Question about my instructor.

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So I bet this is a first on this forum....

I am wondering if I am getting 'good' or 'solid' instruction from my current instructor. I'll call him 'Bob' for the sake of this conversation.

Firstly, I should back up a bit. Obviously I am a fan of Brian's materials and I learned a lot from NSA 2.0, and also bought 'Confessions' (but I'm not, and never have been a flipper) and Soft Draw Pattern.

That being said, I can't get feedback from Brian, and being in Canada, it's unrealistic for me to have the coin to spend a day with him. So naturally I'm trying to find an instructor that will suit my goal, and won't be a 'method' teacher.

So my ex-instructor left to work with a bigger company, and this current one, 'Bob' is highly ranked in my country, but he's very... 'Columbo-ish' in his operation. He appears.... helter skelter but is extremely observant.


I've had about 3 lessons with Bob. They've come down to the same thing every time:
- I warm up, he's late, so I really warm up and am usually hitting the ball very well by then which almost irks me (because I don't hit that well on the course).

- Bob asks me what's up with the swing. Bob has recorded me twice. Bob has told me the exact same thing 3 times (yes, each lesson). Bob says that I am SO concerned with coming inside, that I don't release my body after impact properly. Basically he says, I have to stop coming inside and holding back.

- Bob also says my only other problem is I don't close the face enough with driver. Only driver though.

- So this ends the lesson. We look at the video and he says my positions are excellent. He says I do not swing over the top, and if I do, it is slight, and many decent players do alright with it. I disagree with Bob here, I still think I come OTT quite frequently. But I don't argue with Bob. One thing I will definitely give Bob: He says my success seems HEAVILY tied to my tempo. Slow swing = much bigger success for me. This is true.

Now I'm going for lesson 4. And my swing isn't great. And I 'feel' like I'm not walking away with anything that is helping me. I have yanked the face shut like you would not believe and it messes with my path. I still push a fade with driver only. I can hit a four wood off the deck 230-240 yards straight. Bob raises an eyebrow and says he thinks it's my lack of self confidence with driver.

So I've walked away three times thinking 1) I have allegedly great positions. 2) I'm very much a victim of my tempo. 3) I have to close the face and release my body.

This hasn't resulted in any success for me on the course. So what do I do? Is it possible I am not listening? Is it possible he's just not seeing 'it'?

Would you go back? If I hear the same thing for a fourth time, the only thing I can be sure of is I am probably blowing hard earned cash.

Any advice? How far should I hang in there?
 
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Any advice? How far should I hang in there?


Ask Bob some questions and tell him how you feel. Explain to him in as much detail as you can what you preceive your problems to be and what approach you are using to overcome these problems. Then allow Bob a chance to reply. Fixing your golf swing is no different to fixing anything else in life, identify the problem, devise a plan, monitor the progress and effectiveness of the plan and then put it to the test. If you and Bob are agreed on what plan you have devised - spent time working through the plan and it is not working - then devise a new approach to the plan - or change PLANS ie change coach!!
 
Thank you all for the input. I've been thinking about this since I posted it. I am really torn, but have decided to continue with my lesson this week and go from there (make a decision).

Personally as said, I have not been able to gain any consistent improvement since seeing him. I'm still hitting about 18 over on a fairly tough course (this is my third season of golf- I hit my first club at age 35).

Sadly the season will be ending here very soon so I will pursue winter lesson packages to groove my swing... into a net (blah.)

I have been extremely focused but I haven't had much to get 'focused' about since Brian's NSA 2.0. I guess we will see where this goes, then I will look into a 'Web lesson' possibly if this doesn't work out.

I want to have faith in the guy... not just because of his reputation but because he's a great guy with a lot of experience. I believe maybe sometimes people don't... 'match up' in this regard?

Bottom line: if I don't get anything from this lesson again, I'll have to move on. In the meantime I'll try to convey what I want out of the lesson with him this week (as accurately as I can) and see what happens. Thanks for the replies.
 
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