What should I ask an instructor before starting lessons?

[checkered]

I know this has been asked before, but I believe it's been a while now... I'm going to start taking a few lessons to try to get my game in better shape. I'm struggling in deciding who to go with for a number of reasons. I have narrowed it down and am wondering, what questions should I ask up front to help guide my decision? I've had lessons a couple times before, but I just went to someone close and didn't really research things ahead of time. I'm determined to do it better this time. Thank you for any insight/thoughts!!!

 

[Bernoulli]

I know this has been asked before, but I believe it's been a while now... I'm going to start taking a few lessons to try to get my game in better shape. I'm struggling in deciding who to go with for a number of reasons. I have narrowed it down and am wondering, what questions should I ask up front to help guide my decision? I've had lessons a couple times before, but I just went to someone close and didn't really research things ahead of time. I'm determined to do it better this time. Thank you for any insight/thoughts!!!

Great question. I’m going to be taking lessons for the first time in 20 years. Although my lessons aren’t going to begin until March (no sense doing them now with winter), I have spoken several times with my instructor and have told him where I am at and where I would like to be.

 

[Golfers Anonymous]

I asked one question up front and that was if they teach one swing or teach to picture points which I’ve never liked. I’ve always done one lesson with an instructor to see if we’re on the same page and able to communicate what we’re describing the same way. Feel like I need to communicate and describe effectively with my instructor.

 

[MGoBlue]

“What do you charge?”

 

[That post]

What is their philosophy on the golf swing? Do they believe that there is one fundamentally sound swing or do they think it’s a spectrum based on the individual.

This is more personal but I need a coach that will give me how something feels instead of moving me into a position. Tell me what feel I’m going for.

 

[Acesteve]

actually, I think the first question is to self. Do I want the instructor to "paint over wallpaper" or am I willing to invest countless hours to do the job right from the fundamentals. The answer will help me get in sync with the potential instructor. I think the fast majority of us want a fast fix so the instructor needs to deliver even if they see things that "don't scale".

 

[golfinnut]

You have to decide beforehand what specifically you want to fix or work on. Then ask the instructor his teaching philosophy & how he/she approaches a new student. See how that works first

 

[ryang13]

I’d go in with some sort of plan, or at least a goal your trying to reach. Is it distance/dispersion your looking to quick fix, or is it rebuilding everything from the ground up? Are you looking to work on short game with this coach? Putting? Are you a technical guy @checkered or are you chasing more of a feel?

 

[checkered]

actually, I think the first question is to self. Do I want the instructor to "paint over wallpaper" or am I willing to invest countless hours to do the job right from the fundamentals. The answer will help me get in sync with the potential instructor. I think the fast majority of us want a fast fix so the instructor needs to deliver even if they see things that "don't scale".

You have to decide beforehand what specifically you want to fix or work on. Then ask the instructor his teaching philosophy & how he/she approaches a new student. See how that works first

I’d go in with some sort of plan, or at least a goal your trying to reach. Is it distance/dispersion your looking to quick fix, or is it rebuilding everything from the ground up? Are you looking to work on short game with this coach? Putting? Are you a technical guy @checkered or are you chasing more of a feel?

Good stuff so far. yeah, I have an idea of what I want to look at, but I also want someone that will tell me what they see I should work on. I'm not expecting a quick fix overall and not afraid to change things if needed. I need to be able to trust what I am doing, as right now I question things way too much. I know there are a couple things I'm doing wrong and want some guidance to correct.

I wouldn't be looking at short game or putting, at least not right away. I need more help with full shots than anything right now. I wouldn't say I'm technical, but I am a geek and like to see the numbers. I'm not sure how best to say, but I feel like I need to know where my body should be at certain points, so I don't second guess every step of my swing. Feel goes along with that, I think. If that all makes sense...

 

[TWright971]

I think some of it comes down to what you are looking for. Are you open to wholesale changes to your swing or are you looking for small adjustments.

Are you looking for a teacher that is tech heavy and about getting you closer to ideal numbers, or are you more feel based?

I like to ask about their use of tech like will we be using a launch monitor, and providing me video of parts of the lesson or will it be mostly feel based.

I also like to ask about their swing philosophy, do they prefer their students to have a particular ball flight, does that match what you want?

Good luck in your search! Keep us updated

 

[Reframmellator]

Good points all through here.

I will repeat some.

Will (s)he work with your basic swing tendencies or try to rework your swing to fit hid/her model swing.

Is (s)he able to work in multiple modes - data, tech, feel, video . . . .?

 

[MGoBlue]

I asked one question up front and that was if they teach one swing or teach to picture points which I’ve never liked. I’ve always done one lesson with an instructor to see if we’re on the same page and able to communicate what we’re describing the same way. Feel like I need to communicate and describe effectively with my instructor.

seriously, this would be my first question for the instructor. If I don't like his answer, then the #2 question (how much?) doesn't matter.

 

[Jimmy3864]

I think you are on the right track. I would add though you need to be fair to the teacher and besides outlining your goals share how much time daily or weekly you are going to invest in practising his/her teachings.

If they know ahead of time I would ask given your investment in time and money, how often should you meet and what would the expectations on results.

 

[checkered]

seriously, this would be my first question for the instructor. If I don't like his answer, then the #2 question (how much?) doesn't matter.

Curious, do that many not advertise their prices these days? Everyone I'm looking at has their rates advertised up front.

 

[ArmyGolf]

I'd inquire the following:
1) Are they open to doing a couple playing lessons, or if it's just hitting bay only.

2) What are their thoughts on the golf swing. Do they believe there is 1 best way to swing? Will they work with what you have?

3) Do they use technology at all? If so, what do they use.

 

[mantan]

Good stuff so far. yeah, I have an idea of what I want to look at, but I also want someone that will tell me what they see I should work on. I'm not expecting a quick fix overall and not afraid to change things if needed. I need to be able to trust what I am doing, as right now I question things way too much. I know there are a couple things I'm doing wrong and want some guidance to correct.

I wouldn't be looking at short game or putting, at least not right away. I need more help with full shots than anything right now. I wouldn't say I'm technical, but I am a geek and like to see the numbers. I'm not sure how best to say, but I feel like I need to know where my body should be at certain points, so I don't second guess every step of my swing. Feel goes along with that, I think. If that all makes sense...

I think that's a great approach and communicating up front what you're looking for helps.

I've been guilty of not being direct about what it is I'm looking for or what type of instruction I respond to. IMO, you can save yourself a lot of money if you find somebody that's a good fit and treat it like a conversation where both sides are seeing if it makes sense to move forward.

If you're looking to confirm what you're doing right and what can be tweaked or change, that's different than somebody looking for a full rebuild. And knowing what and how much you want to hear is important too. Some golfers want to know the why and others just want to see the results. Some are big into numbers where others are more on feel. A good instructor will be able to adapt to what works best for you.

And if it's not a good fit, that's fine too. It's OK to move on without booking. I've booked lessons when I wasn't sure it would be a good fit. And halfway through the lesson, I've regretted booking it.

IMO, golf instruction is really hard because we all learn differently, process the feel/technical parts of the swing differently and there are zillion ways to approach teaching golf. Oh, and most adults (especially males) aren't good students. We don't like feeling vulnerable or that we don't understand. So we are hesitant to ask for something to be explained a different way. Or will just decide it's bad information if it doesn't work or we don't like it.

 

[WLG1952]

When I found my long time (8 years) instructor, I asked him this;

"Can you work with what I already have, and make it better, or are you going to start me out from scratch?"

He asked me to show him what I had. After a few swings, he told me he could work with my swing. That I was already doing a lot of good things.

If he would've told me "start from scratch" I would've moved on to someone else.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

When I found my long time (8 years) instructor, I asked him this;

"Can you work with what I already have, and make it better, or are you going to start me out from scratch?"

He asked me to show him what I had. After a few swings, he told me he could work with my swing. That I was already doing a lot of good things.

If he would've told me "start from scratch" I would've moved on to someone else.

I had two instructors (one left at Golf Galaxy) have two different approaches. Start from scratch and other work with my swing. Can you choose the approach?

Also, I would either ask if you can record the lesson or take time to jot down notes. I've had a few lessons and this has been frustrating. I know the pro said, something important. But, I couldn't remember it by the time I got home.

 

[mantan]

I had two instructors (one left at Golf Galaxy) have two different approaches. Start from scratch and other work with my swing. Can you choose the approach?

Also, I would either ask if you can record the lesson or take time to jot down notes. I've had a few lessons and this has been frustrating. I know the pro said, something important. But, I couldn't remember it by the time I got home.

One of the best instructors I had (I could really start a new post on the spectrum of instructors from having so many, lol) was a younger guy. At the end of every lesson, he'd save 5 minutes for notes. He'd capture things that seemed to resonate during the lesson. And he was very deliberate in writing 3-4 short bullet points on an index card. And he'd make sure the language was exactly the feel/term/ that I wanted.

I was really bad at taking 'the same lesson over and over' in my history. And he made sure I was always moving forward. He was a really good instructor. He got me to my lowest handicap before he moved away.

 

[MSEASU]

You have already gotten some good advice. In my opinion a few things:
1. If you and instructor don’t jive don’t be afraid to find another one.
2. I agree don’t chase swing positions or the perfect swing.
3. The instructor should be ensuring your swing plane is good, center contact, and ground contact.

 

[WLG1952]

I had two instructors (one left at Golf Galaxy) have two different approaches. Start from scratch and other work with my swing. Can you choose the approach?

Also, I would either ask if you can record the lesson or take time to jot down notes. I've had a few lessons and this has been frustrating. I know the pro said, something important. But, I couldn't remember it by the time I got home.

Back then, videos (VHS) were not a big thing yet, so taking personal notes was the best way to go.

I still have my book of notes from my golf instructor's teachings, and I still refer to it quite often.

 

[leftygolfermn]

Is there a money back guarantee?
Only time I ever took a lesson the Pro messed me up so bad I had one of the worst seasons ever.

Good luck on your journey and I should probably find someone again too as Game keeps trending wrong way

 

[Jason89er]

All great advice so far. Be clear what you need in your game.

Consistency with what you have? Can what you have now even be consistent? If not be prepared for a full swing re-tool. Which can take months and months to build

Distance? You looking for more?

Accuracy? Distance is good but you want more accuracy on approach shots.

If you are happy with how you swing and how it turns out on good shots then focus on getting the poor shots better. Back to the consistency thing. And be prepared to put in the work to practice what they teach. If you don’t have time set aside to put in the work then lessons are a waste of time. I was guilty of this the first time I got lessons. The lessons themselves are only maybe 20% of getting better. The engraining of what you learn is the other 80%.

Basically, tell the instructor what you are willing or not willing to do to get better. If they are mentally invested in seeing you get better then you have a good teacher. If they aren’t? Move on.

 

[Bosco...]

I would ask/determine if the idea of the lessons is to fix what you have or try and make you look text book.

 

[Just_Brad]

Are their lessons to tweak a players swing, or to garbage everything and have you swing like a pro?

From my own experience, lessons with tweaking my own swing were far more beneficial than a start from scratch approach.

If their schedule doesnt work with yours, that is a problem too.

Its all about what you are looking for, the effort you are going to put in, and how much you want the change. Finding the right teacher is a big part of that. If you don't mesh, or you arent comfortable, do not hesitate to end it.