Use your lessons wisely….

You guys pay good money for your lessons, and you shop around to get the best deal you can, but then you, in my opinion do not take full advantage of them, even go as far as wasting your money….

Booking an 8pm lesson because that is your only free time is fine, but rushing from the office, after a long and stressful day is not going to be the best way to hit your best shots..

After sitting at a desk for 9+ hours your back and shoulder muscles are going to be tight, most likely after all the typing your wrists and forearms will be sore, your eyes maybe painful, but you still expect to hit great shot after shot…

The timimg cannot be helped if that is your only available time, but you can prepare better…

This is a typical lesson senerio I get too often…

Lesson time 7PM…

Student arrives 705PM rushing…

Goes to bathroom…

Changes into golf shoes….

Goes to get balls…

Range card empty has to go to office to top up…

Starts to stretch and warm up…

It is now 720PM…. I have another student at 8pm, I cannot over run lesson so you now have basically a 30 minute session.

Some advise to make your lessons more benifical…

Arrive 15 minutes early…

Get your balls first, so if card is low you can top up quickly

Warm up before your lesson, you have paid for an hour, be ready to go so you get your hour..

Have a drink and snack on hand so you don’t have to leave half way through to stand in the café queue.

Have your rubber tee on hand so you don’t have to go through every pocket in your golf bag to find it.

Know what you are going to be working on, if you know you are having a bunker lesson… bring your Sand Iron… Don’t just bring 1 club because that is what you used last week.

There is more but this is a good start…

Your success dictates our success, we want you to be great players as that makes us look good, but so many things are out of our control…


Plan your lesson and get your moneys worth….. hope this helps a bit...

Wise words.....Thanks so much

u mean ppl dont do that???

I still show up 30 minutes before my lesson, warm up in my pro's bay and hope that he gives me free 15 mins before official time... hiakzhiakz...

if kiwi doesn't mind... i got another few wise words...

take time to range and practise after your lessons to grind your new knowledge in... otherwise it will not be long until you find yourself making the same mistakes all over again...

SH, more and more such students??


This is so common and dun think this will stop, to them golf start when the lesson starts so they only do things related to golf when the lesson start.

They also dun really see it the same as the pros or the more serious ones.... To us, this is like going to a school for lesson and have to be ready to start on time.

Reminded me of my 'O' level exams prep...

You are preaching to a culture in which punctuality is not a norm. But I agree with everything you said. Last night I had a dinner appt at 7pm but my contact arrived at close to 8pm. He is a Singaporean who lives in Bangkok for past 16 years and his time concept has been changed by Thai's rubber time.

Very often I have to face flight mates arriving golf reception on the dot of tee off time, and usually I will not invite him to golf again, or turn donw their invitations.

Lessons time is theirs. If they waste it, you still get your fees.

Quote :

mUAr_cHEe wrote:

if kiwi doesn't mind... i got another few wise words...

take time to range and practise after your lessons to grind your new knowledge in... otherwise it will not be long until you find yourself making the same mistakes all over again...

Sigh...now only you tell me. I reaally need to revisit my range phobia syndrome

freedrop wrote:

Lessons time is theirs. If they waste it, you still get your fees.

you are right but that is the point, if the person does not improve it makes me look bad.... And I hate that!

Great post SH

This scenario you describe sounds very familiar

Can I just add this advise "turn off your phones" please

I have a student that spends at least 15 minutes of his lesson on his phone. It rings at least 10 times during the hour. Damn irritating and his attention is not on the task at hand. Yep, he is wasting his money

And yes, we dont do it for the fee, its about our students getting better

mUAr_cHEe wrote:

if kiwi doesn't mind... i got another few wise words.....

I don't mind MooreChee, if anyone has any wise words add them in....

I also have something else to point out if you want to benefit and max out your lessons.

Most golfers sign up for a package of lessons, say 5 lessons.
They would attend their lessons on week 1, after all the knowledge they have learnt from that lesson, their next practise session would also be their next lesson with their coach in week 2, so on and so forth in week 3 etc..

They do not practise on what they have been taught thus not being able to improve.
It is just a waste of the golfer's time and money. Golf is a very punishing sport, you do not play well or consistently enough if you do not practise.

This is what I actually do when I have coaching.
Ill turn up for the 1st lesson, learn as much as I can to improve my swing.
I will work on the drills and my swing till I "master" what I was taught in my 1st lesson before I make an appointment for my 2nd lesson. By then, I will be working on new things.
It is like doing your homework.

Hope this is helpful.

darenlim wrote:

I also have something else to point out if you want to benefit and max out your lessons.

Most golfers sign up for a package of lessons, say 5 lessons.
They would attend their lessons on week 1, after all the knowledge they have learnt from that lesson, their next practise session would also be their next lesson with their coach in week 2, so on and so forth in week 3 etc..

They do not practise on what they have been taught thus not being able to improve.
It is just a waste of the golfer's time and money. Golf is a very punishing sport, you do not play well or consistently enough if you do not practise.

This is what I actually do when I have coaching.
Ill turn up for the 1st lesson, learn as much as I can to improve my swing.
I will work on the drills and my swing till I "mastered" what I was thought in my 1st lesson before I make an appointment for my 2nd lesson. By then, I will be working on new things.
It is like doing your homework.

Hope this is helpful.

Will you go for games and implement what you've practiced afterward ? after mastering the technique, you'll go for 2nd lesson ?

Well said Daren

Very helpful and I think the mods should give you a red name.

Its great to have a forum member passing on knowledge who has gone through the process of lessons and achieved success.

As you say golf is punishing and takes years of training to get good. 1 hour on the range with your coach each week for 10 lessons is not gonna be enough. Plenty of quality practice is required as well as applying the new techniques on the course. The course is made of grass with different slopes and lies, its not a rubber mat and a level surface. On top of that is the short game, mental game and course management

Its not just practice with the right way that is important, sometimes we may think we are swinging our swing as we remembered, however, our bodies are not doing exactly as we feel it is doing.

What may feel right in our swing, may actually be lots of mistakes that can be picked out by a coach. Its very hard to diagnose your own swing. Use a coach!

daveaha wrote:

darenlim wrote:

I also have something else to point out if you want to benefit and max out your lessons.

Most golfers sign up for a package of lessons, say 5 lessons.
They would attend their lessons on week 1, after all the knowledge they have learnt from that lesson, their next practise session would also be their next lesson with their coach in week 2, so on and so forth in week 3 etc..

They do not practise on what they have been taught thus not being able to improve.
It is just a waste of the golfer's time and money. Golf is a very punishing sport, you do not play well or consistently enough if you do not practise.

This is what I actually do when I have coaching.
Ill turn up for the 1st lesson, learn as much as I can to improve my swing.
I will work on the drills and my swing till I "mastered" what I was thought in my 1st lesson before I make an appointment for my 2nd lesson. By then, I will be working on new things.
It is like doing your homework.

Hope this is helpful.

Will you go for games and implement what you've practiced afterward ? after mastering the technique, you'll go for 2nd lesson ?

Yes, I will still practise what I was taught at my social games. that is the only way where I can implement and put them into actual scenarios. It is okay if I play bad as my long term goal is to improve and play better consistently.

Normally, coaches will give you drills to work on your swing so it is about working on the drills.
for eg, bring your club back squarely. Once you are efficient in this, you are able to move on to lesson 2, maybe bring the club down on plane.

shorthitter wrote:

freedrop wrote:

Lessons time is theirs. If they waste it, you still get your fees.

you are right but that is the point, if the person does not improve it makes me look bad.... And I hate that!

I can understand that, if I see from your perspective.

What can the coach do to solve this issue??

As someone who has just completed his beginner course, I can say that the weekly lessons are really not enough to learn everything taught during that 1 hour session.

I personally experience the biggest improvements during range practice after lessons. It is the most ideal when the coach watches me swing and then points out my mistakes. So I've been trying to time my own practice sessions to when he is not too busy with other students. At my level, I need all the swing advice I can get from pros and experts.

Quote :

weesern wrote:

What can the coach do to solve this issue??

I kind of link this to tution centres.....all tutors will like to have the chance to coach a true student ie really really want to be the Best is yet to Be attitude...and back it up with discipline.

All in all, somebody needs to give such student a reality check....one suggestion is to benchmarking.......

But I do hve to owe up....benchmarking has its flaws too.....coz long long time ago, I suan my fren " train so much..still like tat '.......and then he gave up golf. This had greatly affected me,, coz I have to pay greenfees in full fm then on.....

Right_sided_coach wrote:

Great post SH

This scenario you describe sounds very familiar

Can I just add this advise "turn off your phones" please

I have a student that spends at least 15 minutes of his lesson on his phone. It rings at least 10 times during the hour. Damn irritating and his attention is not on the task at hand. Yep, he is wasting his money

And yes, we dont do it for the fee, its about our students getting better

Good point mate, I (and I know most good Pro's) will not answer their phone during lessons.. I may send an SMS informing caller that I will call back, but chatting is a nono....

Lizardman wrote:

As someone who has just completed his beginner course, I can say that the weekly lessons are really not enough to learn everything taught during that 1 hour session.

I personally experience the biggest improvements during range practice after lessons. It is the most ideal when the coach watches me swing and then points out my mistakes. So I've been trying to time my own practice sessions to when he is not too busy with other students. At my level, I need all the swing advice I can get from pros and experts.

The beginner lessons IMO are not to make you Pro... they are to introduce you too all aspects of the game.. Swing, chipping, pitching, putting etc.

If you practice between lessons, and practice properly, you surely can become very profecient, but if your practice is during your next lesson, or if you go to the range and listen to your friends and not do the prescribed drills from your coach then yes you will struggle.

shorthitter wrote:

Lizardman wrote:

As someone who has just completed his beginner course, I can say that the weekly lessons are really not enough to learn everything taught during that 1 hour session.

I personally experience the biggest improvements during range practice after lessons. It is the most ideal when the coach watches me swing and then points out my mistakes. So I've been trying to time my own practice sessions to when he is not too busy with other students. At my level, I need all the swing advice I can get from pros and experts.

The beginner lessons IMO are not to make you Pro... they are to introduce you too all aspects of the game.. Swing, chipping, pitching, putting etc.

If you practice between lessons, and practice properly, you surely can become very profecient, but if your practice is during your next lesson, or if you go to the range and listen to your friends and not do the prescribed drills from your coach then yes you will struggle.

this is so true!