Are you a good student/proper practice

[naval2006]

Good students are hard to find in the realm of adult golfers.  It's very hard for instructors to live in the age of YouTube also.  We often find examples here of adult golfers that took up the game 4 months ago, they've taken 3 lessons and they post here already questioning the teacher and asking for WRX advice.  

 

There's no other way to progress in golf than taking lessons; but this is a statement often questioned online or on social media because the value of instant gratification in whatever aspect of life is extremely high these days.  Or stories like Bubba Watson or any other PGA Tour golfer who states that they never took a formal lesson but there is no way to check the veracity of it are used to justify this peculiar digging out of the dirt attitude.  

 

A good student first trusts their coach, and this is the foundation to learn and make progress.  And then the student must be diligent to do their homework, they have to be persistent and accept the fact that hitting the ball during the early stages of change shouldn't be a priority.  

 

On a final note, I've always noticed how quickly children pick up a good game.  They are receptive and flexible but they also take the teacher's words without questioning them.  They simply try to do what they are told.  

 

Adult students are a bit of a mistery for me.  It's not unusual that they jump from one teacher to another, they blame the previous teacher, they want to progress with lessons and hardly any practice and they are often lured into any rabbit hole nearby.  

 

 

[TheDeanAbides]

1 hour ago, getitdaily said:

Slow swings to me, is a full swing in slow motion. I wouldn't ever do a full swing in slow motion.

 

Thats why I say slow micro motions. If I'm working on a change, lets say a better position from p1 to p3, I'll go slow from p1 to p3, reset, slow again, reset, then a full speed full swing. Same if I'm working on transition. Im close to regular speed to p3 and then from.p3 to p4.5-p5 I'm slow and exaggerated. Reset, drill, reset, full.swing at full pace.

 

I just dont ever see where a full swing done slow is beneficial f9r anything. Slow motions are to drill a change. A full swing done slow would mean you're trying to chnage the whole swing at once...no bueno.

Again, by slow motion do you mean 10% of your normal speed or 50%?

 

Edit: I do a very similar thing, but I make some 50% swings - actually, I go as slow as I need to feel that I'm integrating the change. So, I'll go to, say, P3 a few times slowly to get the feel, then make a P3 swing at 50%. I'll check it to see if I made the change. Repeat until it feels like I own it, and then I'll go quicker.

 

I think backswing changes are pretty easy, but transition changes require more slow swings to integrate. I'll probably do kinda pump drills for those. 

 

I'm interested because you've made some good changes, but I do think that there's no hard rule. Some people have better body awareness than others. 

Edited July 25 by TheDeanAbides

[getitdaily]

16 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Again, by slow motion do you mean 10% of your normal speed or 50%?

I don't really put a speed on it. Slow enough to exaggerate the movement. Sometimes it's super slow, sometimes it's a little faster to feel a bit more of the the change where forces are felt. 

 

I don't believe there's a hard rule on "how slow". Slower at the beginning of the change process.

Edited July 25 by getitdaily

[TheDeanAbides]

14 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

I don't really put a speed on it. Slow enough to exaggerate the movement. Sometimes it's super slow, sometimes it's a little faster to feel a bit more of the the change where forces are felt. 

 

I don't believe there's a hard rule on "how slow". Slower at the beginning of the change process.

Fair. I don't think we're much different, really. I was struggling to get past my notion of 'slow motion' being like that Hogan exercise. 

[getitdaily]

3 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Fair. I don't think we're much different, really. I was struggling to get past my notion of 'slow motion' being like that Hogan exercise. 

This was from yesterday. Im at the point in my chnage that I only do 1 drill movement and then swing away since I've done the hard work to ingrain the change. It's now about fighting regression. But this video shows how slow...the drill is the transition move.

 

[MidwestHacker]

36 minutes ago, naval2006 said:

There's no other way to progress in golf than taking lessons; but this is a statement often questioned online or on social media because the value of instant gratification in whatever aspect of life is extremely high these days.  Or stories like Bubba Watson or any other PGA Tour golfer who states that they never took a formal lesson but there is no way to check the veracity of it are used to justify this peculiar digging out of the dirt attitude.  

 

A good student first trusts their coach, and this is the foundation to learn and make progress.  And then the student must be diligent to do their homework, they have to be persistent and accept the fact that hitting the ball during the early stages of change shouldn't be a priority.  

 

 

I thought I was talented enough to dig it out of the dirt and teach myself, and I got farther than I honestly probably should have (low index was 8.4). I've made more swing progress in 2 months with a coach than I did in 20 years on my own, which is depressing to admit but at least Im on the right track now. 

 

Also in 20 years I had never, ever taken the time to do slow motion swing movements to develop feels for the movement patterns I was trying to engrain, without hitting a ball. Finding a coach who literally tells me I dont want you hitting a ball until you've repped this drill without a ball for at least 30 mins a day for 5-6 days was eye opening. Again, making massive improvements on things I had struggled to change in the past. 

[TheDeanAbides]

11 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

This was from yesterday. Im at the point in my chnage that I only do 1 drill movement and then swing away since I've done the hard work to ingrain the change. It's now about fighting regression. But this video shows how slow...the drill is the transition move.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much how I do it once I have a good feel for it. As long as I see the change on video I'll stick with that. I'll only slow it down or add more reps to the drill if it's not sticking. 

[phizzy30]

1 hour ago, naval2006 said:

Good students are hard to find in the realm of adult golfers.  It's very hard for instructors to live in the age of YouTube also.  We often find examples here of adult golfers that took up the game 4 months ago, they've taken 3 lessons and they post here already questioning the teacher and asking for WRX advice.  

 

There's no other way to progress in golf than taking lessons; but this is a statement often questioned online or on social media because the value of instant gratification in whatever aspect of life is extremely high these days.  Or stories like Bubba Watson or any other PGA Tour golfer who states that they never took a formal lesson but there is no way to check the veracity of it are used to justify this peculiar digging out of the dirt attitude.  

 

A good student first trusts their coach, and this is the foundation to learn and make progress.  And then the student must be diligent to do their homework, they have to be persistent and accept the fact that hitting the ball during the early stages of change shouldn't be a priority.  

 

On a final note, I've always noticed how quickly children pick up a good game.  They are receptive and flexible but they also take the teacher's words without questioning them.  They simply try to do what they are told.  

 

Adult students are a bit of a mistery for me.  It's not unusual that they jump from one teacher to another, they blame the previous teacher, they want to progress with lessons and hardly any practice and they are often lured into any rabbit hole nearby.  

 

 

My father never took a formal lesson and got down to a scratch in his prime.  He's currently a 4 cap now because he's 77 and has limited mobility.  He learned everything he knows from books/golf magazines and by watching Hogan/Nicklaus.  Then again he's an anomaly.  

Edited July 25 by phizzy30

[dpc]

11 hours ago, iacas said:

12 hours ago, airjammer said:

 That would explain why some people perform a movement during a lesson and hit good shots and then usually the next range session do the same drills and hit it like garbage.

 

Your body is different day by day and feels change. Golfers are often bad at starting with the same exaggeration level when the instructor isn't there to tell them to do it.

I'm experiencing this phenomenon at the moment.  I had two instances this season: a fitting, and a lesson.  I hit it fantastically both times, but couldn't replicate it later.  I've been pondering this daily since.  My current working theory is rhythm and tempo.  In both instances people were watching me so sub-conscientiously I began slowly to ensure good contact and not embarrassing myself.  As my comfort grew with the strange club or the strange movement I was able to add speed, but maintained tempo and hit the snot out of it (relatively speaking 🙂).  

So essentially I was taking slow swings and ramped up while maintaining control - something I don't do on my own either on the range or the course.

 

[airjammer]

2 hours ago, dpc said:

I'm experiencing this phenomenon at the moment.  I had two instances this season: a fitting, and a lesson.  I hit it fantastically both times, but couldn't replicate it later.  I've been pondering this daily since.  My current working theory is rhythm and tempo.  In both instances people were watching me so sub-conscientiously I began slowly to ensure good contact and not embarrassing myself.  As my comfort grew with the strange club or the strange movement I was able to add speed, but maintained tempo and hit the snot out of it (relatively speaking 🙂).  

So essentially I was taking slow swings and ramped up while maintaining control - something I don't do on my own either on the range or the course.

 

Usually when I get a lesson, I have one of my better ball striking days up to the point we start making significant changes. Always pisses me off because I don’t feel that the lesson swing is current on course swing. 

[dpc]

1 hour ago, airjammer said:

Usually when I get a lesson, I have one of my better ball striking days up to the point we start making significant changes. Always pisses me off because I don’t feel that the lesson swing is current on course swing. 

That was a rarity for me @airjammer.  At my lesson I was exhibiting the exact fault I wanted help fixing, so that was a bonus.  And he did correct the reason for the fault and explained it and gave me drills to work on to make the change permanent, but I've yet to strike it as well as I did for 15-20 minutes at the end of my lesson.  But I think I'm getting closer.

[TexasTurf]

23 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

LOL…..have to agree with you.  😁👍

Live look at my last lesson:

 

 

[MonteScheinblum]

8 minutes ago, TexasTurf said:

Live look at my last lesson:

 

 

That’s “a” way to hit a golf ball….just like “a” way to deal with your wife when she’s mad is to ask her if she’s on her period.

[getitdaily]

20 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

My father never took a formal lesson and got down to a scratch in his prime.  He's currently a 4 cap now because he's 77 and has limited mobility.  He learned everything he knows from books/golf magazines and by watching Hogan/Nicklaus.  Then again he's an anomaly.  

All scratch golfers are anomalies. 

 

Most get there the same way your dad did. That will probably change very soon as more and more instructors get better equipped. 

[Quahog217]

On 7/25/2025 at 7:39 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

This is a huge problem. you should always know what your teacher's philosophy is. Otherwise it's like investing in a new car after getting rid of your functional old one, but nobody tells you what you're buying. I'm amazed that you did this as a low cap player.

Yes I do agree with you but nowhere on any of his platforms does he state he is stank and tilt. I think he has only gone this direction in the last year. And he has a lot of students with plus indexes and some mini/younger tour players too.

[TheDeanAbides]

2 minutes ago, Quahog217 said:

Yes I do agree with you but nowhere on any of his platforms does he state he is stank and tilt. I think he has only gone this direction in the last year. And he has a lot of students with plus indexes and some mini/younger tour players too.

A phone call. An in person meeting. Anything. Whether he's S&T or not, it's essential to know what the teacher believes. 

[MK7Golf21]

8 hours ago, TexasTurf said:

Live look at my last lesson:

 

 

Lol, I only watched 30 seconds of it. Kind of reminds me how pga tour players will practice sometimes with a putter that is a totally different feel than their gamer. Then when they go back to the gamer, they can feel the clubhead much better.

 

In the same way, he does these super weird moves to get a feel of the clubhead again. Has nothing to do with the actual technique. I can hit a ball decent doing all sorts of strange things. 

[Quahog217]

28 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

A phone call. An in person meeting. Anything. Whether he's S&T or not, it's essential to know what the teacher believes. 

I have a lesson with him next week, going to take the first 15/20 mins to talk, reflect on the last year of lessons. I'm not sure I want to continue down this road but also there is flashes of play that tell me it might be worth sticking with.

[mshills]

On 7/24/2025 at 10:34 PM, MonteScheinblum said:

The worse the golfer, the closer to their max their stock wedges are.

So true. Man, how much better would everyone be if they understood this!

 

Best shot I hit yesterday was from 110 yards and I hit a dang 9i, felt like waist high, to six inches. I could hit a small bucket of 52* from there and might not get one that tight. 

[TheDeanAbides]

26 minutes ago, Quahog217 said:

I have a lesson with him next week, going to take the first 15/20 mins to talk, reflect on the last year of lessons. I'm not sure I want to continue down this road but also there is flashes of play that tell me it might be worth sticking with.

Nobody can make that decision but you, but just be careful that you don't fall for the sunk cost fallacy. 

[Valtiel]

10 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

...just like “a” way to deal with your wife when she’s mad is to ask her if she’s on her period.

 

[Quahog217]

2 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Nobody can make that decision but you, but just be careful that you don't fall for the sunk cost fallacy. 

Ya the problem is there is not many quality coaches anywhere close to where I live, and I know there are tonnes of excellent coaches on skillest but I have tried a few and found them very underwhelming. Paying a big fee and getting back a 3 min video from there kitchen with a drill doesn't float my boat.

[getitdaily]

5 minutes ago, Quahog217 said:

Ya the problem is there is not many quality coaches anywhere close to where I live, and I know there are tonnes of excellent coaches on skillest but I have tried a few and found them very underwhelming. Paying a big fee and getting back a 3 min video from there kitchen with a drill doesn't float my boat.

Exactly why I feel that thr mantra of "be a good student" is a bit bunk. There are good instructors out there. There are really bad ones. To get better at this game you have to be your own instructor to a really large degree and combine that with an instructor who is worth their salt. The better the instructor, the less you have to be one. But the good ones are fewer in numbers than the bad ones. 

 

You have to know your way around the swing to know if you've got a good instructor or not. This board just happens to have a couple of good ones. That's both good and bad. 

[TheDeanAbides]

1 hour ago, Quahog217 said:

Ya the problem is there is not many quality coaches anywhere close to where I live, and I know there are tonnes of excellent coaches on skillest but I have tried a few and found them very underwhelming. Paying a big fee and getting back a 3 min video from there kitchen with a drill doesn't float my boat.

Yeah, for my money I'd be just biting it and using Monte or Iacas. 

[Quahog217]

1 hour ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Yeah, for my money I'd be just biting it and using Monte or Iacas. 

Are they both on Skillest?

[TheDeanAbides]

23 minutes ago, Quahog217 said:

Are they both on Skillest?

I'm not sure. @MonteScheinblum? @iacas?

[getitdaily]

1 hour ago, TheDeanAbides said:

I'm not sure. @MonteScheinblum? @iacas?

Monte is.

[iacas]

For now (and the past 10+ years) I’ve had my own site for online instruction. I may move to Skillest eventually.

 

Won’t link to it or promote it here.

 

Edited July 26 by iacas

[RayPlan]

5 hours ago, getitdaily said:

Exactly why I feel that thr mantra of "be a good student" is a bit bunk. There are good instructors out there. There are really bad ones. To get better at this game you have to be your own instructor to a really large degree and combine that with an instructor who is worth their salt. The better the instructor, the less you have to be one. But the good ones are fewer in numbers than the bad ones. 

 

You have to know your way around the swing to know if you've got a good instructor or not. This board just happens to have a couple of good ones. That's both good and bad. 

that's kinda bunk though too, because you have to be a good student to be your own instructor

[getitdaily]

29 minutes ago, RayPlan said:

that's kinda bunk though too, because you have to be a good student to be your own instructor

And now you're getting the essence of bunk.