Getting out on the course regularly, or at least the driving range will improve your game. But without guidance, you might be reinforcing mistakes you aren’t even aware you were making.
And when you get to a point, you may feel like you have hit a plateau, and perhaps it’s time to reach out to a professional for some additional guidance.
Golf lessons give you and your game an edge that simple practice alone won’t achieve.
Golf lessons provide insights into your game that only a professional coach will be able to deliver.
These tips, drills, and practice lessons offered by a golf coach are a much more effective means of improving your golf game.
We’ve got 11 reasons (and tips) to help you know why golf lessons may (or may not) be for you.
So, kick back and read on to find out if golf lessons are in your future
9 Things golf Lessons Can Do For You
Taking your game to the next level is critical if you’re serious about your game.
When you go to see a golf coach for some golf lessons, there are several things that the golf coach may be able to do for you.
- Personal Swing Analysis (Finding Swing Faults)
- Personal Swing Recommendations (Correcting Your Swing)
- Posture Analysis (Finding Posture Faults)
- Posture Improvement Recommendations (Correcting Your Posture)
- Grip Analysis (Finding Grip Faults)
- Grip Improvement Recommendations (Correcting Your Grip)
- Short Game Tips And Tricks
- Mental Game Tips And Tricks
- Learn More About How The Golf Swing Works (Increase Knowledge)
Personal Swing Analysis (Finding Swing Faults)
One of the most valuable services that a golf coach will do is provide you with their swing analysis.
When a professional golf coach reviews your swing, you get an in-depth look at your swing from a pro’s perspective.
If the coaching were to give you nothing else, this would be a huge helping hand to know what you’re doing wrong.
There’s a saying in the coaching community that what a shot feels is not what is happening.
That is to say that what you feel your body is doing is not, in many cases, what it is doing.
It may seem confusing, but the idea is that sometimes golfers feel their swing is one way, but if they were to watch themselves, they were doing it differently than they thought. It happens more often than you’d think.
We don’t want to spin a negative connotation to golf lessons by saying a coach will find your faults.
And, indeed, some people have even had bad experiences with coaches or golf lessons.
But most of the time, having golf lessons is a good thing and won’t hurt your game.
If you are taking virtual golf lessons, you may not have a personal golf coach to tell you what you’re doing wrong.
But, the drills and practice lessons are usually invaluable even without a pro golf coach to tell you what you’re doing wrong with your swing.
Quick Tip: Want to see what you’re doing wrong?
Try video recording yourself swinging your club.
Then compare with what your golf lessons show you.
It is a fast and easy way to compare your swing to that of a professional.
Personal Swing Recommendations (Correcting Your Swing)
It’s one thing to have a professional point out your mistakes; it’s something else altogether to have them aid and assist in the corrections. It is where a pro golf coach shines through with golf lessons.
Not only do you get their take on a good swing, but you’ll also get in-depth instruction on how to correct issues with the golf swing that can arise.
Sometimes all we need is someone else to point things out so we can improve. And who better than a PGA golf pro?
Posture Analysis (Finding Posture Faults)
Related directly to your golf swing itself is your posture. Intrinsic to a proper swing, correction of posture issues can not only improve your game; it can also help to prevent injury.
Having a pro golf coach provides professional golf lessons can aid you in finding your posture faults.
Preventive actions are a must if you don’t want to wind up with a torn rotator cuff or other injuries. Having an incorrect posture for your swing can contribute to such kinds of injuries.
Golf lessons can help you identify how you may be using incorrect posture to correct it.
Posture Improvement Recommendations (Correcting Your Posture)
Your posture is a vital aspect of the swing that needs mastery. It can make the difference between a steep or shallow swing.
It can affect your torso rotation, which in turn causes you to overcompensate using your arms. There are many considerations to posture that a golf coach can point out and help you correct.
Some may even help you drastically improve your game in a relatively short period if you listen to what your coach tells you.
Golf lessons often recommend helpful drills and practices that help to improve your posture during a swing.
Grip Analysis (Finding Grip Faults)
We spend so much time mulling over our swings that we forget that how we grip the club is the most important part of the golf swing.
You may have held your clubs a certain way for years, not even realizing that a minor change could dial in your accuracy.
A golf coach can point out how you should correctly hold the grip for each type of shot.
Grip Improvement Recommendations (Correcting Your Grip)
As mentioned, the coach may help improve your swing by something as simple as correcting your grip.
The swing is directly affected by how you grip your club.
For example, if one hand is twisted too far, you may wind up always hooking the ball and not realizing why.
It is where taking professional golf lessons from a golf coach has the potential to improve your game dramatically
Short Game Tips And tricks
Most golfers take lessons for their long game and to improve their swing.
But many golfers’ short game has been improved tremendously by having lessons with a skilled PGA Pro.
Most golf lesson packages include at least one session on your short game. But you can look at taking golf lessons specifically for .your short game if you were so inclined.
This is something I would definitely recommend as most golf pros agree that about 70% of your score comes from your short game.
We’ve discussed things like grip, posture, and even swing are all just as relevant to your short game as they are to your long game.
Aside from your practice lessons, a golf coach will assign for you to do, they usually also have some great tips to help your short game and your golf game in general.
Golf lessons allow you to learn from a professional and speed up your refining your game.
Mental Game Tips And tricks
We could talk about how your swing, posture, and grip all affect your game, but these are all physical aspects of your ability to play golf.
The real game is in your mind.
The mind controls the body, so if you aren’t having a good day and can’t keep focused, your game will suffer.
Golf coaches are great at teaching you how to keep your head in the game.
They know first-hand how distraction and other disorders can affect your game, and they often have some great tips, tricks, and advice to help you overcome any barriers holding you back from really controlling that club and ball.
I wrote an article called Golf Swing Without Thinking (Mastering The Golf Mindset) which looks at how Golf is great exercise for our brains as we have to try and overcome the mental side of the game.
Learn More About How The Golf Swing Works (Increase Knowledge)
One of the most critical and least discussed golf lessons that many take for granted is the learned knowledge.
A PGA golf pro understands all aspects of how the golf club and golf swing work.
They get the physics and understand all the concepts and principles.
Sure, they aren’t likely to whip out a calculator and start doing differential calculus out on the green, but it doesn’t mean they don’t fully comprehend how things in golf work.
The advanced understanding that a pro golf coach can impart during golf lessons is worth considering when deciding whether to take lessons.
Understanding the concepts behind the golf swing is vital to understanding how one can improve their own game. And a golf coach and golf lessons are just the way to fast track your knowledge of golf.
In turn, this advanced understanding helps aid your understanding of how the coaches’ recommendations will benefit your game.
When to Take Golf Lessons
Each golfer has faced the dreaded plateau of ability at some point.
It’s that point where you feel like you could improve, but it just seems like no matter what you try, things don’t change.
Or they get worse, and now you feel like you’ve gone backward. That sounds like a pretty good time to consider taking lessons.
However, golf lessons are equally beneficial to new or young golfers.
Whether your golf lessons are in person with a private coach out on the course or at the range, or maybe you are watching some online golf lessons, they should all help you improve not only your game but also your understanding of it.
Never be afraid to take golf lessons.
Some people see taking lessons as taboo, that it’s somehow admitting defeat by admitting we could benefit from someone’s help.
Understanding What To Expect From Golf Lessons
There are some fairly significant differences between golf lessons in person and golf lessons via a digital means like online.
Either way, the intent is to learn something about golf, about your own game, and about how you can improve said game.
Knowing what you want to get out of the golf lessons is only a part of the puzzle.
Understanding that the lessons are merely a guide and not over-inflating your expectations is vital for your golf lessons to succeed.
Remember, your game isn’t going to improve overnight. It’s going to take hard work, dedication, and a lot of practice.
But practice guided by lessons is a practice in the right direction.
I wrote an article about is it worth you taking golf lessons
The Value Of A Playing Lesson
There are some fairly significant differences between golf lessons in person and golf lessons via a digital
Most golfers have had a lesson or two in their playing careers, some have regular lessons and some golfers have had no lessons at all and will probably never have a lesson at all, which is a shame because we know how valuable they can be.
It is all very well having a good solid swing, but you need to map your way round the course and put yourself in great positions on each hole, having the best possible chance of making a good score.
There is a lot of information to absorb when assessing the shot in hand which may change your view or plan of the hole.
Learning to think and assess the shot correctly is vital if you want to lower your scores.
Final Thoughts About Taking Golf Lessons
For typical fees of between $50 to $100 per hour or more, it’s understandable to be hesitant to see a golf coach.
That’s a lot of money to spend on a game.
But, if you’re serious about your golf game, golf lessons aren’t that expensive for what you get out of them.
From analyzing your golf swing to your posture and grip, a golf coach and golf lessons can drastically improve your golf game.
Even without a private coach, taking golf lessons can help you learn about the game that you may not have considered.
They can teach you practices and drills to do to improve your game through practice and repetition.
And with today’s technology, you can even take golf lessons online from the comfort of your own home.
If you’re serious about improving your game, taking golf lessons might be the best investment you can make.
Happy Golfing
