If you are wondering how many golf lessons it takes before you can feel comfortable on the golf course, you’ve come to the right place! Haven given hundreds of lessons as a PGA Professional, I am quite confident I can give you the answer you are looking for:
Answer
It will take a “brand new” golfer about 7 lessons to understand the rules, swing fundamentals and course management strategies that will allow them to feel comfortable playing on the golf course.
Of course, some individuals may take longer and some shorter to learn the information. It also depends on the instructors teaching style. However, having met many golf professionals, most teaching styles for beginning golfers are pretty universal covering grip, stance, rules, full swing, short game, and course management strategies.
Group Lessons or Individual Lessons – What’s the Difference?
Group lessons are great for individuals who are brand new to the game and are more comfortable with group activities rather than individual attention. Most often group lessons cover broad topics like driving, chipping and putting and the learning experience is more laid back playing games and learning one lesson at a time.
Individual lessons are the best way to quickly learn the game of golf. This is because all of the instructor’s focus will be on helping you improve your game. When I am teaching a new student, I make sure to go over fundamentals using drills and learning assignments so that my students can learn all the necessary information to help them reach the next level.
Group lessons are great but I feel that they lack the ability to “push” students to learn and grow as a golfer, Everyone learns differently and by taking individual lessons, the job of the instructor can be modified to best help their golfing student. It is much harder to teach specific things in group lessons as everyone absorbs the information at their own pace which is why the lessons are more simple and relaxed.
What Will You Learn
Most teaching professionals all teach beginning golfers the same fundamentals:
- Grip – The correct way to hold the golf club
- Stance- The proper way to stand over the golf ball to make proper contact with the golf ball
- Full Swing- How to transfer your weight to make consistent golf shots.
- Club Recommendations – The teaching pro will advise you on golf clubs that will best help your game
- Short Game- The instructor will go over chipping and putting fundamentals
- Course Strategies- The teaching pro will give you specific situations the occur on the golf course (sand shots, hitting underneath trees, etc.) and how to execute those shots
- Rules- Its hard to play a game if you don’t know the rules. The instructor will tell you about all of the playing rules that occur on the golf course and how to use them to best help your round.
Where Do You Take Golf Lessons?
Golf lessons can be taken at a driving range, on the golf course or at a simulator/hitting bay.
Driving Range: Having at the driving range is great for beginners. The reason being is that you have pretty much an unlimited amount of shots that you can take to build repetition and muscle memory. The instructor will use this to their advantage using training aids and drills to improve your golf swing.
On Course Lessons: The instructor might take you out on the golf course for “real feel” playing lessons. This is best to explain golf rules and course strategy as there is nothing better than being given a real situation that occurs in the game of golf and having to learn from it.
Simulator/ Hitting Bay: Another option you can choose is to find an instructor that offers simulator or hitting bay lessons. These lessons are usually either indoors or at a hitting bay where a launch monitor and video analyzer can view your golf shots. This is best for golfers who learn best with analytics and like to see how swing modifications from the teaching professional change their swing metrics.(swing path, face angle, launch angle etc.) Having your swing videotaped and analyzed is one of my favorite ways to teach beginning golfers because they end up leaving the lesson knowing exactly what they were doing wrong and what changes need to be corrected to better their swing.
How Much Do Golf Lessons Cost
Of course, the answer to this question is “it depends”. It depends on how long your golf lesson is, who is teaching you, and what type of services you are looking for (club fitting, swing analysis, driving range training)
I would say on average, you are looking at $50 for an hour golf lesson.
As a reference, you can use my current rates to get an idea of how much everything costs. I use a Trackman for swing analysis and club fittings but also include on-course lessons if the individual chooses a lesson pack to broaden their learning experience.
- 1 Lesson – $120
- 3 Lessons – $320
- 6 Lessons – $560
10 Tips To Be Ahead of the Curve
To give you a jump start, I am going to give you 10 tips that you can use to prepare yourself before your first golf lesson so that you can start learning more advanced training and learn at a faster rate:
- Watch this video on how to hold the golf grip from the Me and My Golf Guys:
- Make sure you have a golf set. If you do not have a golf set, check out my favorite golf sets for beginners here if you have the time. (men and women)
- Keep that darn head down! I know this is about a cliche as you can get when teaching golf. But it is so often the case, especially with beginners. Focus on hitting the golf ball first and THEN look where your shot goes. If the head raises first, so does the spine and then so does your arms causing you to hit the top of the golf ball or miss completely!
- The lower number on your irons means that your shots will go further and lower. The higher numbers including your wedges (pitching wedge and sand wedge) will go shorter and higher in the air.
- Golf shoes matter! Wear golf shoes for your first lesson and your teacher will be impressed. Too often do I have new golfers come to their lesson with tennis shoes or even sandals. Don’t be this person! You’ll too often slip when swinging and not be able to keep a proper golf posture. Use the link here for some shoe ideas if you don’t have any.
- Wear sunblock. Most often, your lesson will be outside on the driving range during the warmer months of the year. To protect your skin and stay comfortable, come prepared with the proper sunblock!
- On the same note, bring a water bottle to your lesson! Not all golf courses have water available on the course or driving range. Several years ago I had one individual faint from dehydration so it is a necessity now for ALL of my students to have a water bottle with them.
- Know how to use a golf scorecard and how to keep score. Use my article here if you do not know
- Show up early for your lesson! For me, I sometimes have lessons lined up back to back and if one of my students shows up late, they might get shorted on their lesson in order to keep on schedule. To get the MOST of your money and time, come early and prepared and the golf professional will have more time to teach.
- Know the general rules of the game. Here are the rules of golf in the most simple way possible that you can use to build and ask questions to your golfing teacher:
Scoring rules: Every golfer must tally up how many strokes it takes them to go from the tee box to the hole. You are not allowed to have any redos or mulligans (USGA rules).
Tee Box: You are allowed to tee your golf ball up between the tee markers. Your golf ball cannot go past the markers or behind by more than two club-lengths. (This is the only place you are allowed to use a golf tee.)
Golf ball rules: You are not allowed to move or pick up your golf ball if you are not on the putting surface. You must play each shot where it lies.
Playing order: Whoever is furthest away from the hole goes first
Bunker Shots: Bunkers are considered hazards, and you are not allowed to ground your club while addressing the ball. You have to hover the club, in the air, and then swing down at the ball to get it out.
Putting Rules: When on the putting green, you can lay down a ball maker behind your golf ball to pick up your golf ball to clean or re-position. Next, after everyone in the group is on the putting surface, make sure that the flagstick is pulled out of the hole. You are not allowed to step in your playing partner’s putting line so make sure to walk around their lines.
Tee Box Order: Whoever had the lowest score on the previous hole has “honors” and will be the first to tee off.
Lost Ball: If you lose your golf ball or hit into some water, you are allowed to drop a new ball. Drop the ball two club-lengths from the point where the ball crossed the hazard, no closer to the hole, and take a stroke penalty. (Usually marked with yellow or red lines)
Table of Contents