The majority of newcomers and 'improvers' to the game of golf probably toy with the idea of taking lessons from a professional.
The most important things a golfer wishes to learn are correct posture, grip, alignment and the golf swing itself. These are essential to every shot played in golf.
Every person who plays golf wants to shoot a low score, but they often find themselves with a handicap that hovers in a certain range for a long period of time.
It is rare that someone drastically improves his or her game just by playing more often. Practicing at a driving range may help, but you are caught in the quandary of having to self-asses what you are doing right and wrong.
When many golfers decide to take the game seriously, they should seek out professional instructors for private golf lessons. Golf instructors teach multiple types of standard shots, including driving, fairway shots, approaches, chipping, putting, and sand-shots.
Advanced instruction can teach techniques such as controlling the "shape" of the shot, controlling loft, ball-stopping and spinning, playing off uneven ground or sidehill lies, and trouble shots such as hitting out of the woods.
Consistent practice sessions are essential to the improvement of the beginner golfer. BUT, players need to have a full understanding of WHAT they are trying to do and HOW to practice. Beating golf balls aimlessly does NO good and ONLY ingrains poor habits.
A qualified instructor such as Dave Carr, PGA teaching professional at Teal Bend Golf Course in Sacramento, CA, works within the abilities of the individual student’s style. HE feels it is best to find what they do best and improve on those areas. “Everyone’s different and you can’t make them into something they are not”. Dave’s philosophy is to keep it basic, simple and fun. Their advancement depends on the amount of time spent at the course and the range. There are things you can’t change for golfers: body type, time available, previous injuries, etc. Dave is very confident that lessons with a PGA teaching professional can help all types of golfers.
Dave feels the easiest area to make immediate improvement is in putting and chipping. It is the area that most golfers need help and improvement. This is a great starting point for all golfers. It is the “money area” in everyone’s golf game. Remember you “drive for show, putt for dough”. This area is also the least athletic area in golf so a great place to begin for those new to golf to learn the mechanics and have some success. The area most golfers, beginning and established, have is the desire to “grip it and rip it”. When you put the driver in their hands they want to overswing and come out of their shoes to hit the ball as far as they think they can. This puts them out of balance and with too much tension. To get people to see the clubs in their hands are called to do the work and that they don’t have to overpower the ball.
Beginning golfers tend to have frustration set in when they don’t see the results they expect as soon as they expect. Dave Carr says they need to see golf as a game of time. This is a journey, not a destination. Unless you are playing and practicing 4-5 times a week, you are not going to be making all the strides of a scratch golfer. Golf is a sport that requires attention and patience. The results are never as fast as most desire or expect them. Beginners also underestimate the importance of fundamentals. It is critical to beginners to learn before trying it on the course. You are not going to teach yourself out on the course. As a golfer improves and finds the small areas of improvement, he/ she should take a playing lesson with the pro. Dave says that can be just what the advanced player needs to work on the struggle areas they see on the course. This can be help with course management, emotions and risk/ reward.
Some goals Dave gave for every golfer is to improve every year at all skill levels. To keep moving forward and learning about the game they play. For those new to the game: take lessons, get your game under control and gain the confidence to play with others and enjoy it. The average golfer should work with a PGA teaching professional and learn how to score a little. The goal should be to average bogey golf and work on their short game. The skilled golfer should find what it takes to get to the next level. This is the fine tuning a playing lesson with a teaching professional will bring. Some areas to look to improve are the short game, consistency and the time you make to play. What ever your level of play, a PGA teaching professional such as Dave Carr, will be able to help you achieve the goals you wish to achieve with practice and patience.