Never had a lesson

[gkeller813]

I've been golfing since I was around 12 or so...more than 20 years now. I've always just gone out there and hit balls around, and like to think I do it alright. I've never had a lesson before. I do read articles on swings, watch some videos, but I've never had an in person lesson. Anyone else been golfing a while but never had a lesson?

Anyone golf for a while (20+ years) then get their first lesson? If so, did it help or hurt your game?

 

[Bernoulli]

I have been playing golf for 45 years. I too started when I was about 12. I have only had one lesson and that was back in 2002. I was 40. So, I had been playing nearly 30 years before a lesson. At the time of my lesson I was around an 11-12 handicap.

Did it help? Yes. I learned how to make better contact and hit a draw. However, I took the lesson late in the season and I was unable to repeat what I learned the next spring. Despite not being able to draw the ball, I maintained that handicap for several years.

 

[Canadan]

I've been golfing since I was around 12 or so...more than 20 years now. I've always just gone out there and hit balls around, and like to think I do it alright. I've never had a lesson before. I do read articles on swings, watch some videos, but I've never had an in person lesson. Anyone else been golfing a while but never had a lesson?

Anyone golf for a while (20+ years) then get their first lesson? If so, did it help or hurt your game?

Outside of working with my dad (sort of) I didn't have my first legitimate lesson until I was probably 27. It didn't go great, and honestly I have yet to find an instructor who has had a significant impact on my game which sucks.

That said, it's forced me to learn more about the mechanics of a swing, which i believe has paid big dividends over the years.

 

[Mark_UK]

I’m totally self taught, as you would know if you saw my swing. I’ve been playing around 30 years. In that time, I’ve had sporadic lessons. The last couple I had did actually help, but after swinging my way for so long, I find making any changes extremely difficult. I am fairly lucky in that I understand my own swing and am usually able to sort it if things go south whilst out on the course.


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[GraniteRoost]

I've been playing 35 years, I have never had a lesson. I learned from poring over golf texts and watching my Dad and other players.

 

[Snickerdog]

I have been golfing on and off for the last 25 years, (I'm 52) just had my first lesson last year. It was a short game lesson and it helped my game a great deal. Definitely worth it.

 

[KEV]

I'm in a very similar boat. Been playing since I was around 10 and have never had a lesson. After this season being full of struggling I'm seriously considering it though. I've always taken pride in getting to my handicap with no help so it's tough to take the leap.

 

[WMac19]

Been playing since I was 23, now 52 (next month, anyway) and I've never had a lesson.

The advice I give to others, enthusiastically btw for them to take lessons, vs following my own advice?

Um... I, uh...

All I can say is (sheepishly resigned to the fact), I've yet to get a lesson. ?‍

 

[gkeller813]

Outside of working with my dad (sort of) I didn't have my first legitimate lesson until I was probably 27. It didn't go great, and honestly I have yet to find an instructor who has had a significant impact on my game which sucks.

That said, it's forced me to learn more about the mechanics of a swing, which i believe has paid big dividends over the years.

I think this is one takeaway I have, with having not had any lessons, is that I know my swing as is, and if something has gone awry I can usually figure out what it is.

 

[gkeller813]

I’m totally self taught, as you would know if you saw my swing. I’ve been playing around 30 years. In that time, I’ve had sporadic lessons. The last couple I had did actually help, but after swinging my way for so long, I find making any changes extremely difficult. I am fairly lucky in that I understand my own swing and am usually able to sort it if things go south whilst out on the course.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree with this comment. I've been swinging my own way for so long I feel like I'm just too comfortable with it.

 

[rollin]

This thread reminds me of just how much this game (at an amateur level) is one in which you just have to be lucky that you were/are able to be good at. And also how there are never really any technically correct ways to do just about any of it. The game just works for some people and others its a lifetime struggle.

 

[gkeller813]

I've been playing 35 years, I have never had a lesson. I learned from poring over golf texts and watching my Dad and other players.

I enjoying reading about a swing, or how I should be hitting in this situation, or that. Been working for me so far, and I can pick and choose what I feel comfortable trying.

 

[gkeller813]

I have been golfing on and off for the last 25 years, (I'm 52) just had my first lesson last year. It was a short game lesson and it helped my game a great deal. Definitely worth it.

If I do get a lesson, I think it will be specific like this. I don't think I need a swing overhaul, but I need to know how to hit, what clubs to use, etc. in my short game. On and around the green is where I need the most improvement, IMO, so working on chipping, pitching, putting would be a beneficial use of a lesson.

 

[gkeller813]

The reason I brought this topic up is because I want to see where other people are at. I've tried to use a "proper grip" numerous times, but keep coming back to my 10 finger baseball grip. It just works for me. I've finally gotten my swing to be a little less like I'm playing baseball. Playing baseball for so many years, then trying to golf, was an interesting transition. Hand eye coordination helped, but the mechanics of the swing are so different, it takes time to adjust. Now that I only golf, it has helped me groove a swing.

I'm never going to be a scratch golfer, and I'm ok with that. I'm happy where I'm at score wise, for the most part. It helps when you are right in line with your usual playing partners, and not always bringing up the rear. I'm just wondering if I will be that much better off with getting a lesson at this point, or if it wouldn't amount to much. Right now I'm thinking just of a short game and/or putting lesson. I feel like putting is all about repetition, so maybe a short game lesson would be the most beneficial.

 

[5150]

I've been golfing since I was around 12 or so...more than 20 years now. I've always just gone out there and hit balls around, and like to think I do it alright. I've never had a lesson before. I do read articles on swings, watch some videos, but I've never had an in person lesson. Anyone else been golfing a while but never had a lesson?

Anyone golf for a while (20+ years) then get their first lesson? If so, did it help or hurt your game?

I was about 10 years in when I got my first set of lessons. I went from shooting in the 100s to breaking 80 in about 2.5 years, so it was positive for me.

I should add that I’m not an athlete, never have been, so I needed the help.

What is it you want to learn from the instructor? For me the most profitable lessons were the ones focused on the short game. Once I got a decent grip on shots inside 100y my whole game (full swing as well) improved.

 

[GraniteRoost]

So where I am at on this, is that ball flight is the best acid test for your swing, but not necessarily a good instructor. Being self taught, I have hundreds of hours as a youth reading, swigning, watching the ball fly, and adjusting. I've managed to eke out a pretty respectable ball flight for me, and in some ways that tells me my swing is close. And probably spent a lot of time making unnecessary mistakes that I eventually learned from.

As for getting better, I am interested to have a good coach that can help me understand my misses, and be a set of eyes on which direction to take things as sometimes small nuances can make a big difference. As the saying goes, you don't know, what you don't know.

 

[tahoebum]

I've been golfing since I was around 12 or so...more than 20 years now. I've always just gone out there and hit balls around, and like to think I do it alright. I've never had a lesson before. I do read articles on swings, watch some videos, but I've never had an in person lesson. Anyone else been golfing a while but never had a lesson?

Anyone golf for a while (20+ years) then get their first lesson? If so, did it help or hurt your game?

I’ve been playing since 1978 and have had just a few full swing lessons. I also have had a handful of putting lessons in the last 6 years. I keep telling myself that one of these years I’m going to sign up for a six lesson package but I’m fearful that the instructor will clutter my head or wreck my confidence and hurt my scoring. I’ve seen that happen to many of my buddies after they do a lesson package or golf school. I’m guessing my game would be better had I been working with the right instructor all along but I can say it been satisfying to “dig it out of the ground” and maintain a plus to near scratch index for 30+ years. I know a lot about swing mechanics but more importantly I know my tendencies and how to fix them mid round. I keep things simple and for me that means focusing on grip, posture, alignment, tension, and tempo. All but tempo are pre-swing so if I get the other things right and pay attention to them each range session I can just focus on tempo while playing and the result is a lot of GIRs.

All that being said I have a 14 year old daughter who meets with her instructor every other Wednesday from April through August and I believe it has helped her get better and understand the mechanics much faster than I did by digging it out of the ground.

 

[gkeller813]

I’ve been playing since 1978 and have had just a few full swing lessons. I also have had a handful of putting lessons in the last 6 years. I keep telling myself that one of these years I’m going to sign up for a six lesson package but I’m fearful that the instructor will clutter my head or wreck my confidence and hurt my scoring. I’ve seen that happen to many of my buddies after they do a lesson package or golf school. I’m guessing my game would be better had I been working with the right instructor all along but I can say it been satisfying to “dig it out of the ground” and maintain a plus to near scratch index for 30+ years. I know a lot about swing mechanics but more importantly I know my tendencies and how to fix them mid round. I keep things simple and for me that means focusing on grip, posture, alignment, tension, and tempo. All but tempo are pre-swing so if I get the other things right and pay attention to them each range session I can just focus on tempo while playing and the result is a lot of GIRs.

All that being said I have a 14 year old daughter who meets with her instructor every other Wednesday from April through August and I believe it has helped her get better and understand the mechanics much faster than I did by digging it out of the ground.

I think for some, after golfing the same way, right or wrong, for years and years, and big changes would be difficult to implement. I am afraid, like you mentioned, of having all these things going through my head when I go to swing. I think about my shot from behind the ball, address the ball thinking only about hitting it solid and try to keep everything else out. I want to keep my mind at ease while I'm swinging.

 

[5150]

I think for some, after golfing the same way, right or wrong, for years and years, and big changes would be difficult to implement. I am afraid, like you mentioned, of having all these things going through my head when I go to swing. I think about my shot from behind the ball, address the ball thinking only about hitting it solid and try to keep everything else out. I want to keep my mind at ease while I'm swinging.

I would agree that there’s risk in starting from scratch (pun intended) with an instructor when one has been playing for 20+ years. I think the payoff would probably rely heavily on two things:

1) What is it you are looking to accomplish with the instructor? You’ll need to articulate and communicate that clearly to them; otherwise they may just run their typical script (so to speak) and start tweaking things you don’t need tweaked in the process.

2) Is the instructor the type who wants every person to have the same textbook swing or do they assess each student individually and work from there? Personally I believe the latter to be the better way, as we’re all different, though I do understand that there are some fundamentals that must be in place for damn near everyone.

 

[gkeller813]

I would agree that there’s risk in starting from scratch (pun intended) with an instructor when one has been playing for 20+ years. I think the payoff would probably rely heavily on two things:

1) What is it you are looking to accomplish with the instructor? You’ll need to articulate and communicate that clearly to them; otherwise they may just run their typical script (so to speak) and start tweaking things you don’t need tweaked in the process.

2) Is the instructor the type who wants every person to have the same textbook swing or do they assess each student individually and work from there? Personally I believe the latter to be the better way, as we’re all different, though I do understand that there are some fundamentals that must be in place for damn near everyone.

Thanks. This has been my thinking too. It's nice to get some confirmation from others.

 

[thommo.sx]

Never had a lesson, and I'm not so serious about getting "better" that I'm willing to pay someone to tear down where I am now for potential benefits down the road in a game I play for fun.

I'm happy with my current game, having gone from 28-18 in about 18 months, simply by playing more. I've done the bag building part, where I identify what clubs work best / worst for me in what areas.

I just need to get a little consistency with my swing, so I can be confident in my tendencies, and then play to those tendencies. Last thing I want is to be thinking/overanalysing about what my body is doing in a swing, I just want to think about where the ball is going, and work out the best way to get that done.

 

[joebute]

I've been playing for 8ish years, and didn't take a lesson for the first half of that. I was about a 12 handicap at that time. I've taken a lesson once a season for the last few years, and that's when I really started to improve. I never did a total rebuild with an instructor, just a small adjustment here and there to help eliminate some kind of miss I was having. You might be surprised how easy it is for a good instructor to improve some part of your game that you're struggling with.

 

[JonMA1]

While I've failed on several occasions to improve with lessons, I still believe that most people will benefit from them IF they can find a compatible instructor.

I believe the right instructor has to understand their student's goals and abilities and be able to build a decent repport. A "Top 100" instructor may be a perfect fit for a particular student who is currently a 4 trying to get to scratch. But that same instructor may fail horribly at helping another student who is a 25 work down to 18. Or to put it another way, they may do wonders with students who can quickly understand and adapt changes and then become impatient with students who have difficulty making the most basic changes.

A lot of this is on us as students. As I mentioned, I've failed with several different instructors. At some point, I have to consider the common denominator (me) as the cause.

 

[campilobaxter]