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Going into a lesson..

dhartmann34

dhartmann34

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I'm going in for a lesson tomorrow with a teacher I've never had a lesson with before. I need to get something going with my game. While it's early season, I feel more 'off' than I usually do coming out of winter. I'm just trying to figure out what I go into the lesson with. Do I actually go in saying 'i want to work on this' or do I just swing and say 'what do you think we need to do'. I'm not quite sure.

What do you do going into a lesson? Is there something you tell the teacher you want to work on? Do you let them pick something after watching you swing? Do you just lay your heart out on the table?
 
dhartmann34 said:
I'm going in for a lesson tomorrow with a teacher I've never had a lesson with before. I need to get something going with my game. While it's early season, I feel more 'off' than I usually do coming out of winter. I'm just trying to figure out what I go into the lesson with. Do I actually go in saying 'i want to work on this' or do I just swing and say 'what do you think we need to do'. I'm not quite sure.

What do you do going into a lesson? Is there something you tell the teacher you want to work on? Do you let them pick something after watching you swing? Do you just lay your heart out on the table?
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I think it depends on: 1) What you're "willing" to do. and 2) The teacher. Do you want to work on full-blown changes, or do you want to work with him to identify 2 or 3 things to focus on? Or, something else?

When we both did the GolfTec lessons, it was wholesale changes, obviously. Are you ready to do that, again, or be more focused?

In the end, I know you'll commit to it, and that's the most important thing (IMO, anyway).
 
Rambler said:
I think it depends on: 1) What you're "willing" to do. and 2) The teacher. Do you want to work on full-blown changes, or do you want to work with him to identify 2 or 3 things to focus on? Or, something else?

When we both did the GolfTec lessons, it was wholesale changes, obviously. Are you ready to do that, again, or be more focused?

In the end, I know you'll commit to it, and that's the most important thing (IMO, anyway).
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Whatever it is... It can't be like golftec. That was something new every time. Never focused on anything too long. So much change, but very little commitment on my teacher's part I felt. Just another number... And that bay... So small.
 
My teacher just watches me swing and then focuses on what he sees. Only when I bring something up specific do we change course.
 
I just walked in and swung, we talked about my game and my goals, and then he took it from there. The results have been fantastic
 
dhartmann34 said:
Whatever it is... It can't be like golftec. That was something new every time. Never focused on anything too long. So much change, but very little commitment on my teacher's part I felt. Just another number... And that bay... So small.
Click to expand...

You know my approach ended-up being starting with the basics, which included completely revamping my setup/posture/grip/etc. and then the takeaway up to the top. That worked for me. Others will say what's happening at impact is most important, so maybe start with what's happening there.

If the Pro is good, you and he (assuming it's a he) can figure out what starting point will work best for you, and go from there. You're right, though, we both figured-out that we worked much better with picking out a few areas to focus on, after GolfTec, and it made a much bigger difference than the constant feeling of trying to drink from the information firehose.
 
It really depends on where you are at with your swing. If you are confident in what you do for the most part, but just want to tweak things to get the most out of your swing then go in and let him know what you aren't happy with.

If you are not sure what the issue is, then I would let him have a look at what you are doing and let him give his thoughts.

I have had 3 instructors and all asked me what I was looking for out and what if any issues I was having, so I would think you will have some discussion before beginning.
 
If he was like my last instructor he will have a conversation with you to start the lesson and see what you are looking to accomplish. If so tell him what your goals are and he will probably do some sort of evaluation while watching you swing and then go from there.
 
My coach would start off a lesson with the same question, "What do you hate about your longest iron?" And the shot shape I didn't ever want to hit again is what we would try to work out of my swing.
 
My instructor asked me questions about my game and if there was anything specific I wasn't happy with to start with

He then asked me to hit a few shots while he watched, then we talked about it whilst watching the video back so that he could explain a couple of things that he could see that caused me issues and we just took it from there with little changes being introduced which have made a big difference

As already mentioned, as long as you commit to whatever your instructor tells you, you should be good
 
When you get to the lesson today. You should just explain what clubs you are having trouble with and let it start there
 
With my current pro, he just told me to start hitting balls with a pitching wedge and my 7i, after about 10 shots we stopped, he explained what he saw me doing, and gave me 3 things to work on. That pretty much set the tone from there.
 
dhartmann34 said:
I'm going in for a lesson tomorrow with a teacher I've never had a lesson with before. I need to get something going with my game. While it's early season, I feel more 'off' than I usually do coming out of winter. I'm just trying to figure out what I go into the lesson with. Do I actually go in saying 'i want to work on this' or do I just swing and say 'what do you think we need to do'. I'm not quite sure.

What do you do going into a lesson? Is there something you tell the teacher you want to work on? Do you let them pick something after watching you swing? Do you just lay your heart out on the table?
Click to expand...

Get there early and warm up so when he is ready you can start sharing. You do not want to spend 15 minutes of lesson time warming up. This is time for you two to work. Be direct with him and tell him what you want to accomplish. Then let him work. You have a solid foundation and he should build on that.
 
Biggest thing for me is to communicate my goals and what I need to work on and ask his/her thoughts and the steps to accomplish said goals.
 
Most have said it show up early get warm before the lesson, tell him/her what your seeing that you don't like, what you want to see achieve and let them do work.

Also are you in for a rebuild or to make tweaks to get you playing better.


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It boils down to this: How much time do you have to practice?

Swing changes can take several months of work to sink in. If you're constantly changing your swing you won't get anywhere.

Find one the one thing that is causing the problem. Are you excessively moving your head? Are you making a centered hip turn? How is your club path on your downswing? Are you getting your weight to move forward on your downswing? Which one of those is the biggest offender? He should identify that and you should work on that for a while.
 
My instructor and I played a few times together first. Then just prior to my first lesson we played 18 and he carried a notebook. He took two pages of notes and gave them to me after my first lesson at my request so I could not just work on what was in my lesson but my overall game. We started with my short game and are moving on from there. I like the process he is using and I can definitely see an improvement in my game.
 
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