Lessons start this week

Dartgod

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My wife bought me a series of golf lessons for Christmas and this Wednesday is my first lesson. I am self taught and have been playing for 20+ years without a single lesson. I generally shoot in the mid 90s to low 100s. Personal best is 86 on a par 70 course. My biggest weakness is my approach shots, especially higher lofted clubs.

I'm nervous and excited at the same time. 1st lesson will be one hour and then four more 1/2 hour sessions after. I'm scheduled with an instructor that LSMO recommended at Robin Nigro Golf Academy in Kansas City.

I just wanted to start this thread to track my progress and take suggestions for a first time student.
 
So first lesson is in the book. It went very well. We worked on my grip, stance and wrist hinge at the top. I knew my grip was all wrong, but I've been doing the same thing for years. I got fairly comfortable with it by the end of the lesson. He changed my stance so that I wasn't so bent over. It allowed me to get a little closer to the ball. And I really started seeing immediate results by focusing on hinging my wrists at the top of my swing. I stopped pushing the ball to the right and immediately gained 15-20 yards on my shots. I only hit the 7 and then 5 irons but the difference was dramatic.

Overall he thought I had the foundation of a pretty good swing which made me feel good. Mostly minor tweaks today and they have me excited to get out and practice before my next lesson in a week. I'll probably wait until after my next lesson before I take it out on the course.

Also a shout out to LSMO for the instructor recommendation. I like Chris a lot. He was able to get me to understand his instruction rather quickly
 
great stuff! glad your exited about it.

Don't be surprised after 20 years self taught that this doesn't possibly cause you to go backwards before advancing again. That can happen with lesons sometimes but stick with it and 'if" that happens don't get discouraged as it will pay off in the end if your with the right instructor who is good "for you". if it doesnt happen then even better for you. Good luck with your progress:). You get an "A" for effort and doing the right thing for yourself.
 
great stuff! glad your exited about it.

Don't be surprised after 20 years self taught that this doesn't possibly cause you to go backwards before advancing again. That can happen with lesons sometimes but stick with it and 'if" that happens don't get discouraged as it will pay off in the end if your with the right instructor who is good "for you". if it doesnt happen then even better for you. Good luck with your progress:). You get an "A" for effort and doing the right thing for yourself.
Yes, he said as much to me. He stressed to stick with what he is teaching me and I will be better off in the long run.
 
Lessons start this week

I just started working with a friend of mine who was an assistant pro for years. Never had a lesson. Felt like I had to start all over. Completely crushing the driver now and looking forward to hitting the irons better. It was scary after the swing change but I have stuck with it and it works.


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So first lesson is in the book. It went very well. We worked on my grip, stance and wrist hinge at the top. I knew my grip was all wrong, but I've been doing the same thing for years. I got fairly comfortable with it by the end of the lesson. He changed my stance so that I wasn't so bent over. It allowed me to get a little closer to the ball. And I really started seeing immediate results by focusing on hinging my wrists at the top of my swing. I stopped pushing the ball to the right and immediately gained 15-20 yards on my shots. I only hit the 7 and then 5 irons but the difference was dramatic.

Overall he thought I had the foundation of a pretty good swing which made me feel good. Mostly minor tweaks today and they have me excited to get out and practice before my next lesson in a week. I'll probably wait until after my next lesson before I take it out on the course.

Also a shout out to LSMO for the instructor recommendation. I like Chris a lot. He was able to get me to understand his instruction rather quickly

He is a good instructor. Sounds like he will work out well for you! Let me know anytime you want to play a round!
 
I had my second lesson last night. I had a busy weekend and didn't get time to practice so I hit the range Monday after work. It did not go well. I was pushing a lot of shots off to the right and my swing felt all funky.

We talked about this last night and he watched me hit a few with the same mishit right. He fixed me up right quickly. Seems that I had fallen back into some bad habits. My grip was a little off and I was standing to far from the ball causing me to bend at the waist too much. We corrected that and I was back to hitting them like I had at the last lesson.

Next he wanted me to work on my follow through. I'm not keeping my left arm straight and doing the chicken wing thing. He gave me some drills to work on at home to help straighten that out.

Lastly, he had me hitting with my driver. I found it much easier to get the correct posture with the driver and was hitting some nice drives. I seemed to do better with the follow through as well.

I have not scheduled my next lesson yet. I will take a couple of weeks to practice the drills and hit the range a couple of times. I'd also like to take what I've learned out to the course if I can find time. I feel like we are making good progress, but I understand that this is a process and it will take some time for me to get comfortable with my swing changes and stay away from my old habits.
 
We should hit up eagles landing next weekend and play some!
 
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