There are so many factors and variables to golf, that make It the constant struggle of ability and know how. If you think you can go into high demanding professional class sport like golf without training than you are a John Daly amongst common folk. To everyone else you must ask: Should I get golf lessons? YES! One million percent I would suggest seeking proper instruction from a trained professional.
Trained Professional being the optimal words here. As a PGA golf professional, I have been around some of the best instructors and top end professionals in the industry. As well I have been around the “Wanna be” golf professionals on many occasions. I am here with a stiff warning for anyone seeking golf lessons. Please do your due diligence on the person you are seeking training from. If a trainer is only giving you tips to solve your problems and unable to fully break down the swing for you. You probably have yourself a TIK TOK or YouTube “golf pro”.
I am not here to discredit all YouTube and TIK TOK Golf Professionals as I know some personally and can credit pioneering professionals like Eric Corgono or Martin Chuck with the ability to translate an in-person experience like golf lessons to a video. These are not the only two but are examples of some. (I will have a small list of trusted professionals at the end of the article). What I am here to make you weary of is the IG and TIK TOK random scrolling videos with titles like “Fix your slice in minutes” or “Stop Chunking shots”. Misleading titles that dive so much deeper than the simple 1 drill tip that is basically putting a band aid on a flowing river.
Sure, does the tip or drill have a purpose? Maybe? There are so many variables of the golf swing action that cannot be summarized in a simple passing video. Most of the time from what I see is someone making a video of what helped them solve their problem. Which is not the case for everybody and may be leading be bigger issues. Without knowing or seeing a player’s restrictions and abilities a video is essentially telling you to do surgery without actual training in my head. You can find a video that you think pertains to you then bring it to a trained professional to see if it is applicable.
My main and number 1 issue though beside an untrained person spewing generic information is… YOU CAN’T SEE YOUR SELF! Yes, you can video tape your swing and try to break down what you think you know, but a trained professional can see the small idiosyncrasies that make an entire golf swing. No one person is the same, nor should everyone be taught the same. The golf swing is like your signature. Unique in action, approach and style. When you stand in front of someone who has the eye to not just see your flaws, but your positive future. You have yourself a true caring golf professional regardless if they have a PGA tour stamp.
If you do find that you are looking to get in person lessons, there can be a few signs to look for. When you are having a talk with your trainer, be honest there is no shame in being bad at this game. There are many ways to approach talking to a pro and my least favorite is when clients come to me and say, “well I just suck”. While this statement may be true, it tells me that they have a negative mentality coming into the lesson like nothing can save them. When most of the time as a golf pro, I am saving someone from themselves. Come into the lesson with an open positive mindset, like this is the beginning of the future. Will it be an instant cure? Not always. A lot of the time it is a process, but this should not deter you from continuing with lessons.
As you get into the lesson you will feel inadequate in a lot of ways. Failure kills the mental psyche faster than actual poor ability will. Stay strong, but also don’t be naïve. When a trained professional gives you a drill or tip you should ask “What is this motion or action trying to make me accomplish” put some real thought and principles behind what you are doing. I find that some clients take lessons thinking that just being there will cure them. Yet they never practice, or ever truly put lessons into their game. It takes hard work to break old habits, and a one-hour lesson will not be the simple solution.
The lessons are there to give you confidence and another set of eyes. These two factors alone will help propel anyone’s game. The next step always after a lesson is to Practice what you were taught. Learn to burn that into your brain and body so it becomes second nature. This is the real reason we practice so much as pros. When it comes to crunch time, we want to be able to mindlessly execute the shot like we were on a range. This all comes down to trusting your instructor and the program direction they have you on. If you choose to take lessons and ignore practice and consistency, I can offer other ways for you to burn your money.
If you are looking to inquire about online lessons for video instruction, the following people are ones I myself and many other professional friends trust within the industry.
Always Remember to move the ball forward with purpose and never end the Fight
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