around talk to others and see who they work with and how things are going. Call and talk to other pros and see what they have to say. Most pros I know would like the chance to meet you and maybe spend a few minutes with you on the range to see if their approach falls in line with what you are looking for.
 
A test drive is pretty easy. Just setup a single lesson and see.

Now maybe you want to do some homework first. Some questions to maybe ask are:
What's their teaching style? If you're a feel person then a technical teacher may not work.
What swing do they teach? 1 plane, 2 plane or whatever.

I'd also talk to them about what are your golfing goals. I did this with mine. I told him my goal is to break 100. So he knew what I was looking to do.

A good instructor that you work well with is invaluable. I hope you find one and if so, work with them for as far as they can take you and your game.
 
I'm going to open this up again. I'm looking to take a couple lessons but I don't want to break the bank. I found one instructor but he wanted $200 for the initial lesson which I found quite steep. Then I found another person for $30 which is pretty cheap. But Idk if a guy charging $30 is going to be very knowledgeable.

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$200 is pretty crazy. Is there a GolfTec in GR now? Might be more economical to buy a package. I save some money doing it that way.
 
Hawk said:
$200 is pretty crazy. Is there a GolfTec in GR now? Might be more economical to buy a package. I save some money doing it that way.
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There is, but I know the instructor and while I think he is good and knowledgeable, I'm not a huge fan of the way he teaches.

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That's important for sure.

Maybe you can sneak on the range and eavesdrop during one of the cheap guy's lessons. Get a feel for him.
 
Golf Chick said:
I've stopped seeing my regular golf instructor, mainly because I only practice/play on the weekends so it was pointless to keep having lessons. Now that its daylight longer, I'm thinking about going back. But was thinking of I should find another instructor. The one I have, she's great, but she's a cheerleader and not really what I'm looking for. She's taught me the basics and the fundamentals, now I want to find someone who can tweak it a bit and make me hit the ball better and to improve :) Should I let my current instructor go and find another one? Are you able to "test drive" instructors to see if he/she is a good fit for you and what you are looking for before making the commitment?
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Like others have said, it's definitely OK to shop around for instructors. It seems like you have somewhat of a familiarity with your current instructor (otherwise you probably wouldn't feel as guilty). If you still want to use her, maybe talk to her about wanting more technical knowledge. She might just be the ra-ra person because maybe that's what she thinks you want.

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I may pay the cheap guy, the only thing I'm concerned with is him puting bad/wrong swing thoughts in my head and totally messing up swing. I had that happen and it took me 3 months to straighten it out.

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How long is the initial lesson of the $200 guy? What does that include (video eval, etc)? What are his credentials? As for the $30 guy, my current teacher charges $44 a lesson and is one of the best I've had. I'd talk with each extensively about your goals and their teaching styles and go from there. For $200 though, there better be something behind that other than a range session.


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Yeah $200 seems crazy, unless he's doing something really special or it's a pretty long lesson. Hawk's idea of trying to eavesdrop could work. Or try him for a lesson and see how you like it. That's super cheap and if you like him, awesome. If you don't, you're only out a couple bucks and with only one lesson he probably won't damage your swing if you don't like his style.
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
How long is the initial lesson of the $200 guy? What does that include (video eval, etc)? What are his credentials? As for the $30 guy, my current teacher charges $44 a lesson and is one of the best I've had. I'd talk with each extensively about your goals and their teaching styles and go from there. For $200 though, there better be something behind that other than a range session.


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you get a take home video analysis and a lesson plan with savings in future lessons. as for his credentials I'm sure I just googled him and it brought him up.

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jspangs said:
you get a take home video analysis and a lesson plan with savings in future lessons. as for his credentials I'm sure I just googled him and it brought him up.

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How long is the lesson?
 
That just seems steep. One of the local guys here is great and you get 50 minutes with video analysis of each lesson for $45 a lesson.
 
drp3434 said:
That just seems steep. One of the local guys here is great and you get 50 minutes with video analysis of each lesson for $45 a lesson.
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I take that back it was a 45 min lesson.

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$200 for an hour is a lot. The cost is probably based on experience and demand. As far as finding someone who works for you? I think that is important and I think good instructors understand that. For comparison my lessons are $80 an hour with video.
 
I just booked a lesson with a new guy, has a great reputation and I have seen several good reviews.

Going to have an initial lesson Saturday, if it goes well, will be the first of 6 60 minute lessons for $480. If it doesn't go well it will be the last @ $100.
 
$200 is absolutely ridiculous imo. I'd shop around because I've found plenty of good instructors for wayyyy less than that
 
Evok said:
$200 is absolutely ridiculous imo. I'd shop around because I've found plenty of good instructors for wayyyy less than that
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I know I can but my question is how do you know who and where without wasting a bunch of time and money. I'm shooting mid to low 80s now, so I'm not really looking for someone to rebuild my whole swing which seems to be what the instructors I find want to do.

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jspangs said:
I know I can but my question is how do you know who and where without wasting a bunch of time and money. I'm shooting mid to low 80s now, so I'm not really looking for someone to rebuild my whole swing which seems to be what the instructors I find want to do.

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I'd sit and just talk with them for a little bit, ask a bunch of questions and really find out their approach and what they're about. Should help you weed out some.
 
My instructor is $100 an hour or $50 for half hour ... half hour is all I can take in ... he is my third instructor, the others taught one swing ... theirs ...

First lesson with this guy, had me warm up ... while hitting he recorded me a bit, then played it back, and looked faults and what he thought we could do different ... every step of the way he gets feed back from me ... how does that feel ... what do you think about ... never once did he say "NO" ... hit a bad shot, he usually simply says, do you know why that shot did that ... OK, this time try this ... how did that feel ...

The others were ... no that's wrong, do this ... not everyone has the same flexibility, same physical make up, skill level, etc ... in my case I have left hand that is damaged (table saw) so I tend grip with the right hand ...

I love this guy and the open communication ... its worth a few extra $$

Also one more thing. and it is highly subjective ... some people teach for the money and usually teach a set formula ... some people teach because they are good at teaching, and LOVE to teach ... I can usually sniff the money ones out quickly.
 
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