How to get the most out of your golf lessons

Let's face it, we all want to improve as quickly as possible and get the best value for money we can during our time with the golf pro. By following these few tips you can ensure that your PGA Professional understands your ambitions, the areas of your game that need improvement and speed up your development as a golfer.

Arrive ready for your golf lesson

Make sure you arrive ready to play golf. Wear the right clothing and bring all your clubs. Once you have had a number of lessons you may wish to bring a select few clubs only, but during the initial lessons we may wish to review all clubs. If time allows, arrive early and hit a few balls to warm up, this will maximise your time during your golf lesson.

Be clear about your golfing ambitions

Whether you just want a few pointers or intend to undertake a sustained plan of improvement, be clear what you want from your golf lessons. All good PGA Professionals will want to ensure you get the most from your golf lessons and improve your skills. Your coach should listen to what you want to achieve, no matter how simple that might seem to you. So if you want to break 100 or 80, set out your goals and trust your coach to help you achieve them.

Practice between golf lessons

At the end of your lesson it's likely you will have identified some clear areas that need improvement. These are things you can practice between your golf lessons. You may plan a golf lesson every week, once a month or just once or twice a year, but whatever your plans, make sure you practice what you've been taught. Over time this will ensure you improve more quickly and get the best possible value for money from your lessons.

Give your golf coach honest feedback

If you've played a round recently, or had a practice session at the driving range, be sure to tell your coach how it went. After making swing change it's common to struggle with your swing, while you try and incorporate the changes you've been working on. Whether your feedback is good or bad, your coach wil be able to advise on how to get things back on track. Remember any significant trends in your bad shots, this will help your coach understand how to help more quickly and give you the advice you need.

Trust your PGA Professional and be patient

Many golfers have been playing with the same bad swing for years. Quite often they have found a way to make this work and can strike the ball quite consistently. However, at some stage they are likely to want to progress to the next level. Conversely beginner golfers starting the game, or in the early stages of their development may find the golf swing hard to understand.

In either case, a golf lesson may confuse the golfer a little, this is normal. The golf swing is a complicated movement and takes time and practice to get right. As such small changes in your set up, posture, grip or swing plane can feel quite drastic and alien. Your golf coach has been taught and learned through years of experience how to change and improve your swing. Trust that the changes and recommendations your coach makes are correct, even when results are not instant and your ball striking suffers. This deterioration will soon pass and committing to the changes will soon feel natural and your ball striking will start to improve, often beyond your own expectations.

Make a plan for continued development

If you are fortunate enough to be able to plan a series of regular golf lessons, set yourself some goals. Common themes are developing a good posture and grip, before focussing on take away and swing plane. For more experienced golfers you might look at improving ball striking before developing the skills to draw or fade the ball at will. Be sure to advise your PGA Professional if you intend to take regular golf lessons, draw up a plan together, which can be easily adapted as required. Most golf teachers will give discounts for block booking. For example I offer 6 lessons for the price of 5 when booked in advance. Commit to your lessons and they will be both cheaper and more beneficial for you.

I hope you found this useful and can incorporate some of these ideas into your own golf lessons. Take the time to think positively and constructively and believe in your own development as a golfer.

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