Sorry, beg to differ. First off, one lesson ain't going to do it. Just having one lesson, changing almost everything and expect a miracle just won't happen.

I'm 66 now. After a long layoff from golf, (only playing once in a while for 10-20 yrs) I came back at age 60. I played with my old set, was all over the place. Had to buy new game improvement equipment, what a difference, but ball striking wasn't really where I want it to be, distance too so I'm taking lessons to get better.

The swing and equipment has changed so much now, watching Senior PGA circuit you can see that all Pros have changed their swings.

If anything, take one part of the lesson, work hard at the change for 6 months and see where it takes you. I can see that changes that I'm trying to make will take me further than just hacking away for the rest of my time golfing. Too bad Covid came and slowed down my time on the course and driving range, but I can work on my "feel" and swing in my backyard with the confidence.

So please, take more than just one lesson. If not, find a Pro who shows you how to improve on few items and work on it to get better. Good Luck.

I have been fortunate to have had the same pro work with me for the last 20+ years. Bad that I moved to San Diego 6 years ago and he is back in Texas. A little tougher to get out to see him very often but can send video. There was a guy once at our home course that I would watch give lessons on the practice tee and I would have never gone to him. He would dump massive changes on people all in an hour lesson. I always recommend people meet and talk with a pro before progressing to lessons. Hopefully you will find someone that you like and that will help focus on that one or two major issues that you might be wanting to change. If not, own your swing and be comfortable knowing very few of us will ever swing to like the pros. Most importantly, have some fun out there.

I work with a teacher but he does not try to change my game. He works with my game and tweaks my minor imperfections to get the most out of my game and get it heading down the middle of the fairway. Will be 75 on Friday and never too old to get professional advice. Once my back has healed will be seeing him again. Last time I played was with him in Murrells Inlet and shot three over on the back nine. Front nine was not good, was windy and raining the first week of December. Handicap was 11. Was hitting my driver down the middle 230+ yards. Still under doctor's care and cannot play.

I have never had such a terrible outcome from a lesson, however, when Pros want to make so many changes to your swing in a lesson, it rarely works and the outcome is likely to be a disaster.

I think changes should be gradually introduced to our swings rather than trying to make numerous changes which may be detrimental to our game.

Are you worried about performance or 'looks'? To be honest, I care about both; I want to have a good looking swing and at the same time I want to reach a one-digit handicap.

You have to be careful when picking a teacher. You probably had what they call a method teacher, meaning that he teaches one way to swing a golf club for everyone. I always went with the teacher who worked with what you have, making small adjustments to achieve results. This type of teacher knows that one size doesn't fit all. I had your experience once as the teacher started out with "This is how I swing a golf club". I was cooked after that.

I think that you should always meet first with a potential teacher and ask questions about their teaching philosophy.

This is fantastic advice...thank you for sharing.

Pitfalls of relying on 'experts'. I have been to maybe 5 different instructors. Settled on one that I really fit well with. I see him for maybe 1 lesson every 2 years.

I found that I can only really comprehend / integrate one to 2 new things at a time...then I need months to really work on them, engrain them. Each season I pick 2 things I want to improve for the season - that's it, that's all I work on all year. I feel you have to know yourself before listening to an instructor.

Good Luck.

Dale, Since I live in the Dallas area, do you think you could pass me his name on? Maybe looking for a teacher for some lessons

Paul Norris. He teaches out of Hawks Creek GC these days. That's the old Carswell AFB course on the west side of Fort Worth. He does not work full time at the course so you have to contact him to set up a lesson. You can email him at pnorris@pga.com

This is why I like this forum, people helping people.

I've had the pleasure of working with my coach for the past 4 years. If anyone is in the northern Virginia area and looking for a great coach - check out Brendan McGrath.

Double edged sword for many instructors - overteach so the student feels like they got their money's worth or focus on a small change and student feels ripped off. Any change to any player regardless of experience or ability will feel very awkward and take time to develop and feel natural. A quick fix (band-aid approach) will not have long-term gains.

Everyone is different, but if I was a low single handicap, I can see the point of having a few things to work on. However, it may be unpopular to say that If I was a 20 handicap and the teach tells me 10 things to work on, that's the guy who gave me my money's worth in one lesson.

Always talk about your game before you get a lesson from someone who has never seen your swing or knows your game. It will help YOU decide if that is the right person & direction for your game. Most people who play at least once a month usually don't need overhauls on their swing. I always feel it's better talk about the problem you're having VS telling them what you think your game should be like. Usually the change of an issue takes your game to where it should be

At 57 I finally took a lesson and the person who taught that lesson was a Kansas PGA teacher of the year. We spoke a 3 or 4 times about my issues then decided I would have him teach me. (Thinking I needed at least 3 lessons IMO) After our first lesson I asked if we could do 5 more because of the improvement I seen COULD happen. He said no need, but feel free to send me videos, or call or text, pictures of what is going on and since he has my swing from different angles stored in his phone he can make the adjustments or drills for me to do to to correct the issue. I have contacted him various times & he always responds. He works at one of the courses I do range work at. So we talk as well. My game has changed dramatically since that lesson back in June.

I only had 1 in person lesson, but probably 5 adjustment drills/lessons since then and vast improvement. We only worked on 2 things in an hour, but they went hand in hand with one another. everything else has been tweaks for what has surfaced from swinging the club better. (ball position, wider stance etc etc

I'd look for another teacher and see how they would assist you in your game.

DM

I am surprised he tried to change everything you were doing in one lesson. Not a good method IMO. Small tweaks are much easier to practice. Major swing changes take an enormous amount of work that can't be done in one lesson, and, require hitting a lot of balls to change ingrained muscle memory.