Finally, Golf Lessons!

[HighTopFade]

After 9 years of hacking around and maintaining a bad swing, I decided to take lessons. My first one is tonight. I hope I'm not completely hopeless in getting rid of my bad habits. We'll see what 30 minutes can cover.

[mont86]

I'm sure it will be worth it. It was for me. He started me at the basics which helped trendously.

[ezra76]

I want to do it myself but very leery. If the guy starts weakening my grip too much, it will be the last lesson pretty quick. I personally believe I can get to sub 5 next year if I can find a consistent driver/shaft combo. My short game is already that of a sub5 and my iron play is not far behind. If I was to take my scoring avg. on par 3's and short par 4's, iron off the tee, I'll bet it would be between scratch and +2. Good luck with the lessons. Keep us posted on the results.

[HighTopFade]

Yeah, I hope it works for me. I have a strong grip myself. But my biggest concern is my hard, violent swing. I believe it may have caused my tendonitis. It is what really prompted me to take lessons.

[ezra76]

Yeah, they had Toski and Flick on the GC the other day. Flick was showing the grip he teaches students, pretty strong. He said, "I don't want my students slicing the ball" I tried weakening mine up to normal, look out on the right. Weakening it a little though produced a nice fade. I tried it on about a 170 yard shot the other day. Hit an abosolutely perfect high fade with a 7iron that stopped a foot from where it landed. I was hitting decent fades before but that was by far the highest I've ever gotten out of a 7i, hung up there like a PW.

[JEFF4i]

It should, lessons are some of the best money spent, even if you only take a couple.

[HighTopFade]

Has anyone here seen a pro and get the suggestion to revamp the whole swing and start all over? That is my biggest fear.

[JEFF4i]

Yep, I changed the focus and never went back.

[Bama Duffer]

Originally Posted by stuck@16

Has anyone here seen a pro and get the suggestion to revamp the whole swing and start all over? That is my biggest fear.

Not me. The pro I saw siimply tweaked my swing and offered a few suggestions. I've made a substantial overhaul myself recently, though, that seems to be helping, so even if he suggests major revisions, it would be worth giving them a shot.

Except for that weak grip business. If I weaken my grip I have to make sure everyone is standing to my left or someone's going down.

[demon]

I seen a PGA pro four times in my 30 years of golf. I didnt even see one till I was at a 2.xx Index. I seen them enough to learn how to correct my own swing and now all I use is a camcorder and the computer and I can fix any problem I have.

[HighTopFade]

Now that was a pretty interesting experience. In a nutshell, I have to revamp my whole golf swing. Mainly, I have never used my hips in my swing. It was all arms. It got the job done, but it won't prevent tendonitis and the use of painkillers. What I thought was a 3/4 swing was actually a full. My stance was too upright and my legs weren't stable. I have a reverse pivot (whatever that means). I saw my video and the first thing I thought was I need to lose 15 pounds. Then I seen a real ugly swing.

First thing was understanding a 1/2 and 3/4 swing and learning to use my hips and where my hands should be positioned at the finish. He mentioned that I had to get my timing down before I can fix my reverse pivot. I was doing ok with a 7 iron but couldn't do a 3 iron. Then the session was over. Final words from the pro was, don't practice with anything longer than a 6 iron and to just work on my 3/4 swing. If I absolutely have to play, don't hit anything longer than a 6 iron and drive with a 5 wood. And only 3/4 swings.

After he left, I hit the remaining 1/2 bucket of balls with my 9,8,7, and 6 iron. I was getting better with the hips, getting good results even if my hands weren't quite insync yet. I said screw it, I'm trying the 5 wood. Sure enough, with a 3/4 swing, I was nailing it pretty good with less effort.

That's all for now, I'm scheduled next week.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

You may find the changes tough at times, but it'll be well worth it if you can redevelop your swing into one that uses the body and not just the arms.

[Farquod]

Originally Posted by stuck@16

That's all for now, I'm scheduled next week.

More important than that is what you do between now and then. You gotta keep practicing the move until it becomes second nature, then add more. I have found (and others might disagree) that if you try to add another thought, and another, before you have the first one grooved, you end up more confused than before you started.

He'll see you every week, for obvious ($$) reasons. Hopefully he won't feel compelled to give you something new to work on, but correct where your current practice has slipped. Then, when you're grooved, move onward.

Just my 2c.

[HighTopFade]

I see what you're saying Farquod.

[JoshinWA]

When I first started, I had the hip-slide thing going. It took me quite some time on the range to work on the rotation, and even now, after 15 years of golf, I find that my bad shots are often because I am reverting to less rotation, more slide.

Reverse pivot means that you are shifting weight onto the front foot in the backswing and the back foot in the downswing, opposite of how you should. Thus the "reverse" part of the pivot...

Good luck, keep us posted.