We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Playing Lesson

T

Tedfroop

One eyed and left handed
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
2,346
Reaction score
1
Location
Edmonton, Canada
Handicap
RCGA 10.8
I am going to be having a playing lesson next week for the first time. I have never done one before and I want to get all the good I can out of it since my sweet wife shelled out for it for my birthday. I would appreciate to hear your experiences and all the things you did and wish you had done during your playing lesson.

What did you do?

Was playing well a priority?

What did you work on during your lesson?

What didn't you work on that you wish you had worked on?
 
I've had many playing lessons. Sometimes we went to the par 3 course and played and sometimes we played about 7-9 holes on the course. I learned a lot about playing different lies, hitting out of trouble, green reading, pre-shot routines, alignment, course management, etc. It just kind of happened as we went. My instructor usually played with me and we played match play. It was always fun.
 
I had one a few weeks ago. Played on a new to me course.

It was a little more informal than I expected it to be, but then again - I really had no clue what to expect. We talked about what to play off the tee, some course management, tips on what shot to play around the green, how to plan distance and club selection from different spots and lies on the course.

Playing well something I wanted. We did a little match play and I got waxed, but for a while I was in the lead (with strokes).

I'm not sure what I wish we'd worked on. You can't really teach the swing on the course imo, so you're sort of left to the other stuff. I did get some things out of it that I appreciated, but I'd rather just tee it up with him for fun next time. It sort of felt like we were doing that anyway.
 
What did you do? Played about 9 holes. We used it as an evaluation to determine what I needed to work on and develop a plan for follow on lessons. First couple of holes were mostly observation with me talking through my decision process. After a while we might skip something (not putting out as an examplt), setup particular lies/scenarios, or try specific shots.

Was playing well a priority? No. Playing the round like I would normally play was a priority. I didn't want to do anything outside of my normal game.

What did you work on during your lesson? What didn't you work on that you wish you had worked on?

A playing lesson can be multiple things. For me it was identifying specific areas for future lessons. I personally think that is probably the best approach to a playing lesson. If you want to work on something specific an area specific set of lessons is probably a better option. The only exception might be course management. My instructor and I had several exchanges on why I was hitting a particular shot or why he was hitting a particular shot.

Other than course management you probably won't get any specialize instruction unless there is a major area of weakness that the instructor finds.
 
I've been wanting to do this. I would think course management would be the biggest takeaway. Looking forward to your thoughts.
 
It's definitely more about course management than anything.

On one short par-4, I had been teeing off with a 3-wood. The pro said "why would you do that? With a 3-wood, the fairway bunker in the middle is in play, as is the rough on the far right. If you use a 5-iron, you take both out of play, and your second shot is a 9-iron rather than a 52-degree." Total "duh" moment for me, and I've had more pars and par chances on that hole than ever before.

On another LONG par 4 with a heavily guarded green, he stopped me from pulling out a 5-iron and said, "just lay up man." Try to get up and down for par, or walk away happy with bogey.

Generally they'll also look at your putt reads and see if they think you've got it right. If the course isn't crowded, they may throw some balls down in the heavy rough around the green on in the bunker and help you with your technique from there.

In short, they're valuable. It won't be anything earth-shattering, but it will help you to manage the course more effectively.
 
Tedfroop said:
I am going to be having a playing lesson next week for the first time. I have never done one before and I want to get all the good I can out of it since my sweet wife shelled out for it for my birthday. I would appreciate to hear your experiences and all the things you did and wish you had done during your playing lesson.

What did you do?

Was playing well a priority?

What did you work on during your lesson?

What didn't you work on that you wish you had worked on?
Click to expand...

I just went out and played. My teacher would ask at times what I was thinking and a couple of times he suggested doing something different or using a different club (course management).

Playing well was not a priority for me. The whole point is for the teacher to see the good and the bad. My playing lesson(s) had more to do with management and making correct choices. Anything to do with the swing should be done at the range. On the course my teacher wants you to play golf, not play swing.
 
My lessons are like 5 or 10 minutes at the range to deal with leaks in the swing then 5 or 6 holes of playing lessons. I concur with everything everyone else has offered. Have fun!
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys! So really what we are likely to work on are any issues I have on the course. So we should have plenty to work on then. Not that my game is terrible but I am still getting used to the distance I gained following lessons. I keep hitting it farther than I expect.

I expect to have some fun and get some help where I need it, which may not be where I expect I need it. At least after going 5 for 5 out of the sand with both my 56 and 60 yesterday I won't have shoes full of sand after my lesson.
 
I haven't had one but have spoken with my instructor about doing one and what to expect.

Here's what I was told, we'd work on

Course management
- club choice on tee
- getting yourself out of trouble
- picking a good miss avoiding the blow up holes

My advise is play your normal game hero and safe shots you normally play. Have fun and enjoy the round.
 
It's been years since I've had lesson's, had some set for late spring or early summer, but life got in the way. I remember working on the range for months with my instructor until one day he suggested we hit the course a few holes. That seemed to just bring everything together for me. We met weekly for two months just playing 4 holes at a time and working on problem shots and by the end my game was pretty darn solid, (that was back a few years, lol).

Good luck going forward, hope you see lots of headway!
 
I'll have mine in just over a week and I'm looking forward to it! It's a new teaching pro I've been having lessons at for a few weeks now (three lessons) and he's really helped me with a few kinks I had in my swing.

I hope to work on pre-shot routines or procedures as he calls them. Only thing I really hate about it is that I broke the shaft of my 4wood; the longest club I have in the bag and the one I love most. This will have its effect on my course management. :angry:
 
Me and my pro go out every thursday, and it's always fun to play with him.
 
I am itching to get out and do this. My coach is a really fun guy and I am sure I will have a great time. The normal lesson is 9 holes but we are going the full 18 :banana: so it should be interesting. I think my course management is pretty good so we will see how my coach see's what I am doing.

It's gonna be a crazy day though. I am on the Social Committee at work and we are doing a pancake breakfast that morning, then off to play in the afternoon. I should have some wonderful eau d bacon going for our round.
 
Tedfroop said:
I am going to be having a playing lesson next week for the first time. I have never done one before and I want to get all the good I can out of it since my sweet wife shelled out for it for my birthday. I would appreciate to hear your experiences and all the things you did and wish you had done during your playing lesson.

What did you do?

Was playing well a priority?

What did you work on during your lesson?

What didn't you work on that you wish you had worked on?
Click to expand...

Go in with an open mind...

You may be treated a little like a new golfer as some of the errors may be at the basic level (i.e. grip, stance, ect...). God knows I had some errors that needed fixing. Everything felt super weird at first but after a few lessons I saw that he really did know what he was doing and my game started to get better.

P.S. also be ready for your game to get worse until you get use to the adjustments.
 
Mckeon said:
Go in with an open mind...

You may be treated a little like a new golfer as some of the errors may be at the basic level (i.e. grip, stance, ect...). God knows I had some errors that needed fixing. Everything felt super weird at first but after a few lessons I saw that he really did know what he was doing and my game started to get better.

P.S. also be ready for your game to get worse until you get use to the adjustments.
Click to expand...

Been there done that. It's my GolfTEC coach and I did a series of 15 lessons with him. I am his poster child for swing improvement - indoors. Yes, fundamental changes can feel strange at first. When you see improvement though you forget how different it is and go with it.
 
What does a playing lesson cost? Do you also cover the pro's green fees?
 
fireitup said:
What does a playing lesson cost? Do you also cover the pro's green fees?
Click to expand...


As far as I know our green fees are covered. It is a little expensive. I am not sure how much exactly as it was a birthday present from my sweetheart.

I think I am buying after the round though....
 
My green fees are included, but we never play more than 4 or 5 holes.
 
Typically greens fees are included, but if you're going to pay a full 9 holes, it typically costs the same as 2 lessons since it takes 2 hours.
 
Played last Friday with my coach. It was a fun day with the wind blowing 10-30 mph. My wind play is better now though. As for the rest one of my bad faults showed up a few times - I don't turn well sometimes and get bad stuck and hit it thin.
Apart from that it was lots of fun. Watching my coach try to pop the ball out of the rough behind a green the sloped away and get it as close as I did was kind of fun. I never realized how all my reading Dr. Rotella's books affected my game until I told my coach that was the shot i saw in my head before I hit it. Apart from that there was a lot of course management talk that went on. A lot of it related to doing things so you don't make a big number.
My alignment at times was a bit of an issue too, and something I have struggled with at times.
Hit it in the sand once and got up and down no problem.
My putting was on all day and while I didn't drop a lot of putts I only left one outside a foot or two, and it was on greens I have never seen before.

All in all it was money well spent and I did learn a lot through the round. It was pretty quiet there that day and we had lots of time to mess around and re-hit some bad shots and talk about everything I did.

I would think playing lessons could be a benefit to almost any skill level of player. I certainly learned a lot more about course management than I expected to.

(and yes he did pay for the round)
 
Tedfroop said:
Played last Friday with my coach. It was a fun day with the wind blowing 10-30 mph. My wind play is better now though. As for the rest one of my bad faults showed up a few times - I don't turn well sometimes and get bad stuck and hit it thin.
Apart from that it was lots of fun. Watching my coach try to pop the ball out of the rough behind a green the sloped away and get it as close as I did was kind of fun. I never realized how all my reading Dr. Rotella's books affected my game until I told my coach that was the shot i saw in my head before I hit it. Apart from that there was a lot of course management talk that went on. A lot of it related to doing things so you don't make a big number.
My alignment at times was a bit of an issue too, and something I have struggled with at times.
Hit it in the sand once and got up and down no problem.
My putting was on all day and while I didn't drop a lot of putts I only left one outside a foot or two, and it was on greens I have never seen before.

All in all it was money well spent and I did learn a lot through the round. It was pretty quiet there that day and we had lots of time to mess around and re-hit some bad shots and talk about everything I did.

I would think playing lessons could be a benefit to almost any skill level of player. I certainly learned a lot more about course management than I expected to.

(and yes he did pay for the round)
Click to expand...

Sounds like a great time was had and that you learned some on course stuff!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top