There are a few prerequisites to getting the
best value from a golf lesson. First, you must
be prepared to learn and possibly change some
things. Most importantly, you will need to practice
your new skills and give them the opportunity
to take effect. One round and one practice session
a week are probably enough to maintain your standard.
More effort is required if you expect improvement.
You will get maximum benefit from your lessons
if you have a good understanding of why and how
your technique changes. Keep in mind that your
technique will only change for one of three reasons
— a concept, physical or reaction change.
A concept change is a conscious change. This
is what most golfers see as the primary reason
a swing changes. Lessons that are predominantly
delivered by the instructor will deal exclusively
with concept changes.
A concept change occurs when a golfer's
technique is assessed and an error in technique
identified. This can be a fault in any technique,
from the setup to the timing of a swing, and can
include every shot type from putting to driving.
Generally, a drill or exercise is recommended
to correct and override the fault, followed by
lots of practice to engrain the new technique.
A physical change occurs when the golfer's
body changes through injury, age, fatigue, various
activities and even diet. All of these physical
changes have an effect on the body. As a result,
the golfer's technique will change and often
negatively. Sometimes this happens without any
conscious or deliberate change in technique and
can be very frustrating to identify.
If your technique changes as a result of your
body changing, it is better to correct the change
in your body rather than react to the technique
change in your swing. For example, if you are
not pivoting your hips well because you have a
stiff back, then get a massage and stretch your
back, allowing your pivot to fix itself.
Finally, there's also the reaction change,
which occurs at a subconscious level and is always
a result of ball flight, contact or playing conditions.
For instance, if you have been hitting slices,
your instinct is not to lose the ball right, so
you usually start swinging across the line and
spinning out of the shot.
Likewise, if you are constantly making contact
with the heel of the club, you might start pulling
away from the ball on the downswing.
Once again, attempting to correct a technique
fault that is a result of a reaction change at
the concept level will be frustrating and ineffective
most of the time. Simply put, if the fault in
your swing is a reaction to slicing, you can make
the technique fault disappear by learning to hook.
Remember, there are 11 basic categories of golf
shots — driver, fairway woods, long irons,
mid-irons, short irons, pitching, bunkers, chipping,
long, mid and short putting. Very few rounds go
by without you having to play at least one of
each of these shots. When you take a lesson, your
goal should be to become competent in all of these
shot categories. So take notes and keep some statistics
so you can tell your teacher what you need to
improve.
After your lesson, you most likely will be given
a drill or exercise to work on that is designed
to enhance the feel of the modification your technique
requires. To integrate the change quickly, rehearse
this drill once and then make a practice swing
to sense the feel of the drill in the swing. Finally,
hit a shot after programming the feel of the improvement.
So for a bucket of 50 balls, there should be at
least 150 total swings.
By following these simple steps, not only will
you receive the best value from your golf lesson,
but you'll also improve faster while enjoying
more long-lasting results.
