Are Golf Lessons Worth It?

Improving your golf game can seem like a daunting task when you’re not sure where to begin. If you’re a beginner golfer, simply learning the fundamentals is an important step toward enjoying the game. The best way to accomplish either of these goals is to get golf lessons from a certified teaching professional.

Costs associated with golf lessons can be steep, leaving players with the question: are golf lessons worth it? This article will examine a few options for golfers of any skill level, as well as what you can expect in terms of improvement.

Golf lessons are everywhere

In today’s social media society, chances are you can find golf lessons in every corner of the internet. Teaching pros – and others who want you to believe they’re pros – on YouTube are aplenty and only a few mouse clicks away. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok feature additional videos of swing fixes or short game tips.

While many of these videos can be helpful for your game, there’s no real replacement for one-on-one golf lessons with a certified professional. Depending on the skill level of the “pro” on social media, you run the risk of hurting your golf swing more than helping. This is due to the general advice nature of the tips these videos provide, as the creator is hoping to reach as many golfers as possible in one video or social media post.

Improving your game is best achieved from a personalized golf lesson with a certified teaching professional who knows what they’re talking about.

Benefits of a Golf Lesson

Working directly with a certified teaching professional has many benefits. First and foremost, they will take a detailed look at your golf swing at the first lesson. This will allow them to diagnose any swing flaws or improper tendencies in your current golf swing. Doing so will prompt them to offer advice on how to fix your specific swing flaws as opposed to offering general advice that might apply to every golfer.

A certified teaching professional has been trained for years on not only how to diagnose a swing flaw, but to recommend drills and tips to address any specific flaw. They will also be able to provide evidence from other players who move their body in such a way to prevent the swing flaw from occurring, and relate it to your specific swing characteristics.

While there are certainly fundamentals every golfer should know – such as how to grip the club or address the golf ball – the number of intricacies in a golf swing are immense and tailored to the player. No two players swing a golf club the same way due to physical differences in body type or flexibility, to name a few. It’s always best to inform your golf professional of any flexibility limitations prior to a lesson.

A certified teaching professional will not only identify these differences in swing capability, but also recommend the best possible swing type for the golfer. It’s almost impossible to diagnose and recommend fixes to a swing flaw without first seeing a golfer’s swing, and this is best done in-person.

It should be noted that some online golf schools offer video lessons, which seek to offer a lesson experience like what you’d expect in-person. These could be a success “Plan B” if in-person lessons are not possible or available in your area.

Golf lessons can be pricey

It is true that golf lessons can be expensive, but this isn’t always the case across the board. It all depends on where you go and the length of the lesson.

Most golf teaching professionals charge by the hour and are affiliated with a golf course or country club. These pros are either paid by the course as salaried employee, work as independent contractors who charge students directly, or a combination of both. These professionals usually set their standard lesson rate – which can be as high as $100 per hour or more – and receive gratuity in some instances. It’s always best to call ahead to ask about the pro’s pricing structure before your lesson.

Other golf professionals work out of a large golf retailer and offer lessons indoors and on a golf simulator. These lessons are most often available in a package or membership of some sort, offering multiple lessons for a lump fee. This option can be as effective as seeing a golf professional at a course, however may only offer a limited number of time slots to the student for a lesson. A benefit of this golf lesson type is that discounted packages are sometimes available, especially around the holidays or early golf season months.

Do golf lessons really help?

There’s no question that a golfer will learn something to help their game from taking a golf lesson. The magnitude of improvement, however, usually depends on the golfer’s current skill level, number of lessons purchased, and practice time following a lesson.

Every golf lesson will give a player “homework” to practice following the lesson. This is independent time a player must spend at a driving range, practice green or on the golf course working on the tips from a previous lesson. Since golf lessons are usually one hour long (or less), a limited amount of information is provided to the golfer. They must continue to practice after the lesson to reap the benefits of what they’ve learned.

With time and practice, and perhaps a few follow-up lessons, a golfer can expect to improve their golf handicap. The rate of improvement will differ from one player to the next, but beginner golfers have the most chance to improve as their learning curve is steepest. Better players can also improve, but perhaps only by a few strokes in a round while the newer, less-skilled player can see changes that are much more dramatic.

Regardless of your skill level, it’s best to maintain realistic expectations on how much you’ll improve following a lesson. You might not become a golf pro overnight, but you’ll definitely learn ways to score better and enjoy the game more.