Golf Lessons Thread

Jman

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I know we have a practice thread, and this can kind of fall there, but I think a thread like this has merits too, especially after the feedback we saw in who does or has taken lessons in the thread I stated last week.

Tell us what's going on in your lessons, what are you working on, is it working out, are you changing instructors, whatever. I think a lot can fall here and could be a lot of good golf discussion.

For me, I start seriously for the first time tomorrow. I've taken lessons before, but it was going through motions for an event and not fully for ME. I want it now, so the journey begins.
 
I'm searching for a teacher right now. The teacher I used last year has moved on and now I'm searching. Hopefully can end up with one of the other Pro's at the same course since it's close, but need to sit and talk to them and make sure we are on the same page.

For me I want to get more consistency without totally tearing apart my swing.
 
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I'm searching for a teacher right now. The teacher I used last year has moved on and now I'm searching. Hopefully can end up with one of the other Pro's at the same course since it's close, but need to sit and talk to them and make sure we are on the same page.

For me I want to get more consistency without totally tearing apart my swing.
That last part is what lead me to stopping with lessons, I had a pro I liked but several things made time frame not workable, then the next I thought would be great until the discussion of breaking it all the way down and starting over came up. I don't have time for that, and it may be arrogant, but I don't think I need that.

I found Tracy Phillips through research and he and I exchanged emails a few days before I booked. I told him my concerns/wants and one thing he said hooked me "I don't want to break you down, I want to see your ball flight, and then we will work from there to correct it".

Its all about finding the right one, I'm hoping tomorrow confirms Tracy is the right one for me, if not, the search will continue.
 
Had my first lesson today after my fitting last week showed how bad my OTT move actually was and how much spin I was putting on the ball with the driver (over 5,000 RPM initially and got that down to around 4,100 RPM with what I was fitted to)

It was only by chance that I came across this instructor, so I had called in to look at the facilities and ended up booking a lesson for this morning as I had a day off work

I warmed up with a few 6i shots using GC2 / HMT and K-Vest and then moved onto the driver to get a starting point and although there were a couple of little things that he picked up on, he said I generally had a good swing and with a couple of changes I could unlock more potential from it

He showed me the video of my swing and explained what issues I had and then we started to work on a couple of drills to get things straightened out. First issue was my hip turn in the backswing was a bit too much creating a bit of reverse-pivot, so using K-Vest we initially worked on getting my hips a bit quieter in the backswing, which also prevented me from over-swinging as I had started to do that again

Next up was stopping my downswing being initiated by my shoulders rather than hips, but also working on getting my downswing a bit shallower as it was a touch on the steep side. This was all accomplished using slow-motion swings so that I could get the correct feelings before then hitting a few balls with the 6i again. As with anything new, the first couple of shots were a little hit-and-miss (I can't remember the last time I managed to shank a 6i!) but as I got used to the feelings I could immediately see the difference in ball flight

Once I got the feeling in the downswing we moved up to the driver again and I tried to replicate the feelings and started seeing a nice high ball flight but I wasn't quite releasing the club head correctly and leaving the face open to the path so was seeing high fades. By exaggerating my release and turning my hands over more aggressively I started seeing hooks which I had never previously managed to do with a driver and considering the driver (Cally 815 Alpha) was set to +1 / D with the heavier weight in the heel, the pro wasn't surprised to see the hooks as it meant I was swinging more along the path he was looking for

Throughout the session, after each of the changes, he showed me the GC2 / HMT data to show what I was doing before and after each change and the biggest thing I saw was my driver swing went from a negative angle of attack to a positive one so by the end of the session I was already hitting up on the ball and swinging from the inside, which saw my spin rate drop from 4,000+ to around 2,600 RPM. The only thing that then had an effect on the flight was whether I left the face open or got it square

He also showed me my swings on video to compare the first and last swing of the session and it was very obvious to see the difference in swing path and how much it had changed from being an OTT swing at the beginning to the more effective swing at the end

The next lesson is booked for 6 weeks time (we are away on holiday for a week) and I honestly can't wait to get to the range on Sunday to continue to work on getting these changes to feel more natural
 
That last part is what lead me to stopping with lessons, I had a pro I liked but several things made time frame not workable, then the next I thought would be great until the discussion of breaking it all the way down and starting over came up. I don't have time for that, and it may be arrogant, but I don't think I need that.

I found Tracy Phillips through research and he and I exchanged emails a few days before I booked. I told him my concerns/wants and one thing he said hooked me "I don't want to break you down, I want to see your ball flight, and then we will work from there to correct it".

Its all about finding the right one, I'm hoping tomorrow confirms Tracy is the right one for me, if not, the search will continue.

i feel the same way & I dont think it's arrogant. It boils down to not having the time or disposable income to break me all the way down and put in the work to see the changes. I'm not that far off from being consistent. If it's scoring i'm after then I would hit my short game hard and i know i can drop strokes fast, but i want more than saying i posted a certain score...
 
I'm having release problems currently. My coach believes that the path dictates where the ball starts, and the face is the curve. I believe this is backwards, although the path has some input (85% face, 15% path). We butt heads on this issue so when I'm on the range and he's trying to help me, it can get heated. The assistant pro at our course agrees with me so I talk to him more for feedback.

I've got a block slice miss going on currently, and with my SS increasing (118+ now) my miss is huge. I believe my core and shoulders are under developed compared to my legs, hips, gluts. It's really hard to keep my arms and body in sync. I spin out very easily. So me and the assistant pro are working on a smoother transition, keeping my right elbow tight to my body on the downswing, and an overall "togetherness" through the impact zone. So far I've had mixed results but anything is an improvement at this point!
 
I'm having release problems currently. My coach believes that the path dictates where the ball starts, and the face is the curve. I believe this is backwards, although the path has some input (85% face, 15% path). We butt heads on this issue so when I'm on the range and he's trying to help me, it can get heated. The assistant pro at our course agrees with me so I talk to him more for feedback.

I've got a block slice miss going on currently, and with my SS increasing (118+ now) my miss is huge. I believe my core and shoulders are under developed compared to my legs, hips, gluts. It's really hard to keep my arms and body in sync. I spin out very easily. So me and the assistant pro are working on a smoother transition, keeping my right elbow tight to my body on the downswing, and an overall "togetherness" through the impact zone. So far I've had mixed results but anything is an improvement at this point!

I would probably walk out of a lesson if someone didn't understand basic ball flight laws, or ask for so short game work and never come back. Baffles me someone who says they teach for a living can't take it upon themselves to get the correct information. It is 2016 not 2006.

I was obv taught as a kid the old way. Once I read a little on ball flight laws I magically stopped hitting as many trees when I would be trying to hit low bunch shots curved around them once I start counting on the ball starting where the face is pointing.
 
Golf Lessons Thread

i hope to get with my instructor soon here so i'm working on the right things in my "off season." i'll definitely post in here. and i love reading these posts, it's a lot of fun to see what people are working on. best of luck to everyone and keep the updates coming!
 
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I've taken a ton (roughly 40) since I started golfing summer of 2013. Luckily I started taking them right away before I had any real natural/comfortable swing so there was nothing to break down and/or rebuild (to speak of). I've been with my current instructor for upwards of the last 20 lessons and they have been spread out over a year and a half or so now. I came to him with an over the top swing with my miss being primarily a pull. He fixed that right away, but I developed other problems to varying degrees. Like too flat of a swing, trouble releasing the club, flipping, etc. I feel like I've gone through just about every swing fault you can imagine. The bright side to that is I'm finding it more and more easier to self diagnose on the fly and can generally correct a miss if it shows up on course.

At this point I (we) are generally happy with my plane and path for all clubs as well as club face control and impact position for the majority of swings. The main thing I'm fighting currently is ensuring I get my weight to my lead side at impact. My miss tendency can lead to slightly fat shots with irons and or slight over draws, and hooks or fades with the driver as I end up swinging left of where I want with the driver when I don't stay in the shot and get the weight forward. I've decided to spread my lessons out to roughly every 2 months this year because I know what I'm doing wrong and what I need to do to fix the misses when they show up. So I'm continuing to spend a ton of time on the range working on staying in the shot to build consistency.

I know my short game needs work, but I know how to hit chips and pitches and have had lessons on doing so before. But on course I find that if I miss a GIR I'm usually chipping/pitching on and still 2 putting. And generally it seems that putting (while it needs work) is less the culprit than my inability to chip/pitch it close enough for an easy 1 putt most of the time. I'm not sure that is something I'm going to work on with my instructor any time soon. Instead I feel like I need more time on courses to develop the "feel" needed to hit the ball with the right amount of club speed and to do so in the right direction to ensure more easy 1 putts. I also need more experience in course management, especially when it comes to windy rounds. Last round I was hitting into 20 mph winds and found it really difficult to get the club selection right even when putting a lot of thought into it. I think that's just going to take more experience to make the right club decisions.
 
I'm going back to the teacher I had been using for the previous 3 years or so. He knows and understands my swing and never tries to overhaul it but to make it more manageable I guess. My goal for this year is 1) to work on a good coil and a shorter backswing (is always my goal as I tend to fall back to what's comfortable and get long in my backswing) 2) a good weight transfer to the front side 3) improve from 150 and in especially in the 125 and in range.
 
I took lessons for about 6 months, until i really couldnt justify the price any more. My instructor was great. A good friend of my moms, so i got a pretty good deal on it too. I struggled with getting trapped in my downswing and leaving the face way open. we worked on it for a long time, and i really improved. He got me from a 15 down to a 7 in about 6 months.
 
That last part is what lead me to stopping with lessons, I had a pro I liked but several things made time frame not workable, then the next I thought would be great until the discussion of breaking it all the way down and starting over came up. I don't have time for that, and it may be arrogant, but I don't think I need that.

I found Tracy Phillips through research and he and I exchanged emails a few days before I booked. I told him my concerns/wants and one thing he said hooked me "I don't want to break you down, I want to see your ball flight, and then we will work from there to correct it".

Its all about finding the right one, I'm hoping tomorrow confirms Tracy is the right one for me, if not, the search will continue.

When it comes to the try and rebuild been there done that. Spent the better part of two years hardly playing, just time on the range. Never fully got it and I was in between where I was and where I was being directed for a long time. Basically, it was a bad fit for my tendencies. Got real self conscious and did not want to have those inevitable horrendous shots on the course.

Finally said screw it and started playing again. Starting using what worked and what didn't for the most part. Have a guy I see when things really deteriorate, and he usually gets me back on the path. He works with your ball flight and addresses the cause. Whether it is path, face angle, etc. Golf is a lot more fun now. I actually enjoy practicing, but briefly lost sight of what I was practicing for.

Speaking of which I am a little overdue for a session with him to iron a couple of things.


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I worked part of 2014 and all of 2015 to be a better putter. We will continue once the season begins again.
 
The only lessons I am actively involved in are putting lessons. We spent a while breaking down putting strokes and seeing the correct line then moved to how posture, setup, and the putter itself influence the stroke. My instructors foundation is based on analysis of putting strokes on Puttlab. The biggest thing we work on is hitting your intended line and tweaking my choices to be more consistent. Over the last month we talked about my choice to switch to left hand low and assessing how that impacted my stroke.
 
Had another lesson today, still working on trying to load weight correctly in my backswing. I had been working on loading into my rear leg since the last lesson, but like the blockhead that I am, I took it too far, and my front knee was moving all over the place in the backswing. What happens at that point is that I overrotate my hips, which leads to overrotation of my entire body and my upper body leaning towards the target at the top of my backswing, which leads to a host of issues in the downswing.

So my coach gave me a different idea to work on: trying to keep the lower body as quiet as possible and be SMOOTH with my takeaway. I basically want to try to keep my legs, and especially my knees, as still as possible. That's not really what happens because there is still some movement, but in slow practice swings, my swing is MUCH shorter by feeling that my legs aren't moving as much. It also feels like I'm not rotating my hips at all, even though in reality there is still some movement. I'm still going to load up the rear leg because the weight of the club going back assists that. We worked a bunch on this today, and while my speed on my full swings wasn't really there, my coach told me not to worry about that because ingraining the feel was more important today than trying to hit a bunch of full shots.

After my lesson, I saw this image from Justin Rose on Twitter. I sent it to my coach and asked if this was the goal, he told me "love it". So this is the image I'm going to have in my head for the next few weeks.

CbcePjdW8AIsF2l.jpg
 
Last year, I found an instructor with whom our personalities fit (IMO, an important consideration), an instructor that genuinely wants to make a golfer out of me and not just sell me lessons. I had and have a phobia about my lack of distance, so I went to my first lesson with the singular goal of more distance. After looking at my swing, he suggested that my short term goal should be playing 18 holes using less strokes. He suggested that working on my short game would yield more immediate results than just trying to hit the ball farther. We are not ignoring my swing to get more distance, but we are currently concentrating on my short game.
 
For the last couple months i've been working with my instructor on my iron striking. We worked on my grip, takeaway and stance to ensure i have a more solid swing each time. Focused on hitting down through the ball (i was a sweeper) and that has helped a ton. Tonight we are working on some short game tips in anticipation of the Kentwool this weekend. More tweaking what i'm up to then full swing changes etc... The fact i found an instructor who gets who i am and my swing, and works with that, makes all the difference in progress.
 
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Last night i worked on both a solid driver setup and some basic training drills for practicing with my wedges... I never thought i could dial up a number and hit it to within 5 yards of that number. Really excited for this weekend, and also the coming golf season. i see some major progress in my game.
 
Actually working with a solid scratch golfer on my swing. Emulating his movements as we have a very similar body style. He takes the club up very vertical with his hands in and the clubhead/ shaft going towards the ball. In transition he turns and the club naturally falls on the proper plane without forcing it. So far so good, and distance and accuracy are improving weekly. Took a lot of lessons, but this local amateur really put it all together for me
 
I'm currently having an acquaintance party with my new driver, an M1. Also working on the action of my left foot on the downswing. I got it down on the driving range, but it seems harder to do on the fairway. These are what I'm focusing on lately.
 
I plan on doing 1-2 more full swing lessons in the next month but I really don't want to play golf swing all summer so after that I'm strictly going to stick to short game lessons.


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Starting up again with lessons tomorrow afternoon for 2 hours. I want to cover all aspects of the game but we'll probably spend most of it on full swing. It's been a while so looking forward to it.
 
Been working with my club pro once a week for the last couple months. Started with course management after we came up with that game plan we started on my swing. Happy to say the changes are starting to take. Ball striking with the irons have been fantastic. So hopefully now we can get my driver figured out.
 
So happy that i picked up the winter golf lesson package again this year from my golf course. The instructor is night and day different than 'last year'. He really is trying to work with my game instead of changing it, and i have seen dramatic results.. Looking forward to hitting the golf course and watching my scores drop. Last lesson we worked on wedge play and i utilized some of that at the Kentwool Kickoff Classic to close a match out. It's exciting seeing lessons turn into on course results. Wednesday night we worked on more iron striking and trying to iron out my usual right to left ball flight. I was hitting cuts that were perfect. First time in a long time i feel confident getting out on the course. The teaching style works really well for me.
 
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