mreiter

Titleist Junkie
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What criteria do you use when choosing a Pro to take lessons from? I know a Pro that is a great guy. He doesn't use launch monitors or any kind of tech. Would that be a game changer for you? Just curious.
 
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Well right now nobody in my area is giving lessons
 
Priority #1 for me is teaching off grass, as most ranges around here are mats only
 
What criteria do you use when choosing a Pro to take lessons from? I know a Pro that is a great guy. He doesn't use launch monitors or any kind of tech. Would that be a game changer for you? Just curious.
Do your goals align, can you communicate effectively with one another, and is availability an issue? Those are my top 3.
 
Is he a coach or an instructor? I would always prefer someone that can work with me and coach in the right areas and not try to put me in their "swing" box.
 
The no tech aspect wouldn't bother me. I don't especially like hitting into indoor nets anyway.

I have found it useful when the teacher records my swing and shows me frame by frame where I'm good and/or bad though

I'd take a lesson from a no tech teacher
 
My criteria would be communication in that he asks up front what your goal is and what amount of work you are willing to put in. From there, is she/he able to communicate in a way that you can internalize.
 
I look at it kind of like a job interview... or a date. You're looking to learn from this person. Do you get along, communicate well, have the same goals? No tech? How long has he been a teacher? There's a chance he's able to approximate a launch monitor from his experience... maybe.:)
 
I've had 2 instructors in my life . The first guy took 2 phone calls during my lesson looked at his watch a lot , and told me he needed to completely break down my swing and start from the beginning and charged me 100 bucks. I didn't go back for another lesson with him . A month later I went to a different instructor , Before I ever took a swing this guy looked each of my clubs ( especially the faces ) ,inspected the wear marks on my golf glove , (he jokingly called this forensic evidence lol )and asked me questions about my golf game, what type of courses I play, and what my goals/expectations were . Then he looked at my grip and strengthened it a little. After watching me hit about a 20 balls he said " the good news is , 90% of your problems are before you start your swing " . So over the course of THREE lessons, he adjusted my grip , stance , alignment and swing tempo . He put each lesson on film with narration including visual lines and emailed them to me . If I start hitting the ball badly I review them and it most always gets me back on track . He charged me 60 bucks a lesson. I've cut 9 strokes off my game .
The moral of this novel , lol , is , do some research before scheduling a lesson with just any instructor .
 
I've had 2 instructors in my life . The first guy took 2 phone calls during my lesson looked at his watch a lot , and told me he needed to completely break down my swing and start from the beginning and charged me 100 bucks. I didn't go back for another lesson with him . A month later I went to a different instructor , Before I ever took a swing this guy looked each of my clubs ( especially the faces ) ,inspected the wear marks on my golf glove , (he jokingly called this forensic evidence lol )and asked me questions about my golf game, what type of courses I play, and what my goals/expectations were . Then he looked at my grip and strengthened it a little. After watching me hit about a 20 balls he said " the good news is , 90% of your problems are before you start your swing " . So over the course of THREE lessons, he adjusted my grip , stance , alignment and swing tempo . He put each lesson on film with narration including visual lines and emailed them to me . If I start hitting the ball badly I review them and it most always gets me back on track . He charged me 60 bucks a lesson. I've cut 9 strokes off my game .
The moral of this novel , lol , is , do some research before scheduling a lesson with just any instructor .
The first guy sounded like he was waiting on a more important client to come along...maybe Tiger was being held up:ROFLMAO:

the second guy sounded like he was interested in how you were playing and to help you improve.(y)
 
I look at it kind of like a job interview... or a date. You're looking to learn from this person. Do you get along, communicate well, have the same goals? No tech? How long has he been a teacher? There's a chance he's able to approximate a launch monitor from his experience... maybe.:)
I've had 2 instructors in my life . The first guy took 2 phone calls during my lesson looked at his watch a lot , and told me he needed to completely break down my swing and start from the beginning and charged me 100 bucks. I didn't go back for another lesson with him . A month later I went to a different instructor , Before I ever took a swing this guy looked each of my clubs ( especially the faces ) ,inspected the wear marks on my golf glove , (he jokingly called this forensic evidence lol )and asked me questions about my golf game, what type of courses I play, and what my goals/expectations were . Then he looked at my grip and strengthened it a little. After watching me hit about a 20 balls he said " the good news is , 90% of your problems are before you start your swing " . So over the course of THREE lessons, he adjusted my grip , stance , alignment and swing tempo . He put each lesson on film with narration including visual lines and emailed them to me . If I start hitting the ball badly I review them and it most always gets me back on track . He charged me 60 bucks a lesson. I've cut 9 strokes off my game .
The moral of this novel , lol , is , do some research before scheduling a lesson with just any instructor .

I believe both of these are great advice. I would..

1) Target 3 "good" teaching pro's near you. Use a site like https://www.golfdigest.com/story/best-teachers-state-ranking
or word of mouth or some other kind of avenue/metric.
2) Feel out the instructors. The most important factors are..
* Do they know their stuff? You shouldn't have to worry about this one as most PGA Teaching Pro's go through a lengthy process to get where they are.
* Do they care? Does he take the time to respond to you? Do you seem like a number or does he genuinely want to help?
* Can you get along with him? The best kind of teacher/student relationships are also solid friendships. If a teacher can both help you and make the game more enjoyable his value is immeasurable.

Either get a feel for him over social media or grab a cup of coffee first with him/her. At the very least, make a phone call with a couple of questions and see what they say.
 
I've had 2 instructors in my life . The first guy took 2 phone calls during my lesson looked at his watch a lot , and told me he needed to completely break down my swing and start from the beginning and charged me 100 bucks. I didn't go back for another lesson with him . A month later I went to a different instructor , Before I ever took a swing this guy looked each of my clubs ( especially the faces ) ,inspected the wear marks on my golf glove , (he jokingly called this forensic evidence lol )and asked me questions about my golf game, what type of courses I play, and what my goals/expectations were . Then he looked at my grip and strengthened it a little. After watching me hit about a 20 balls he said " the good news is , 90% of your problems are before you start your swing " . So over the course of THREE lessons, he adjusted my grip , stance , alignment and swing tempo . He put each lesson on film with narration including visual lines and emailed them to me . If I start hitting the ball badly I review them and it most always gets me back on track . He charged me 60 bucks a lesson. I've cut 9 strokes off my game .
The moral of this novel , lol , is , do some research before scheduling a lesson with just any instructor .
@Powermaker where are you located. I like the second guy
 
Rather the swing pro used modern technology or not, it wouldn't make any difference to me. The only thing that matters is "results". My results to be exact.

The instructor could be a one eyed cyclops, with a surf board, on a sand dune. As long as I saw improvement in my swing, that's all that would matter to me.

The important thing about lessons is that once a person starts taking lessons, that person needs to continue with those lessons. The frequency of those lessons is up to the individual.
 
For me the most important things are 1) does he teach one swing type or can he work around what your body can do? 2) does he ask what your goals are and develop a plan to get you there? 3) do you like spending time with him? And ultimately 4) are you getting better?

I’ve taken lessons where instructor do / do not use Trackman, I’ve been with instructors who are highly technical and others who are gold whisperer types. I know what works best for me. Try to decide which way you learn best and make that a priority.
 
What criteria do you use when choosing a Pro to take lessons from? I know a Pro that is a great guy. He doesn't use launch monitors or any kind of tech. Would that be a game changer for you? Just curious.

My instructor, also a friend, doesn't use that tech either...though he will video your swing. He has an excellent reputation and his daughter is currently playing on the LPGA Tour.
 
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