Are golf lessons worth it? Are they worth your time and money?
The first time I wrote this article, I said that the answer is obvious – golf lessons are worth every penny. And I had my reasons why.
A few years ago I was into powerlifting. Several years prior to that I played online poker. I had a coach for both hobbies, and I’m glad I did. There is no way I would’ve lifted as much weight or made as much money as I did without help. I wouldn’t have seen success as fast as I did, either.
That’s not all that influenced my answer, though. I also looked at golfers on the PGA Tour. How many of them have coaches? Nearly all of them. I figured that if the best golfers in the world could benefit from golf lessons, obviously average joes like you and me certainly could.
I had a few more lessons since writing this post the first time and left one of them unhappy. I had also heard a story about a student golfer who had crazy expectations. So, after thinking about it a little more, I came to the realization that the answer isn’t as clear cut as I once thought.
Are golf lessons right for you? Will you benefit from yours as much as I have benefited from mine. I don’t know, but my goal in writing this post is to share my experiences and pose a few questions that will help you figure that out.
What I Learned Getting Golf Lessons
I want to share a little bit about my experiences getting golf lessons so that 1) you can see that I’m not some random guy sharing a BS opinion and 2) understand why I think the way I do.
My first lesson, or lessons, was in October 2019. I signed up for a coed golf class at Camas Meadows, a golf course on the outskirts of Vancouver, WA. This course costed around $120 and included one class per week for four weeks. It was a great way to get introduced to the game of golf.
I enjoyed the class enough to know that I wanted to continue playing golf. And I knew from past experiences that coaching was going to be necessary if I wanted to be any good at it.
I decided to work with the instructor one-on-one rather than in a group setting, so I bought a five-lesson coaching package. This brought the hourly rate down a little, which is a good tip to keep in mind if you decide to get golf lessons.
I took all five lessons in 2020. This is what we worked on.
- Swaying in my backswing
- Strengthening my grip
- Developing an in-to-out downswing path
- Not shanking the ball
- Understanding ball flight
This is a good example of what golf lessons for beginners look like. I learned the basics as well as the most common mistakes beginner golfers make when starting out.
I made huge improvements in my golf game throughout 2020, so I decided to continue working with him in 2021. However, I quickly pumped the brakes on that after my second or third lesson.
One of my first lessons of the year was on ball position. I had worked on this and improved it by my next lesson – or so I thought, because my coach decided that I more work in that area.
This was a turn-off for me. We had already worked on ball position once, so why were we working on it again? I wanted to move forward and start working on hitting my longer clubs (hybrid + driver). I was also unhappy that I was spending $200 and two hours to talk about ball position.
So, I decided my coach screwed up and that I wanted to try working with someone else. But this was a mistake.
I went the rest of the spring and summer without golf instruction. I used YouTube and Instagram to work on different parts of my game with mixed results.
That fall I had found and scheduled a lesson with a different golf coach. He watched me swing an iron and my driver, and recorded everything on his phone and Trackman. And then showed me the video and my Trackman numbers.
I have never seen a video of my golf swing before. It was almost embarrassing. But it showed me several flaws in my golf swing that I would need to improve if I wanted to play the best golf I’m capable of.
One of the things this golf instructor wanted to change was my grip, which was something I had already worked on with my previous instructor. This wasn’t a minor change, either.
Ultimately, I decided that tweaking my grip was too big of a change to make with someone I had just started working with and hadn’t committed to working with for the long term. I haven’t gone back to see him either, simply because I wasn’t going to follow his advice.
That brings me to now. As of January 2022, I’m not working with anyone. But that’s not because I don’t think golf lessons are worth it. Quite the opposite. My opinion is that golf lessons are worth the money. But a lot of variables need to line up in order for golf instruction to pay off in the long run.
So, that’s my experience with getting golf lessons. Hopefully that gives you an idea of what to expect. I also want to share a few things I’ve learned after having taken around 10-12 lessons with a golf coach.
- Not every coach will be a good fit. You might need to have a few lessons with a few different coaches to see who you click with best.
- You need to have reasonable expectations. You’re not going to transform your golf game overnight. You might even have to have a couple lessons that go over the same topic or issue. This is the mistake I made with my first coach. While I was disappointed with spending $200 and two hours working on ball position, there wasn’t anything “wrong” with it.
- Every coach will see different flaws in your swing or game. Each coach will have his or her own opinion about what you should prioritize.
- You can make huge improvements in your game if you work with a good golf coach and put in the work between lessons.
One of my biggest takeaways after getting golf lessons is that, while you can get one-off lessons, it makes far more sense to find and commit to one coach. Think about it like parenting. Say a child spent a couple weeks with one set of parents, then the next couple of weeks with a different set of parents, and so on – each with a different approach to child raising, religious views, and morals and values. How confused would that child be?
It’s not a perfect analogy, but this applies to working with golf coaches, too.
Who Should Get Golf Lessons?
Just because golf lessons are worth it to me, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to be worth it to you. How do you know if you should get golf instruction? There aren’t any hard and fast rules, but the following table should help.
| When to Get Golf Lessons | When NOT to Get Golf Lessons |
| If you want to improve a specific aspect of your game i.e. course management, pitch shots, lag putting, etc. | You can’t afford them. |
| If you feel lost with your swing i.e. you have a two-way miss and have no clue where the ball will go on any given swing. | You’re unwilling or not interested in running the drills the instructor gives you. |
| You want to lower your handicap. | You don’t practice regularly. |
| You want to become the best golfer you can. | You don’t play regularly (at least once per month). |
| You will practice the drills the instructor gives you. | You think you know it all. |
| You play golf regularly (one round or more per month) | You don’t like learning new things or don’t want to feel uncomfortable. |
| You’re willing to be uncomfortable while learning a new move or something different than what you’ve been doing. | You’re unwilling or uninterested in asking questions and understanding the information being given to you. |
Most of this should be straight forward. You should only get golf lessons if you can afford them, you’ll do the homework the instructor gives you, and you practice and play regularly.
If you can say no to any of these, then that’s a good clue that golf lessons won’t be worth doing.
Setting Realistic Expectations for Your Golf Lessons
One of the things that will jeopardize your golf lessons even before they start is having unrealistic expectations. If you go into your lesson expecting to drop several strokes or fix your swing in the span of 45-60 minutes (the length of a typical lesson), you’re most likely going to be unhappy with how things turn out.
The first golf coach I worked with told me a story about a guy that went to the same range I did. I spoke to this guy a few times while practicing. And every time we talked, he complained about how unhappy he was with his game. So, he worked with my coach a few times to see if he could improve.
Well, this guy stopped taking lessons because he wanted things to progress much faster than they were. The problem was that this guy had swing faults that he engrained over 25 years, yet he wanted someone to fix them in the span of a couple hours.
Does that sound realistic to you?
This guy has been swinging the same horrible swing for 25 YEARS. His swing is as natural to him as his walk. How can anyone expect to make such a significant change so fast?
This brings me back to an earlier point I made – that you should expect to have to have multiple lessons on the same topic or issue. This was the misunderstanding I had when I worked with my first coach.
I went to work him twice in 2021. Both times we worked on ball position, and I got upset about it. It never occurred to me that it might take me more than one lessons to learn it. But this is a normal part of the process. It wasn’t his fault – it was mine for not understanding that.
The point – golf lessons are only going to help if you go into them with reasonable expectations. If nothing else, having reasonable expectations will help prevent you from quitting too soon. You’ll stick with your lessons long enough to see results.
One other thing – not only should you not expect to see overnight improvement with your game, it’s likely that your swing, game, and scores will get WORSE before they get better. It’ll take you time to groove a new swing or understand a new concept so, naturally, it’ll take time for your improvements to translate to the golf course.
How to Find a Good Golf Instructor
You might not like everything I’m going to say here (assuming you liked or agreed with what I said in the last section about expectations). But the truth is that there’s not a formula I can give you that will help you find the perfect coach.
Finding a good golf instructor is like finding a good hairstylist, gardener, or contractor. It might take a few tries before you find someone that’s a good fit for you – that explains things in a way that you understand, that you can develop a rapport with, and that you get along with. You might also need to find someone that meets that criteria AND fits within your budget.
With that in mind, here are a couple of ways to find a quality coach for golf lessons.
- Ask your buddies. Does anyone in your foursome work with a coach? If they like their coach, then that might be the easiest way to find someone good to work with. You might even earn your buddy a referrer fee or maybe you guys can take a group lesson to reduce the rate.
- Google. Obvious, right? If there are golf courses in your area (and obviously there is if you play golf, yeah?) or if there’s a Top Golf or driving range, then odds are you can find at least one golf coach.
Simple, I know, but sometimes we overlook the simple answers.
From here, read reviews and learn a little more about each coach and their rates to see if they might be right for you.
Then take a lesson or two with each coach on your list until you find someone you get along with and feel like you can trust with your game. It might take a few sessions to figure that out, but it’ll be money well spent.
Another approach is to take a group golf lesson. Many golf coaches offer them. You can get a package of lessons (3-6) for the price of 1-2 one-on-one sessions. This can be a cheap way to test out someone over multiple sessions.
Anyway, that’s how I found people to work with. But it’s possible that you just won’t find someone you like that’s nearby. So, what can you do then?
Take Golf Lessons Online
If you’re struggling to find a local golf coach for lessons, then another option you might want to explore is taking golf lessons online.
I’ve not taken online golf lessons, though I’ve considered it. There are a few reasons why I’m on the fence.
- It doesn’t seem like you get 45-60 minutes of a coach’s time like you do when you get golf lessons in-person.
- The coach isn’t there in person to put you in position. This might be important if you’re not aware of what your body is doing in space.
- You’re still paying $60-$150 per lesson, despite the coach not being there in person.
- You have to record yourself and send it in rather than the coach simply watching you in-person.
Despite any concerns I might have, I’m likely to get online golf lessons a shot in the future. It opens the door to far more coaches so that it’s easier to find someone that you’ll work well with. Also, you don’t have to dedicate an hour or more out of your day to drive to a lesson. You can simply record yourself while practicing (something you were likely to do anyway).
Your biggest challenge will be figuring out who to work with. There are so many options out there, it could be easy to get overwhelmed.
I recommend following some people on Instagram and seeing whose content you enjoy. Odds are, if you like how they teach in their Instagram posts, then you’ll probably like how they coach you.
Many coaches are on the Skillest app. Skillest is 100% for golf instruction as far as I can tell. You can also download the app and browse your options there too.
Definitely explore those options if you’ve been looking for a local coach but haven’t had much success finding someone.
When Should You Take Golf Lessons?
I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong time to take golf lessons. But here are a few specific cases when I’d recommend you see an instructor.
- Beginners should take golf lessons right away. Don’t worry about developing a swing or anything like that. Odds are, you’re going to get a lot wrong by yourself – things like your stance, grip, etc. The longer you wait to see a coach, the more time you’ll have to groove a less than optimal swing and develop bad habits.
- Whenever you feel like you lost your swing – if you can never tell with confidence which way the ball will go. Or whenever you need to break through a plateau.
- Every few months for a tune-up. I had a lesson where I worked on swinging more in-to-out but a few months after that lesson, my out-to-in swing path started to creep back in. So, I think it’s a good idea to see your coach every few months to see if your swing is still optimal or if any of your old faults are creeping back up.
How often should you get golf lessons? That depends on your goals, how often you play, and your budget.
I was going every 4-6 weeks, which worked for me. It gave me time to practice the drills my coach gave me, take what I learned to the course, and really internalize everything.
If budget is an issue, I think you can get away with lessons every 6-8 weeks or maybe even once per quarter.
Conclusion
Golf lessons are a good idea and they’re worth the money – so long as they move you closer to your goals, you trust and practice what your coach tells you
Lessons aren’t for everyone though – if you’re unwilling to put the work in, don’t aspire to lower your score, and don’t want to put that much effort into the game, then you might skip them
Just know that you’ll only get what you put into your game – a part of that is fixing any errors and that is often much easier to do when you have a trained eye watching you swing and play
FAQ
Will golf lessons improve your game?
They can. A lot of it comes down to you – do you trust your coach, believe in their instruction, and perform the drills they give you?
Can you get good at golf without lessons?
Define good. How good do YOU want to be? Can you go from shooting 100 to shooting 90 without a coach? Can you shoot 80 or 85 without a coach? Yes, I know people who have done it or do it now. Many people bloat their scorecards with tons of errors that are relatively simple to correct with proper course management, clubbing up, etc.
However, how long will it take you to get there? A golf coach can expedite the process – get you to shooting lower scores faster than you can likely do on your own.
I’m not sure if you can get down to scratch or better without a coach. Virtually no PGA Tour pro has. I certainly don’t plan to attempt it, either.
How many lessons should you take?
This is up to you. What are your goals? What can you afford? I think taking golf lessons as often as you can without impeding your ability to play your bills or play rounds makes sense. But you have to decide that for yourself.
Can golf lessons hurt your game?
I’ve read stories of people who were worse off after their lessons. Keep in mind that you will likely play worse, not hit the ball as far, etc. after your lessons while you practice what you were taught.
Keep in mind that you can always get a second opinion if you’re unsure about what you’re being taught.
My Golf Lessons Hurt – What Should I Do?
First, make sure that what your instructor was having you do was actually causing you pain or if it was just uncomfortable.
If it was painful, don’t do it. And if you told your instructor and they continued to have you do it, dump them and work with someone else.
However, you should be prepared to be uncomfortable. Your swing right now feels comfortable because that’s all you’ve done. Putting the club in a new spot or holding it differently (stronger/weaker) is going to feel weird and maybe uncomfortable. This is part of the process.
How Do I Make the Most of My Golf Lessons?
Ask questions. Do what they tell you. Make sure you understand what you’re doing and why. Practice the drills they give you.
Are Golf Lessons Expensive?
That’s hard to answer since everyone’s budget is different. Generally speaking, yeah, they can be. You should expect to spend $50-$150 per hour for a one-on-one lesson. Many instructors will offer package rates if you buy several hours in advance. Some offer group coaching in which you’ll get several hours for the cost of one lesson, but you’ll get less one-on-one time that way.