Topping EVERYTHING!!

I know. It's impossible to solve swing issues on the web w/o video. I'm new and more wanted to see if others share my frustration than anything else (looking for encouragement?).
I have had a few lessons so far and after the first, he solved my ball-topping by giving me a proper set-up. After a few rounds of getting a solid piece of each hit, and seeing real improvement, I went back to work on adding some power, and therefore, distance. EVERYTHING I hit was straight, but significantly shorter than my friends. He showed me that I was twisting my hips WAY too far back, and not developing any wind up in my spine. What I ended up doing was trying to rotate my body back, unstead of simply releasing the tension. In practice, I saw IMMEDIATE improvement of distance with no loss of accuracy. Once again I was stoked.
In the 2 rounds since, I have topped almost every hit. I get NO loft out of ANYTHING I hit. Yesterday I couldn't even get out of a bunker.
My only question/comment is this: Is it reasonable to make "good" changes, only to see a temporary dip in performance, but once it's worked out I'll be playing better than ever? I used to do Triathlon, and distance swimming is that way. i.e. high elbow feels wierd at first, but once used to it, better rotate follows and speed is improved (but it sucks at first).
If someone could reassure me that this is the nature of the game and it's not hopeless to see it come back around.
Cheers,
Michael

Dear Michael,

I know it can be confusing when starting out in golf with many swing thoughts in your head, when things seem to go backwards it causes disappointment and frustration, keep working at it and it will get better.

I suggest that you focus on some rudimentary items that will help you acquire some confidence and increase your enjoyment of the game.

Start by going to a driving range and working on a few foundations that will help, don't just try to hit as far as possible with your driver, use a 7 iron. I suggest the following:

Setup: posture, grip and alignment.

Tempo: A smooth and fairly slow swing to start with, don't try to hit the ball too far, instead try to make good contact. Don't try to kill the ball as distance will soon come on it's own.

Swingpath: work on the club approaching the ball from a slightly inside to out path.

Your topping is probably due to you not transferring your weight to your front foot on the downswing and/or straightening your legs and spine angle, make sure you are hitting down onto the back of the ball with your irons and taking a shallow divot just after it.

That's enough for now and remember "Only Perfect practice makes perfect"

Good Luck
Brian

Hang in there Micheal thats golf. It sounds as if your raising up in your swing some where. It will come back around, just stay after it. Have fun