What if lessons don't help?

I have to agree that a slice is caused by a swing flaw, and/or loss of control. An open club face to path the club head is taking, or cutting across the ball are usually the culprits. It is my opinion that that the hands, and arms control the club head through impact. If there is not enough strength in those parts of the body, it would be hard to control the club head through impact. Proper golf muscle structure in all parts of the body, will allow control, while achieving distance with out the need to over swing. Leg strength should not be forgotten either.

As far as golf muscles are concerned, they as a group enhance flexibility, and technique, which means a golfer can swing easy, and still generate acceptable distances, while swinging with control. GJS.

You are probably trying to hard.
Check out Andrew Mowatt"s 1st timer lessons with Zara and Lawleigh
www.bogeystobirdies.com.au/DVD

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Stick with the instruction. Sometimes it seems counter-intuitive. Also do HIS drills so you can go back and show results. If you mix with other drills from a magazine etc it might make matters worse.

jeeze, this poor man probably has about 100 different thoughts in his head now.

Just flamin play and have fun!

Thanks, everyone, for all the good posts. I have a lot to think about.
In two days, I will play golf for the first time on a "real" golf course. My swing will be what it is. I will make it my goal to have fun.

In the last few days I have improved my swing quite a bit. I have been doing the drills my instructor recommended. The single biggest help was his suggestion that I use a wooded wedge (he gave me one) under my right heel to keep my weight from shifting too far back which causes me to sway backwards. Also helpful was the advice to bring the club back slower and not try to kill the ball.

I played again the par 3 course and while my score was not good, I was happy with how I played. Not too many bad shots, mostly midjudged shots - hit a little too far or too short, or to the left or right. Had a few of the classics like a pitch from the rough that went about 2 feet and stayed in the rough because I hit under the ball. My putting was not great either but the greens there are very very fast (artificial turf). Even got par on one hole because I put it on the green from the tee. I also had two other tee shots bounce on the green and roll off, although one I never found so I think it bounced into the woods. These are the challenges I expected and can enjoy because I can try something to improve and have confidence that whatever I try will have some effect, unlike before when no matter what I tried I got a big slice or a ground ball.

I have been experimenting with all the advice I've gotten here but it is too much for one week.

I will clear my head and play golf to have fun.

Thanks, again, and keep posting as you think of more advice. I really do appreciate it.

Ken

I have had 3 lessons, with different instructors, over the last 5 years or so. They have all told me to hold the club differently, stand differently, swing differently. When they do it, the ball is struck sweetly. When I do it, it's hit and miss. Im not sure what to do anymore, when all is going ok during a round, it's fine, but if the wheels fall off then im chopping and changing between what the instructors have told me, and it's a deperate bid to try and get something to work.

I am now dubious about going back to a pro, even another completely differfent one, as no doubt they would teach me another whole new way!

I would respectfully suggest that three lessons with different instructors over 5 years is not nearly enough to make any difference to your golf.

You must be prepared to give it a go and have at least a series of six lessons from the Pro. When I started playing golf I had around 80 in the first year, after many years I still have a lesson around once a month.

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Brian

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Hi Ken,

Been there, done that. You are filling your head with too many possibilities and options. The more you think about the problem the worse it will get.Eight weeks playing golf is like asking a new born baby to talk. You need to decide on one issue and that is persist with the lessons. and even with taking a few lessons, dont expect magic results immediately. This game is recognised as being the hardest in the world to learn. when you get to understand the basics such as grip posture stance etc you will be well on the road to improvement. After this you will become confident enough to go a stage further and work on distance and direction. "Feel" and timing are other points which will happen for you through practice. So keep going and persist at the lessons. It is definitely the first step to an enjoyable game.

Cheers,
Robert

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Which book is Mr3856 referring to? That link is outdated and I searched @ amazon for harvey pennick and came up with several results, thanks.

I'd assume it's "The little red book"

it's got a lot of tips, quite a good read.

I'd suggest something like David Ledbetters Fundamentals of Hogan as a first book if you're starting out.

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"Events, dear boy, Events" - Harold MacMillan

Actually I started out 2 years ago and I wanted to focus on the short game mainly so I bought the short game bible. Unfortunately that is probably the worst part of my game. I really like pelz's books but I dont really have the time to practice to implement them. I use what I can. But living in an apartment It's not so convenient for me to practice his system as much as I would like.

FWIW, I clicked on the amazon book link and it worked. The book is indeed
Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime of Golf (Paperback)

I enjoy it very much and have read it about 4 times in the last 6 months.

Ken

As the one who started this thread I thought I should give an update.

I played twice on *real* golf courses last October. Both were best ball formats. I enjoyed myself on the first one and was pleased with how I played. The second time was a disaster -- I played poorly, let my frustration get the best of me and was ready to quit the game. Fortunately I got some encouragement from friends and have stuck with it. I immersed myself in golf for the past few months -- golf magazines, books, videos, putting practice (the boomerang) and am getting some perspective on the game. I played a few more times on par 3 courses and was pleased with my game.

I played a full 18 hole course recently and was not happy with my game. I guess this is how it will go -- up and down.

I took a lesson from a different pro and liked her teaching style and advice. Unfortunately, she is not local for me so I will only be able to get a lesson from her once or twice a year.

While at the driving range today I ran into my old instructor. He watched me for a few minutes and gave me a free mini lesson. I tried what he said and it made a small improvement in the pitching I was practicing. Maybe there is hope for me and for lessons after all.

Yeah I am the same. I like playing my par 3 course, I shot a 68 at it this weekend. Then feeling confident, I went out the next day to a brand new course (for me) and just sucked. Granted I was sorta egged into playing from the back tees by the group I was playing with (low handicappers and course regulars). I will never again let people influence me into playing from tees I am just not good enough for again. It's a whole different ball game going to usually picking from a 7-pw for a 2nd shot on a par 4 to 3-6 iron.

Even if you've kept your lessons up and you're off scratch in ten years time, you'll still be moaning about your swing.

Golf's not a game you can master in a lifetime, never mind a couple of months.

Hi,
You say you are very tall,well there are certain faults attached to tall golfers.One of them is, they try to get back to the ball too quick from the top of the swing.If you watch tall pros their swings are noticeably more slower and smoother.Also a tall player has to concentrate on coming into the ball on a wider shallower swing plane, and try to maintain that through the ball along the target line.
Another very important thing as with smaller golfers as well, is the lie of the clubs.
Like they say in Hollywood "If you have the talent and the ambition you cannot fail".so practice it is.