Yes, especially if you are willing to put in the time. The guidance, feedback and a learning plan can make a difference between years of struggling and actually making progress in the game of golf!
Many of us love the game of golf! For some of us, it might even be a bit addicting.
We try to play golf whenever and wherever we can and find ourselves daydreaming about playing golf 24/7. At golfjourney365 we try to play as much as possible. Our goal this year is to play over 300 total rounds of golf.
We play when the weather is nice enough to play outside and during the winter months, we play in our home based indoor golf simulator. Yes, we love golf so much that we built a golf simulator in our garage.
The game of golf is a great stress relief and we love the journey to get better and play to our full potential.
Speaking of full potential, some may be wondering if golf lessons are worth it? We break down the pros and cons of golf lessons and answer many of the frequently asked questions about instruction and online instruction.
Having been through the journey to reach our peak performance and with a plan to stay on the journey as long as physically possible, we have learned a lot about the different options for golf lessons
Are Golf Lessons Worth It?
We do feel that they are helpful, but it comes down to your level of committment.
How much do you really want to improve? After the golf lesson is the key time as you must go complete the swing drills and find enough practice time to frequently work on the new learning.
Like anything in life, if you don’t practice the new learning, you will not reach your full potential with the results.
Related: How many golf lessons do I need?
Our Top 5 Reasons To Take a Golf Lesson (Pros)
#1 – Find Your Swing Faults
There are some common swing faults in the golf swing. Working with a local golf professional can help you identify your swing faults and what it is going to take to fix that swing fault.
Your golf professional should work with you to assess your current level and what your goals are for the future. This will allow you to collaboratively build your goals. Taking the golf professionals feedback in addition to figuring out your level of commitment can go a long way in helping your reach your goals.
There are some great drills to help fix the many swing faults.
#2 – Grow Your Understanding of the Golf Swing
Due to the fact that most of us can’t afford to have our swing coach with us every time we play like professional golfers, we must grow our understanding of what our faults are and how to read our ball flight and then make the proper adjustments.
Hopefully, your golf professional can help you better understand the golf swing and the ball flight laws. The quality golf professional should help you grow in your understanding of your swing and use video to pin point where your faults are.
This approach can help you become your own teacher and view your swing on video and make the proper adjustments. If a golf pro isn’t teaching you more about the swing, then you aren’t getting your money’s worth. The goal is to become less reliant on the coach and have a plan to build your game.
Related: When to start golf lessons?
#3 – Understand Your Strengths
Often times we learn the game too much on the driving range and not enough on the course. Have you considered a playing lesson on the golf course?
Not only can the golf professional help you identify your strengths, but a major part of the game is understanding course strategy. Having this 2-3 hour lesson can help you build a game plan and allow you to play to your strengths. The key is that you follow the game plan in the future.
Most golf professionals are excellent players themselves and should be able to help you in this area. I love this video of Bobby Lopez giving an on course lesson in this youtube video. The conversations are priceless and helps you grow in your understanding.
#4 – Hit the Ball Better
The most obvious reason is to become a better ball striker. The goal is to be better at the end of the lesson then you were at the beginning. The golf professional should be working to help you get better everyday and providing a plan for that.
The best golf instructors can read your ball flight, check out your swing on video and make recommendations. There might be slight implantation dip, but you should see yourself getting better.
Depending on the level you are at as a player, the lesson should help you see some immediate dividends, but once again it relies on how hard you are willing to work. If you don’t touch a club for two after your lesson, you just might not get better.
Stay committed to the process and maximize your lesson. Great post on maximizing your lesson, here.
#5 – Understand the Basics
The basics of the golf swing are essential, especially for the beginner. If you are a beginner, you must get on the right track and work to make a quality pass at the ball. Growing your basic understanding of what you are trying to accomplish and how to get there is essential for your overall growth in the game of golf.
Too frequently, we have misunderstandings about the game. Here at golfjourney365, we believe the three fundamentals of golf includes the following:
- Hitting the ground in the same spot a high percentage of the time
- Having enough distance to play the course
- Being able to control the curve of the ball.
These three fundamentals can be accomplished with different grips, different alignments and different postures, but at the end of the day, you can practice drills to control these three fundamentals.
If you look at the greats, they all have slightly different grips, some are strong while others are weak. Some aim to the left, while others aim to the right. Some hit the ball further, while others have awesome short games. There is no one exact way to play golf and that is the beauty of the game.
At the end of the day, we must find our swing and be able to control the three fundamentals. Some of the greats have played a draw while others have played a fade.
Potential Cons of Taking Golf Lessons
#1 – You aren’t willing to work at it
You are just seeking the quick fix for your golf swing. The reality is that improving at golf takes dedication and practice. Unlike some other sports, your repetitions have to be frequent and your understanding of what you are doing has to at least be at the basic level.
Related: How to get better at golf without lessons
#2 – Your instructor is just seeking money
Let’s face it, golf professionals can get burned out and you are just the next person coming to the tee box for a lesson. Ask around at your local course or club and see who the best instructors around are.
You want someone that is passionate about the game and truly wants to help you get better. If the person utilizes very little technology, you might want to reconsider.
There is a great deal of technology from Trackman technology to the simple video recording of your swing. If you are taking a lesson and paying for it, you want the best tools possible to help you reach your full potential.
Related: How much do golf lessons cost?
#3 – You don’t have time
If you don’t have the time to practice then the lesson might not be worth it. Consider your time after your lesson. If you are going on a 2 week vacation out of town, taking a lesson right before you leave might not be very smart. Instead, plan out when you are going to practice. Just try to find 30 minutes per day to do something.
Related: Why golf lessons don’t work for some
Take Your Game To The Next Level!
BONUS: 3 Great Drills To Take Your Game To The Next Level
Whether you are trying to break 100, 90, 80, or 70 for the first time, the golfer has to be able to do the following:
- Control the low point (Ball Striking)
- Have a predictable start line and curve to the ball (Stock Shot Development)
- Have enough speed to play shoot your goal score (Distance)
Every level is going to require a certain level of proficiency with the 3 keys above. Below are 3 great drills you can use to develop each of these areas
Low Point Control Drill
- Take some yard paint and paint a 1-2 yard long line.
- Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
- Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
- Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
- You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.
If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing.
Stock Shot Development Drill
- At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
- If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
- Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
- The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.
Speed Training Recommendation
Distance Matters, in fact it might be the single greatest thing holding your back from the next level! The average scratch golfer hits their driver 251 yards on average. What is your current driving distance.
I would highly recommend overspeed training to increase your swing speed and driver distance. It changed my game drastically and distance and accuracy with the driver are now strengths in my game.
If you are going to train for speed, I would highly recommend the SuperSpeed Training System.
Gone are the days of simply being content with the distance you currently hit your golf ball. Many older golfers have proven over the past several years that an increase in swing speed is possible.
There are training systems to help you get your game to the next level and distance is arguably the fastest way to make this happen!
Here is a chart of potential swing speed increases you might see.
Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!
| Original Swing Speed | After 4-6 Weeks | New Carry Distance | Total Distance |
| 95 | 102 | 245 | 265 |
| 100 | 108 | 259 | 279 |
| 105 | 113 | 271 | 291 |
| 110 | 118 | 283 | 303 |
FAQ’s Related to Golf Lessons
Quickest way to lower your score?
If you are looking for the quickest way to lower your score we would send you to the practice green. Getting good at chipping the ball inside of 10 feet at least 50% of the time can help you greatly reduce your score.
When you consider that most amateurs have a difficult time even hitting 50% of the greens in regulation, being able to chip the ball close and give your putter a chance to save par is so important.
Spend that quality time, which is often free, around the practice green perfecting your chipping motion and your putts from 2-10 feet. You will see quick results.
How to gain more distance?
We all want more distance! And who can blame us? We know that the further you hit the ball off the tee, the shorter the distance you have left. Analytics have proven that the closer you are to the hole on your approach shot, the closer your next shot will be.
We have two excellent methods that we recommend here at golfjourney365. The first one is SuperSpeed Golf. This speed swing protocol is phenomenal and can help add 5-8% swing speed to your driver speed. This could mean 20-30 yard extra distance. Use the link here and don’t forget to use Golfjourne365 as a discount code to save 10%.
Another excellent option is SwingMan golf. This monthly membership can help you gain 30-40 yards. Check them out here.
What about online golf lessons?
We believe that online golf lessons can be helpful. There are many great instructors that we now have access to because of the internet. Gone are the days of having to rely on your local professional or the major golf publications to improve at golf.
Many of these instructors provide online viewing of your swing through video and monthly memberships. The best one we can recommend for seniors can be found here.
We also provide you with our top 5 online golf instructors here. These five can help you improve greatly.
Also, how to maximize your online golf lesson experience is discussed here
Who is our Top Online Golf Instructor?
While we love many on our top 5 list, we must give it up for Shawn Clement. He is simply refreshing and has more of a target based approach vs a positional based approach. This target based approach is refreshing and takes out the paralysis stage we can get into by trying to hit different positions in our golf swing.
Check out our complete Shawn Clement review, here. My goal is to one day take an in person golf lesson with him up in Canada. I believe he is ground breaking and can help just about any golfer.
He is worth checking out. Quick tidbit on Shawn Clement…he can play golf at scratch level both righty and lefty. If you are a lefty golfer who wants a lefty teacher, he might be perfect for you!
How expensive is a golf lesson?
Golf lessons can range greatly in price. You can expect to pay anywhere from between $50 an hour all the way up to $500 per hour. It often depends on the person giving the lesson.
George Gankas, the hottest teacher on the planet, can demand a high rate, while your local golf professional might be on the lower end. Looking at many factors can influence what is right for you. Something to consider:
- What is your budget
- What is your level of seriousness
- How much time do you have to practice after the lesson
- Are you looking to play at your highest level or just want to play better recreationally
Once again, ask around and get some reviews and recommendations on the different options that fit your budget.
Are golf lessons necessary?
If you are a beginner I would highly recommend a golf lesson. If you are a high level player trying to get to the next level, I would also recommend finding the best possible instructor you can get to and afford.
For the mid level player, I would consider a 2-3 day golf school for those seeking some time with their buddies and a time to get better.
Take Action…
Create a plan to help you get better at golf. This might include how much time you can practice each week and where you want to spend your time.
I would recommend spending at least 50% of that time on the short game for the quickest results. A part of this plan should be whether or not you want some professional advice. If you want to get your game to the next level, go for it.
Just make sure you do your research and you know what quality you are getting. Other quality golfers in your area will have their opinions, seek them out to see who is the best locally.
Consider what packages they offer and consider buying a package of lessons versus just one at a time. This can help the golf professional better plan for your improvement over time and possibly save you some money up front.
Getting a golf lesson or package is a commitment and takes time and money. Make sure you are all in.
Also, check out our series on getting to the next level. We have many posts to help you enjoy the game more by helping your improve.
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.