Why Beginner Golf Lessons Are Flawed

Beginner golf lessons are essential if you wish to become reasonably proficient at golf in a reasonably short period of time.

Golf can be a difficult game to master but it is not that difficult to learn the basics and be out playing on the course in a few weeks. The reason beginner golf lessons are essential is because there are a few basics which are fundamental to any successful golf swing.

These fundamentals are basically the same regardless of whether you are a touring pro or a complete beginner. Therefore, you must get them right at the beginning otherwise it will lead to a whole host of problems further down the line.

Beginner Golf Lessons: The fundamentals

The fundamentals I am talking about are grip, stance, alignment and posture. Sure you can teach yourself each of these fundamentals from books or videos but the ideal place to learn them is during beginner golf lessons with your local pro. If you can master these fundamentals during your beginner golf lessons then you will be well on your way to playing good golf.

More Beginner Golf Lessons?

Conventional teaching methods would suggest that you continue to take beginner golf lessons from a qualified pro for the next few years. However, I would suggest that this thinking is flawed. Average golf handicaps have not improved over the last two decades despite major advances in equipment and ball technology. Why?

Teaching aids such as video with computer controlled swing analysis are being widely used to break down the swing into its smallest components so that you can see where you are going wrong. Yet average handicaps have not improved. Why?

Beginner Golf Lessons Don't Work?

The reason is that most beginner golf lessons don't work, they are much too complicated for the average golfer. At some stage in your beginner golf lessons your pro will show you a video of how Tiger (or some other well known touring pro) swings the club as a way of showing you how you should be swinging. 95% of golfers have neither the physical nor mental ability to swing a club like a pro so even attempting to do so is a waste of time.

For conventional teaching to be really effective you need to be with your pro constantly. Most people will have lessons once a week. This is not enough because by the time you see your pro again (a week after your last lesson) you will have reverted back to your old habits. So he has to go back to where you were in the last lesson. Progress can be painfully slow. "Why not have more lessons," I hear you cry. Fine if you can afford it but at anything from $50 to $100 per hour thats not in most people's budget.

Some Beginner Golf Lessons Are A Good Idea.

The answer then is to take some beginner golf lessons with your local pro to learn the fundamentals. Then find yourself a program which is simple to learn and more importantly makes it possible for you to progress quickly.

There are some fantastic programs available today online which make it possible to attain a reasonable standard quite quickly, Certainly quick enough that you can be on the course with your friends within a few weeks of taking your first beginner golf lessons.