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I've taken lessons at different times over the years.  And there's a couple of local courses where they do a monthly thing.  You pay like $40 a month and you can hit all the range balls you like and go to free clinics during the week.  I plan to sign up for that next month.  I would really like to get back to playing and taking some lessons.

I do remember meeting a guy 10 or 12 years ago who had a full-time teacher.  I don't remember what he was paying, but he would go out to the range almost every day and the teacher would just come over and work with him any time he needed help.

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I took a lesson Friday. It was the first time I swung in 6 months. I went and banged balls today..

I have a lesson Tuesday and Thursday next week.

I take at least weekly golf lessons during the golf season.

I have taken 10 strokes off my game since coming back after getting a pacemaker about a year and a half ago. My plan is to knock off another 7 this year.

One of the members of my club asked me to play with him this coming weekend in a Tournament so I'm  getting the extra help getting the rust off and I'm making a small change so I need to continue to work on that.

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Is yours a Medtronics?  Mine is an ICD...dual unit.

Best wishes....

HH

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My favorite golf book is Ray Floyds' "The Elements of Scoring".  It's mostly about how to score and course management.  I highly recommend it.  



Like TexasDoubleTap said,  don't get caught up in the equipment game.  99% of the stuff on the on shelf is better than 99% of all golfers anyhow.  I've been playing the same irons for the last 25 years.



 

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Did the lessons improve your game at all?

I've been keeping all my score cards and I have even considered making a spread sheet. I figure it will help keeping track of my progress and to make sure the lessons are paying off.

He said it would be $35 for a 45 minute session to get a feel for my skill level and $50 for a video session.

We didn't talk much about pricing after that except for that he was receptive to working out a coach type situation.

I'd just like to have someone on 'retainer' so if I was heading out to play nine holes he could come along and help with my game. Lessons at the range seem like they'd be helpful but I'd also like situational help that you can only get on the course. Club selection, different lies, bunker play, things like that.

You should definitely start playing again. Golf is one of the few sports you can play until the day you die.

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Your pitch game should be the same as tossing the ball to the hole. Imagine tossing the ball underhanded to the hole, and the club is your extension of that toss.








HH

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Coming from someone who is/was in the golf industry, let me give you tips on the business side of teaching.

One, they take home 55-85% of what they make off of you. Keeping you as a customer is very important, but so is keeping their respect as a pro. They are usually genuinely interested in getting you to the point that you want to be at. They know you may stop when you hit a spot you're happy at, but they also know that your swing will fall apart at some point and you'll be back. They also hope you'll tell your friends what they did for your game.

Two, let them know what they want out of the lesson. Nothing is worse than going into a lesson not knowing what the customer wants. 45 minutes is not a lot of time to completely fix your game (anyone's game, look at Tiger - he's out practicing a lot, well maybe bad example ). If you want to do a series of lessons with a pro then make a plan of where you want to be by X date. That will allow the pro to figure out what they want to teach you in what order.

Third, your swing will get worse before it gets better. Don't let it get you down, what you have been doing has been engrained in your mind as the swing. Even a little adjustment takes a lot of time to build muscle memory and improve. Once you do though then you should be hitting it better than ever.

Finally, practice on the range between lessons. It's like math, you can't go to class and then not study at all and ace the test. You have to practice what they are saying or they will just keep having to repeat themselves costing you more money or causing you not to improve. They aren't miracle workers, but if you get a good friendship going then it should be easier to learn.

Just my two cents.

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As someone who has played golf for nearly 15 years and is only 28 I have a few things I'm obligated to toss in the ring here.

First, there is no substitute for practice. Most people practice on the driving range and then go play a round of golf and that is fine, but you will get bored really quick.

Second, Course Management and mindset is about 85% of the game.

You can combine the two (non-traditional practice and course management) by picking 5 clubs and your putter and using them exclusively to play a round.

I also used to take my full set up, get to the first tee and drop 3 balls. I would visualize how I would want to play that hole and give myself 3 chances to hit the "perfect drive". from there I would give myself 3 chances to hit the perfect approach, finishing the hole out in the same fashion. Not only does this break the habit of grabbing a club on the driving range and hitting the same shot 20 times and then changing clubs, but it also helps with your mindset, you have to visualize the shot before you can hit it.

Taking the time to accurately measure how far each club goes with a normal tempo swing will save you several strokes, it will save your ego and confidence as well.

Third, and likely another 99% of the game (it's golf, it doesn't follow REAL math rules ) is CONFIDENCE.

Not only confidence in your ability, but also confidence that when you set that driver or iron down behind the ball you know you are going to hit it right where you want and it is going to feel great.

Many people get caught up in equipment and name brands and keeping matching sets of clubs. It's all hogwash, unless that makes them 1% more confident, then it is worth it.
For all the technology advances the average golf handicap has not gone down much (if at all) in the last 50 years.

I play with a 5 year old set of Hogan Tour GCD Irons with steel shafts, a Copy of a Nike Sasquatch, and a no name putter and can shoot low 80's to mid 70's on any given day. If I buckle down and prepare I can flirt with par and just under.

Basically, I've hit enough balls to get bored on the range and found other ways to practice, eventually I got to where I could visualize and then produce the shot that I wanted, and I selected equipment that made me 100% confident that I can achieve anything I visualize.

As far as lessons go, getting your swing on video is a great teaching aid. Having your clubs properly fitted before starting lessons is highly advantageous. And while I did take a few lessons when I was younger, the best way I found to learn was to play with people that are better than you and trying to compete with them.

After enough balls and enough blisters you will figure out what works. (everything is backwards... hit down the ball goes up, hit up the ball stays low, etc. etc.)

Lastly, but most important, golf is fun. If you start breaking clubs and cussing out lifelong friends then you are doing it wrong.

I've watched grown ass men melt down and throw clubs in the lake over a 1 dollar per hole stroke play match and it's fucking sad.

Golf was invented by madmen and it will drive you mad, just have fun with it and enjoy the outdoors even if you totally suck!

Hope I helped in this rambling post

Next time I'm out I'll have the wife shoot a bit of video and I'll show some of my trick shots - (I've got a killer Happy Gilmore variation)

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ETA:

Is any one watching the Haney Project with Ray Ramano?

Barkley was entertaining but it seems like it was impossible to break that horrid swing.

This season should be really good.

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I've watched the first couple of episodes.  I agree that it'll be interesting.  The stuff I've seen of Ray Romano behind the scenes, he seems really neurotic.  I think if he doesn't do well with Haney, it's going to be a mental thing, not physical.

I'm one of those guys who overthinks everything, and it's a terrible quality for a golfer.  I think the more you can get out of your head, the better.