How to choose a golf instructor
Are you thinking about taking golf lessons? You can rest assured, it is a good investment of your time and money, no matter what level of golf you are playing. Whether you are shoring up your golf fundamentals and foundational knowledge, or ready to refine and fine-tune some very specific skills, golf lessons are always a good idea.
But how do you choose an instructor?
Consider the following:
Proximity to where you live
Your comfort level with the instructor’s teaching style
Your goals as a student
Your budget
How to find an instructor
Here are a couple suggestions and resources to help you find a golf instructor:
Word of mouth - friends, family or colleagues may recommend an instructor that they worked with and they liked. A recommendation from someone you know is always a good place to start.
Call your local golf course - nearly all golf courses have a pro on staff who offers lessons. Inquire about pricing, scheduling availability and if you can talk to the pro directly ask them about their teaching style.
Parks & Recreation Department - research whether your municipality has a golf course. If they do, they likely offer lessons and clinics. Often, the Parks & Rec programs are going to be very affordable.
Go online and search PGA of America and LPGA of America.
To find a golf instructor (if you’re in the US), you’ll want to start with the PGA of America or LPGA of America. You can search for a coach near you by using the filters. Here’s the link.
You’ll be able to clearly see the instructor’s certifications - whether a PGA associate, teaching professional or director of instruction.
Doing a quick search on PGA of America, I was able to find 151 instructors in the Cincinnati area.
In the Cincinnati area, ten of the 151 PGA instructors are women.
You can also filter by what type of player the instructor specializes in, and specific goals you want achieve such as if you are trying to break 100 for the first time.
In the last 4 years running golf leagues and organizing clinics, I have had the opportunity to experience the teaching styles of more than 15 different golf instructors.
Keep an open mind, but don’t be afraid to switch instructors if you aren’t getting what you need
Here’s what I can tell you: if you don’t walk out of your first lesson feeling like, “WOW I learned some great things and I can see my immediate positive impact on what I wanted to work on,” then don’t bother setting up a 2nd lesson. You are better off investing your time finding another instructor.
Golf instructors definitely know a lot about golf, but in my experience not all of them are always effective at transferring that knowledge in a way that YOU can absorb effectively. In other words, it’s not so much about how great the instructor is, but rather how effectively you and your instructor can work together to produce results for your golf game.
Working with one instructor for a period of time is certainly helpful, but the reality is that you will need to work with several instructors over the course of your golf journey. Why? Because your needs will grow and change as time goes on. A teaching style and instructor that worked for you early on may become rote or not challenge you enough as you look to level up and explore new aspects of your golf swing.
Your lessons are for YOU
I have interviewed a few golf pros over the last few years. One of them told me this story:
“One time I had a lady show up to her first lesson with no golf clubs. I told her she would need to reschedule. She said, ‘I have a different idea. How about you drive me around the course and show me the different areas of the golf course, and explain what I need to do where?’ Of course I said yes. The lesson time is her time. She wanted a golf course orientation and that’s what I gave her.”
Share your goals with your golf coach. Know that it’s your coach’s role to respect your goals and help you achieve them - no matter where you are starting from.
Your Homework
When you find an instructor you love, that’s awesome! Inquire about lesson packages, as buying a few lessons at a time can save you money in the long run versus paying as you go.
Make sure you specifically ask your instructor for “homework,” aka what and how you should practice in the time between lessons.
I hope this helps you find an instructor.
Book a lesson. You won’t regret it!
