COMMUNITY

http://www.pga.com/golf-instru..

Thanks cogolfer. I didn't see any female instructors on the list so I went to the LPGA website and found a few in my area. So is it safe to assume that anyone affiliated with PGA/LPGA knows what they are doing and how to instruct?

Oh yeah. If they're recognized as PGA or LPGA pros then they know what they're doing.

PGA dot com, find an instructor

http://www.pga.com/golf-instru..

good place to start, oddly enough out of 68 listings for your zip code there is only one woman. I wouldn't get too hung up on the find a female instructor thing, I've gotten good instruction from a female pro. No reason you can't find a good male instructor.

as for how to tell if whoever you choose is right for you, gotta kind of play that one by ear. I've only had a couple of instructors I felt were less than stellar. and even then I got some good from the lessons. one was a golf store package and I think the problem was more with the store format and not so much with the instructor. the other was a group session and although the guy we had at first was a bit stiff, the package came with on-course instruction. the assistant pro who did that part was great.

Thanks for the great tips! I spoke with two male instructors, both at driving ranges since I have begun. I'm not attempting to sound obnoxious with all of this but there is a reason I'm seeking female instruction. Both male instructors seemed intrested in selling me a little more than lessons. I'd prefer to chose one on their professional merits and qualifications rather than how well they can smooth talk me :) One other point, when hubbys (male) buddy was attempting to help me, it was harder for him to take into consideration that a females anatomy is different and needs to be accomodated for. He didn't seem to think so until I encouraged him to think in terms of two grapefruits sitting on his chest that his arms was hitting going to and from the ball, hence I find myself standing a lot further back from the ball and bending over more to attempt to accomodate for it. Hopefully with a female instructor, they will see that as an easy fix and show me how to effectively adjust my stance and swing? I'm not sure, again, I'm new, that's why I threw this post out for suggestions? :)

Jody, as the only male in a family of female athletes--I hear ya. The good and the bad of the anatomical differences is it puts more of a premium on proper setup and swing path. The golf swing is SUPPOSED to be a swing around the body, perpendicular to the spine. Most of us weekend warriors have way too much of an upright swing. For guys the result can be painful, but for gals the swing itself can be so.

Look for swing sequences of some of the top LPGA players and you'll see what I mean. Paula Creamer is a good subject. Note that at setup a triangle is formed with the joining of the hands on the club and the two shoulders as the points of the triangle. This triangle is maintained during most of the backswing as the hands stay as far away from the chest as possible and rotate around the spine. Since your arm is connected to the shoulder, by the time your lead arm starts to fold across your chest it does so way above your breasts. The same will be true when completing the downswing. You maintain the triangle way after impact folding your other arm only after the club is very high and the arm will fold above the breasts.

As for instructors, I am not as optimistic as some of my friends. Definitely look for a PGA Professional. This insures they've received some extensive training in how to teach the game. But it doesn't insure they are a good instructor. This would be analogous to the fact that every K-12 teacher isn't a good teacher, even though all have a degree (and most have credentials).

I don't have a magic pill for how to pick an effective instructor, but here are a few things that will increase your odds.

Instruction is a professional service, it's mostly about results, so...

1. Ask the instructor how many beginners they've taught. Then ask their average skill level after the first year and how much instruction that entailed. Also ask them to describe their best and worst beginning beginning student.

[These questions will be challenging to the instructor and no one probably ever asked them anything like this. But they are legitimate questions and you'll learn a lot about the instructor by asking them.]

2. Ask other golfers if they know of someone who has become a single-digit golfer in their first year or two. Then find out where they got their instruction. You may not be willing (or able) to put in the time this person did, but you can be pretty sure his instructor has something on the ball.

3. If money is an issue, once you find an instructor ask if they offer beginner's classes. I think you are way ahead having a good instructor in a group setting than having a poor instructor all to yourself.

P.S. to my fellow golfers listening in: My questions would be somewhat different to those of you beyond 'beginner status', but the principle is the same--you want results. The big difference is to avoid instructors that want to rebuild your swing from the ground up to be a mirror image of some pro. Unless you are retired, independently wealthy, and still in your 30s most of us have neither the time, the money, our the physical ability to make that approach work.

Thank's Mark! Now I have a good idea know where to start and the questions I should ask to determine right away whether or not it may or may not be a good fit along with ideas for compensation on my swing! :)

I found an instructor and I knew he was good right away, he saw one swing and made a couple suggestions that helped greatly. This was without charge! I have my daughter taking lessons from him as well

I found that guys you never heard of were 45 an hr and guys who had played on the tour who were now instructors are 45 or 50 an hr. It just seems to me that it might be better to go with the most credentials.

Trust in the PGA, as CoGolfer and others have suggested. You'll at least know you can trust the person's background.

If possible, I'd suggest getting instruction only through a referral. If it's not possible, don't sweat it, but just like with doctors, dentists, car mechanics, psychologists, whatever ... if you know somebody who has gotten good results from seeing Golf Instructor A, then chances are good you'll like Golf Instructor A, too.

I know it's buyer's guide 101 stuff, but still figured I'd throw it out there.

Oh ... and how well you like the instructor and how much you feel the instructor is honestly listening to you is probably more important than if they help your game right away. Golf improvement can take time, and if you plan on getting multiple lessons from this person, a good working relationship is likely the most important thing to establish in the first lesson.

Jody,
You are least likely to play on the LPGA this year or next year, therefore, keep focused on your goal.
(1) find a PGA certified teaching professional ( not playing professional with a tour card ). There should be lots of local members.
(2) Find someone that will teach the basics fundamentals but will allow each student to excel in their own way,not the cookie cutter that you must do my way or no way teaching.
(3) Find someone that you could communicate with. You don't want someone whom will throw the tech talk at you an educate you on the book of the gold swing. You want someone to be able to relate the basic golf swing to your level and start you off on the path to b able to think for yourself.
(4) Start off taking some group lessons from your local driving range or golf courses. It's more economical and not necessarily learning less within a group. You do not need a specialized lesson at this point in your game. What you need is someone to give you the correct fundamental and correcting your mistake while you practice.

After you acquire the tools of the trade, it's a matter of how much you practice to learn to use the tools. Don't expect to take a few lessons then magically you'll be a good golfer. Believe me, if you love the game, you don't need anyone to push you to practice and play.

Remember, there is not single correct way to grip the club nor a single way to play the game. Your instructor will find the best way for "you" to enjoy the game more.

group lessons are great! especially early on. you get to eavesdrop on what others are working on or having trouble with. you also get time to work on something you just tried while the instructor is working with the next person in the group. both group packages I've taken came with on-course instruction as well as practice range work. the on-course work was very helpful to me.

Thanks for specifying PGA certified teaching professional (not playing professional with a tour card ). With being new, I'm certain I would have just assumed all things being equal between the two. The group lessons are a great idea, glad to hear positive feedback about them as I have considered them! I've seen them advertised, I just wasn't sure how beneficial they would be to someone that has so much to learn verses someone that already has experience and just needs to work on one or two things to boost their game?
LOL..thanks for the reality check! As much as I would love to perfect my game to the point that I could be LPGA worthy by next year, that's just not seemingly a reasonable expectation from everything that I am reading and all the other responsibilites that I must focus on in my life as well. I'm in love with the game and am willing to practice as much as time permits :) Thanks to each of you for all of your wonderful input! :)

I will add my two cents and feel free to send me back a penny.

If I was a PGA Professional I would teach the game backwards from the green back to the tee box. What I mean by that is that I would start new students working on putting, then chipping, then bunker play, then pitching, short irons, medium irons, long irons and then driving.

Scoring well in golf has more to do with what you do around the green and on the green than any other part of the game, and yet too many people teach the game from tee to green.

I can miss the fairway by a mile, miss the green and still chip and one putt for a par, however if you drive dead straight, hit the green in regulation and 3 putt you just lost the hole.

Just my two cents.

You have a very good point Lyinlewis, makes total sense. Maybe that is something I should ask the instructor to focus on and as you say, work myself backwards. Thanks for the suggestion! :)