COMMUNITY

I absolutely agree... I had found an fantastic coach last year, I was hitting the ball amazingly solid at times, a real bliss. But he was doing way too many tournaments and he had no time for lessons anymore, so I had to go to someone else. It was great in a sense because I met several pros who made me understand the many facets of golf, but at the same time, constantly changing focus is pretty hard. Better stick with one person :)

If someone has a few additional millions to spare, count me in! Would love to spend the next three years golfing too ;)

You already know my thoughts on my current instructor, and I really like the changes he made for me. He broke things down into simple changes that made it easy for me to follow and implement. Now, it's up to me to go out and practice and play. If I ever feel that I'm getting out of synch again, I wil definitely go to him again.

Yes, it's great that your instructor really helped you :)

Now it's funny how many golfers I've met who never took lessons and resist the thought. My coach from last year actually didn't believe in golf lessons, which is ironic :) He never took a lesson himself and is one of the top players in Quebec. Well maybe if he had taken lessons he would now be one of the top players in the world... or he would have quit golf a long time ago ;) Who knows.

I'm a firm believer in instruction, but I'm puzzled by the fact that the pros are often contradicting each other on fundamental things. I guess it just means that there's more than one way of doing things...

I've never had a golf lesson, although I've made good off-course friends with a local PGA pro (not a Tour player, though) who's offered to give me a free lesson or two. Nevertheless, I've gotten down to a 4.5 handicap. BUT! I did this through a good understanding of fundamentals--grip, posture, ball position, basic swing theory--and lots of practice. Reading Ben Hogan's Modern Fundamentals and Nicklaus's Golf My Way helped as well...both of those guys were strong believers in fundamentals, rather than "get the club in this position on the backswing--make sure your left nostril is in line with the ball's logo" or some other gobbledy-gook that some instructors come up with.

My thought on instruction is this: Find a teacher who believes in teaching solid, basic swing fundamentals. After learning those, it's really a pretty quick process to develop a consistent swing--plus, by knowing your fundamentals, YOU can fix your swing YOURSELF, even in the middle of the round, by checking those fundamentals. The problem with instruction arises when you get so wrapped up in specifics, like "Get your left arm to this position and your right elbow pointing here," that it becomes almost impossible to create a good, smooth golf swing. It may look "correct," but you've spent so much mental energy getting the club in exactly the position your teacher told you to that you can't think about how your swing connects you to the target anymore.

Lee Trevino, he of strange, unschooled swing but COMPLETE knowledge of fundamentals and club-to-ball-flight characteristics, was in an interview and mentioned a shot shape he was having trouble with. The interviewer asked, "Why don't you get a teacher who can help you learn that shot?" To which Lee replied, "Because I haven't found a teacher who could beat me yet."

Ask your teacher to skip the pretty positions and teach you the solid groundwork of the golf swing. You'll be able to fill in the rest with just a little practice...and most importantly, you will have YOUR swing, not your teacher's.

Now you certainly can't go wrong with instruction from Hogan or Nicklaus :)

I agree that the key is an understanding of the basic fundamentals. Last winter, I went with an instructor who gave me a great understanding of my swing (a one plane swing that feels simple). When the season started again, I was amazed to see that I now knew how to troubleshoot my swing based on my ball flight. Problem is that we had focused a bit too long on the technique and I was getting paralyzed by too many swing thoughts. My backswing was painfully slow, trying to hit all the perfect positions. I fell into the trap you are describing:



I'm now learning to let go a lot more, focus on my target, visualize my shot and just trust my swing to bring me there. Still need to correct a few technical issues (hence the Jim Hardy school), but other than that, I know that experience and practice will bring me the rest :)

I agree. And even with a video camera, you have to know what to look at. Also, knowing that you're coming over the top is one thing, but knowing how to fix it is another.

I'm just back from the Jim Hardy golf school (one plane/two plane) and I'm am amazed at how quickly they succeeded to make me come back from the inside on the downswing (when I had been struggling with an outside-in swing path for weeks). I would never have found out how to fix it myself (or it would have taken me a looonggg time :)

Now all instructors have their own ways of fixing errors and some of them are more successful than others. So far, the one plane approach is really working for me!

i haven't taken a lesson in 5 years.but i do have a question for you Sylla.
how do you like your one plane golf swing? thanks

I have used two different instructors. What I have learned and watch for now is someone who doesn't want to change your whole swing but work with what you have to improve it (unless its just not worth keeping that is). We all have our own body conformation and so one swing isn't good for everyone. And they need to be able to help me understand what it is they are asking for. If I find this in an instructor we will do well together.

And I will be taking more lessons later this fall. I'm a slow study. :)