whats stopping you from seeing a coach or a custom fitter??

every few months.... see the same old theme

whats the best driver, best putter or best clubs for my game?

or why i keep slicing or keep hooking? pls help....


i dun know abt u guys.... but if i sick, i go see doctor, tell him/her my symptoms n get the rite medicine



is it expensive to see a coach/fitter nowadays?

some people like to go Polyclinics or GP or Specialist or Mount E to see doctor. and there are people who like to self medicate for cheaper alternative. until they found they had took wrong medicines, only then they will see the real doctor. so yes, see the real doctor before too late.

There's always a doubt if the coach or fitter is not smoking you even if by recommendation.

There are discriminations and cheats out there, sad but true.

Slinger, I already gave up commenting in those posts. I don't know why they have such aversion to seeing a coach. Even if they had bad experiences with some, at least the ones we mentioned are worth seeing (like Jhan, Allen etc)
They rather spend money on ill-advised clubs and spend hours doing the wrong thing than spending a few hours with a good coach and find out what's the real problem and then fix it.

When I asked my golfing friends, why don't you go to a customer fitter to have the proper equipments? 

Their answers are all the same.   My swing is not good enough to get fitted.   I'm a high handicap golfer.  blablabla.

that's a common misconception about custom fitting thinking custom fitting is only good golfers.  

What they don't know, if they are using the wrong equipments, it will hurt their golfing experience.

do you recommend going to a custom fitter even if the golfer is a newbie (e.g. like me)?

It's the same thing......
Then it will be..who is the best coach, who is the best club fitter blah blah blah

I would be more concerned about lessons than fittings unless the equipment you have is totally unsuitable. A quick check with a qualified coach will be able to determine if what you have needs a change. A custom fitter isn't going to help you much if your swing is all over the place.

What else can we talk about in a golf forum?

I'm still in the middle of lessons and my swing speed and transition is still improving. I'm wondering if I should get fitted now or later. 

It doesn't feel like my equipments are holding me back in terms of getting a good hit, though I'm not sure whether it is ideal to get the maximum distance.

bkll wrote:

What else can we talk about in a golf forum?

Good point. Some people maybe already coached and fitted. Still itchy so just ask in forum.

i have completed all my lessons, took my CR and gotten my HCP with MGK

but, i am still not confident to visit a fitter. why? lack of confidence because of my inconsistency is one of the main reason for not visiting a fitter.

trying to make an appointment, since last year. but lacking the courage to. hahahahaha

oh, to add on, i don't change clubs every time, still sticking to my mizunos. they are good but i am not (yet) 

These are for people who think fitting is not as important as golf lesson. 

If your iron lie angle is not correct according to your posture, you will hook or slice a lot with your irons. 

If your shaft doesn't fit you, you will hook or slice a lot.

My advice is to learn the basic swing first.  At least capable of hitting 7 iron decently.   So golf lessons first.  Then fitting.

At least after you have been fitted, you cannot blame on the equipments.   

Source:
Personal experience

IMHO, there is no right or wrong sequence ...

Golf is a journey traveled differently. No one will go through the same path and achieve the same result.

Don't be so harsh la ... let them ask questions here. If you tired of answering, then let others answer.

Imagine a golf forum like this

Q: how to drive further
A: get a coach

Q: how to hit straight
A: get a coach

Q: how to not duff/top
A: get a coach

Q: how to score below 90
A: get a coach

Q: why i slice/hook
A: get a coach

etc
etc
etc 


Eventually, this forum will die ... because to every single questions about golf, the same answer applies ...

nothing wrong .. but just boring ....

just my 2 cents

What stop me from seeing a coach?
I believe I am the best coach for myself with a mirror and camera. Reason? I can do whatever the coach wants me to do but duff/shank the ball. How? cause I understand my body than he does. Why? Unless the coach watches me from behind for every single shot throughout my EVERY SINGLE range session and game or he is able to read my mind.
What encourage me from seeing a coach?
The will to improve from him and I must make sure I follow. How? embracing all tendencies at every stages as you improve parts by parts from your head swivel(top) to your weight shift(bottom). For example, if you are working first on less wrist more body, you may have more of a fade with a steeper arc. Embrace that and as you go to your driver, your coach will teach you how to swing more shallower to get that drive straight and high. 
What stop me from seeing a fitter?
No reasons for not going. But if there is one, I would say phobia of disappointment. You are already fitted but you still fail and most of the time is the driver problem. For me, if I am going to buy a driver, anything cheap and 460cc will do, normally will end up at 44.5 or 44 inch after I trim it. No point hoping a 300yard drive from a 10xmph SS. 
What encourage me to see a fitter?
For lie angles, SS gains, customized bag. I prefer a bag of 14 clubs with similar characteristics that I am able to hit it high and pure with the same effort I swing a headless club. Chances are the fitted clubs tend to end up longer in the bag compared to off the rack.
Nowadays, lie angles can be bend in fitting shops by tape measurement without simulator or swing radar. Off the rack irons most probably work fine as you cant be to far off from what suit you(e.g. suited for Regular end up in X-Stiff, 70g graphite end up in 130g steel). Even flexes fits SS in a range and only differs by a few hundred RPM of spin.

Poor eyesight.

Technospaz wrote:

Poor eyesight.

hahahhahaah. literal is as literal gets.

seen some beginners problem. even after some coaching lessons, they cannot even grip a club properly.

Perhaps some wanna save $ by sourcing for answers from forums. Or to save time and effort

Just like some parenting forums, ppl ask about if baby sick or got this sympton, what to do etc..?

literally, money issue.

Lessons:
120-150SGD for an hour ..its quite steep ! (not saying it is not worth that much)
especially that i am not a single digit so its not like i need only 1 hour every 6/12 months.
Few hours every few months would be more appropriate for me conditioning that the pro is really with you during an hour. So the budget required is a bit high.
If i dont reach a slump usually i can find the root cause since that i - and you also - have been absorbing lots of info you can find here forums internet magazines. it might not the best cures for myself but if i can understand my tendencies it already helps. (psychologically)

Club fitter
I went for lie adjustement for my current set, it did the trick for awhile, i need to check now its been awhile. My posture may have  changed a bit and/or the lie changed.
My thinking is buying thru fitter will have a premium cost and/or he/she may not carry some "brands" (heads/shafts) that i would be interested. But for the moment, i dont have any need to change anything. yet !
Sometimes i also felt some fitters may not be too interested in helping you on small things like grips of loft/lie because you are not a profitable customer. and that's not really making wants to go there if i need a fitting.

in brief, money is tough - if i had the budget i would definately go for lessons first. then fitting for lie/shafts if necessary
and i havent found  unfortunately THE bond with pro coach/fitter i have bumped into so far in terms of trust honesty understanding etc

Golf may be an "expensive" sport, but it does not mean it should not fit for everybody with different budget even if they love the game and wants to improve.

First off Kenny I'm not sure where you get the 120-150 SGD per hour.
The good coaches I know don't charge more than 100SGD. Granted it's still a decent sum.

The reason why I always say coaching first is because I've seen too many friends drop huge sums of money(my boss included) on expensive equipment and then still play 120. 

For my part I've paid for 2 sets of lessons with my current coach and it has garnered more improvement than a few $500+ drivers or $1000 irons if I had followed my friends. I think of myself as a slow learner and it took me 10 lessons before I understand my swing. Now I do not use the internet or magazines because I do not want to confuse myself any more. I stick to what my coach says and visit him every 2-3 weeks just to make sure I'm on the right track. And by doing that, I'm having fun on the greens every time I tee up rather than an exercise in frustration previously.

I'm thankful I've found a coach who's near my place and clicks well with me. No fancy bullshit from him and no hard selling as well. As for fitting, I've been to almost all the fitters and found a couple whom I click as well. And you're right on the money issue, I spent a bomb on golf this year but it's money well spent because I love it. And in the long run, these expenditure will last me for a long time.

maybe 1 of the reason might be;
worried of Kena "pian jiak kar coaches" around. Can play well doesn't mean can teach well,can teach well doesn't mean the individual can adapt to his/her teaching method..being said that definitely the beginning stage there still a need of "someone" to guide us through the same basic fundamental to build our own natural swing.

After all, Everything still goes back to the individual whether himself /herself put in effort , don't expect results if they don't even put in effort.

One thing that gets me hooked on golf is also that this sport/game can shows a person's personalities / character .

hiryu wrote:

First off Kenny I'm not sure where you get the 120-150 SGD per hour.
The good coaches I know don't charge more than 100SGD. Granted it's still a decent sum.

I'm thankful I've found a coach who's near my place and clicks well with me. No fancy bullshit from him and no hard selling as well. As for fitting, I've been to almost all the fitters and found a couple whom I click as well. And you're right on the money issue, I spent a bomb on golf this year but it's money well spent because I love it. And in the long run, these expenditure will last me for a long time.

A Teaching Pro from Seletar CC charges $120 per hour as far as I know ... But I can't comment if it is justifiable or not as I have not seen him teaches ... But a personal pal of mine said he is good and the amount he paid was justifiable ... It is therefore boiled down to the individual needs and definition of what makes a good swing coach ...

Golf noob wrote:

maybe 1 of the reason might be;
worried of Kena "pian jiak kar coaches" around. Can play well doesn't mean can teach well,can teach well doesn't mean the individual can adapt to his/her teaching method..being said that definitely the beginning stage there still a need of "someone" to guide us through the same basic fundamental to build our own natural swing ...

Yes, to be honest, I have seen a somewhat "pian jiak" coach in action in OCC range ... I noticed that he did not even correct a student wrong swing plane, proper weight shift and to use the core to swing (he only taught him to use his arms to flick at the ball like smashing a badminton racket against a shuttle cock) ... Obviously too armsy ... lacks power and consistency ...

Sometimes when u think back it's so funny, we got so crazy spending so much learning and buying equipments over to get the "small golf ball" flying ...hahaha like 22 humans in a soccer field just to snatch and brings a ball into the net...