Are Golf Lessons Worth It? Do You Really Need Lessons?
Are Golf Lessons Worth It? You’re probably going to hate my answer – IT DEPENDS!
The reason being is it completely depends on the golfer. Ask yourself what type of golfer you are?
- Beginner/High Handicap
- Intermediate (11-18)
- Junior (5-11)
- Senior (0-4)
Beginner/High Handicap (18+)
If you are a beginner golfer, Yes, golf lessons are worth the money. If you are a beginner golfer or maybe thinking of starting, you should 100% get golf lessons. Golf lessons for beginners are so important. Why so? Well, it stops you from creating bad habits from the beginning.
I’m guessing you have at least attempted to hit a few shots. In almost every case, evert beginner will make some kind of major swing fault like a bad grip, posture, ball position, the list is endless. The longer you continue to do these bad habits, the harder it is to stop. It’s like smoking, the longer you do, it becomes a habit that gets even harder to quit.
The Grip
The grip for example. The grip is by far the hardest thing in golf to change, but probably the most important to have right. If you ask any golfer the hardest thing to change, the majority would say the grip. It connects the whole swing. If you don’t feel comfortable, your whole swing wont feel comfortable. Lower handicap golfers especially will go to many lengths to avoid changing their grip, as they will have played with it for years.
Golf lessons for beginners will walk you through what’s called the fundamentals of golf. Your golf coach will show you how to grip the club correctly, the correct posture, ball position. Once these are in place, you are in a good position for a good golf swing. The majority of major swing faults come from the set up, so it’s crucial to get them right.
Do Not Ask A Friend To Teach You
I can’t stress enough for beginners to get golf lessons. Don’t ask your buddy to teach you. Let someone who know’s what they are doing teach you right from the beginning. Trust me, you will thank me later.
The same going for high handicap golfers. In order to lower your handicap, you will need to get some golf lessons to fix any major swing issues and focus on core swing fundamentals. Once these are in place, you can narrow your focus and practice different aspects of your game like short game, irons, driving etc.
Intermediate (11-18)
Are Golf Lessons Worth The Money? For Intermediate golfers it can depend a little. If you are an Intermediate golfer(11-18) handicap, often times a few simple tweaks can make a massive difference to your swing and scores.
It’s not uncommon for 15 handicap golfers to drop to single figures in a year, simply from lessons. It happened to me. I was 16 years old a the time, playing off 17. I wasn’t a bad golfer, but knew I could improve.
Our club were playing in a youth match play tournament. It was my first experience at competitive golf. Anyway, our club set us up with a workshop with the club pro. Like a group lesson.
He worked with us in a group, but individually as well. Up until this point, I never had a lesson in my life. I was nursing a slice at the time, quiet common for most beginners.
After lesson 1 of the workshop, the club pro said I have what’s called a ‘Weak Grip’. No joke, at the time I thought he meant I was holding the club too lightly.
If you don’t know what the grip terms are , read this article HERE.
The club pro showed me how to grip the club in a more neutral position. It felt so uncomfortable at first, but after hitting a couple baskets of balls, I got used it. Before I knew it, my slice turned into a beautiful baby fade.
That same year I went from a 17 handicap to a 7 handicap. To be fair, I lived in that golf course that summer and played as much I could. I was golf mad. But a small change in my swing made this happen.
So in this example, if you asked my 16 year old self, are golf lessons worth it? I would say YES.
Junior (5-11)
If you are in the single figure bracket, but not at senior level yet (0-4), I would look at every aspect of your game.
Is there something in your game that is costing you a lot of shots each round? Is it something that can be improved with practice, or is it actually a major issue? For example a nasty snap hook (quiet common for better golfers)
Consistency Issues
One of the biggest problems with junior handicap golfers is that consistency is often an issue. They are well able to go par plenty holes, through in a few birdies, but there’s always that double or triple bogey that can ruin the card. Once a high score like that hits your card, it’s hard to come back from with so few shots as it is.
What is causing that high score? Is it usually the same problem?
For example a lost tee shot out of bounds, 3 putting, missed up and downs. It could be anything, but you need to find out what it is.
If you read on, I have recommended a few training aids that will can help you with some swing issues you may be having.
Senior (0-4)
Are golf lessons worth the money for low handicappers? It depends here again. Personally I think every single figure golfer should get at least 1-2 lessons a year.
The Pros get lessons every year, with the exception of Bubba Watson. Who says he never had a golf lesson in his life.
Low handicap golfers are very good golfers. In many cases are more than capable to shooting level par or under.
Get Lessons If You Are 4 & Under
I do think that if you are playing between 0-4 you need to get some golf lessons. To make sure you don’t break into any habits that can affect your game.
There could be small tweaks that can be made in order that can improve your game even more to get you to the next level.
Many players in this category can be a little worried about going for lessons, as they are afraid the coach wants to make too many changes.
The Golf Pro might want them to change some aspect of their swing that makes them feel uncomfortable. This is completely understandable.
However, if you feel there is something in your game that requires improvement, I would focus on that part of your game only.
I’d take note of your golf stats like fairways hit, GIR, up and downs, putts per round. Is there a place where you could improve? I’d maybe look for some coach who’s well known for these types of lessons.
Use A Golf App or GPS GPS Watch For Tracking Stats To Find Weaknesses In Your Game
Alternatives To Golf Lessons
There’s a few alternatives to golf lessons available to golfers right now. Golf training aids & Swing Analyzers can be cost affect alternatives to getting lessons.
If you know there is an issue with your swing, there are usually training aids out there that focus on that particular swing fault.
I did an article earlier this year with my ‘Best Golf Training Aids'(Review Here).
If you had to ask me right now, what are the best golf training aids to buy, I would recommend 2.
- The SKLZ Golf Flex Training (Review Here)
- Eyeline Speed Trap (Review Here)
If you are a low handicap golfer, and understand the core swing fundamentals, a golf swing analyser could be your alternative to getting golf lessons.
Some of the better swing analyzers available will show you key swing metrics like swing speed, tempo, swing plain, club face angle etc. This info can show you where you are going wrong.
I did a post on the ‘Best Golf Swing Analysers’, you can find that Review Here.
There’s a number of great option available to you. I like the following swing analysers.
- Zepp 3D (Sp)
- Sky Caddie Pro (Sp)
SKLZ Golf Flex Training
The SKLZ Gold Flex Trainer is both a training aid and warm up tool. The Gold Flex Swing Trainer focusses on the key swing movements, timing and rhythm. Timing and rhythm are some of the most important things in golf. With good timing and rhythm, you will have improved ball striking and consistency.
It’s longer than your normal club at 48″, with a whippie shaft and heavy ball at the end. The heavy ball and whippie shaft, create a pendulum type of swing, that swing naturally. It’s very hard to fight this swing plain or speed, creating a natural swing in perfect timing and rhythm.
Personally I struggle with my rhythm and tempo. I used to swing very fast, which is fine, but I take the club back too fast and at the top of the swing start the downswing too early and fast. Because of this I struggled with timing and tempo. This led to inconsistency and bad shots.
I got lessons for this issue before, and what my coach did was tell me to pause at the top of the swing for 3 seconds. If you swung the club as fast I did, this felt like a lifetime.
A training aid he couldn’t recommend enough was the SKLZ Golf Flex Swing Trainer. It’s quiet cheap also, so I said I’d give it a try.
I was blown away with the results. The training aid really helped me fine tune my swing tempo and rhythm. Because of this my distance, ball striking and more importantly consistency improved dramatically. An amazing training aid I urge you to consider.
I was skeptical at first but when my golf coach recommended it and the heaps of amazing reviews I read on Amazon; I knew this was no gimmick. If it works for 1000’s of everyday golfers, it must be worth a try.
So, if you know your swing tempo is and issue, maybe try the SKLZ Gold Flex rather than getting some lessons.
Read My Full SKLZ Golf Flex Review HERE, and Buy It Online HERE
Eyeline Speed Trap
I like simplicity in training aids. Easy to use but effective. The Eyeline Speed Trap is both of those things. The Speed Trap is designed to help golfers with their swing path and ball striking. A good swing path, leads to straighter and longer golf shots. Something we all desire.
The idea behind it is so simple, but works brilliantly. The base has 4 angled speed rods that are placed on each corner of the plate. What is does is force you to swing between the rods. If you swing from in-to-out(Draw/Hook) or out-to-in(Fade/Slice), you will hit the foam rods.
One of the most common problems golfers suffer from is slicing the ball. This is especially true if you’re a beginner. A slice is usually caused due to the golfers swing plane. For example, slicing the golf ball would be caused by an out-to-in swing path. Inevitably resulting in a high left to right ball flight(for right hand golfers).
The Speed trap can help fix this swing issue. The speed trap can help you swing with an in-to-out swing path, this will help you draw the ball, fighting your sliced golf shot.
The speed trap is fairly cheap, less than the cost of a lesson. If you are a person who hooks or slices the golf ball, maybe give this a try. You may find it’s worth getting this rather than getting golf lessons.
Check Out The Upgraded Eyeline Speed Trap 2.0 on Amazon HERE.
Zepp 3D Swing Analyzer
The Zepp 3D is so easy to set up. Everything is done via an app. Download the app and pair with your smartphone, and you’re ready to go.
The device is tiny. It clips to your golf glove and collects your data from there. This is great as you don’t need any club attachments like the Sky Caddie or Garmin TruSwing.
Zepp 3D offers some very comprehensive data like swing plane, swing speed, tempo and more.
But what’s really cool about this device is that you can set swing goals, and compare your swing to those goals. It will analyse the swing metrics and show how you are performing towards those goals.
For example, you are battling a hook. You want to start hitting a face. You can set an out to in swing path (fade) as your swing goal. This would mean you could fix your swing without the need for golf lessons.
The Zepp 3d allows you to record your golf swing and match to your swing data. So, if you hit a great shot, the data looks good, you can view the actual footage of the swing to see what you are doing right.
So, if you were getting lessons from your coach, I would consider getting this swing analyzer. If your coach gives you drills or tips to do. You can perform these while practicing before your next session and show your coach the swing data you have.
You Can Find The Zepp 3D For Sale Online HERE
SkyCaddie Pro Swing Analyzer
The SkyPro is a different style of swing analyzer compared to the Zepp 3D. It’s a device that you attach to the shaft of your golf club, just below the grip. As you swing the club it collects data points and key swing metrics via Bluetooth and sends the info to your smartphone.
SkyCaddie actually does your golf coaches job for you. It will highlight your swing faults for you. For example poor swing path, face angle at impact, etc.
Not only that, SkyCaddie actually gives you tips and drills how to fix those issues, using what they call a “checkpoint system’.
The SkyCaddie Pro is a great training aid to consider if you don’t like getting golf lessons or find golf lessons expensive.
You can find the SkyCaddie Pro online HERE
Stress Free Golf Swing
You are wondering are golf lessons worth it. From my post above, you can undertstand that it can depend on the golfer.
But if you are not a fan of training aids or maybe think golf lessons are too expensive, you should try the Stress Free Golf Swing by Jeff Richmond.
Jeff created a brilliant eBook that teaches you to mimic probably the greatest swing of all time – Ben Hogan.
I won’t go into too many details here, but if you are wondering if golf lessons are worth it and a little too expensive, this inexpensive eBook could save you a fortune in lessons.
You can find some results from these golfers HERE