Tell Us About the Best Golf Lessons Story You Have....

[Jeff_Brauer]

Feeding off JK's comments on the PGA, and the ultimate demise of the PGA Pro, tell us your best golf lesson stories, good or bad.

I recall going to Rob Roy in Mt. Prospect, IL to take lessons.  Crusty old guy.  Says, "Do you play tennis?" No. "Shit, was going to make an analogy."  Baseball?"  "Yes, but I swing lefty in baseball"  "Shit, was going to make an analogy."  He ended up hitting my whole bucket (which, BTW, no one had told me was extra, so I had to wait for mom to come back and get me to pay the fee for those)

More recently, when my son showed golf promise, we were advised to get a celebrity instructor.  As it happens, he decides to go to his first drinking party the night before and pukes on the teachers foot.  If that guy ever writes a book, I am sure I will be in it, thanks to my son.

[jeffwarne]

More recently, when my son showed golf promise, we were advised to get a celebrity instructor.  As it happens, he decides to go to his first drinking party the night before and pukes on the teachers foot. 

Sounds like your son's got good instincts.......even if his aim's a bit off

[Bruce Wellmon]

Worst.
Maybe 5 years ago I took a lesson from a somewhat noted instructor here in SC, whose son ( I will call him, "DJ") currently plays on the Tour and was an all american in college. And has won on tour.
As it is my first lesson with him, he encourages it to be a 2 hour lesson.
Consisting of my watching him hit balls for 1 hour and 50 minutes and hearing stories of his recent play in the Senior Open and how he never missed a fairway by more than 4 feet all week.
I hit maybe 8 balls the entire 2 hours. Per his direction. I swear no more than 8 balls. He wouldn't allow it.
Then he tried to get me to change my clubs completely to fit his vertacal swing concept. Thru his clubfitter on site.

I didn't go back.

[Tim Martin]

Feeding off JK's comments on the PGA, and the ultimate demise of the PGA Pro, tell us your best golf lesson stories, good or bad.

I recall going to Rob Roy in Mt. Prospect, IL to take lessons.  Crusty old guy.  Says, "Do you play tennis?" No. "Shit, was going to make an analogy."  Baseball?"  "Yes, but I swing lefty in baseball"  "Shit, was going to make an analogy."  He ended up hitting my whole bucket (which, BTW, no one had told me was extra, so I had to wait for mom to come back and get me to pay the fee for those)

More recently, when my son showed golf promise, we were advised to get a celebrity instructor.  As it happens, he decides to go to his first drinking party the night before and pukes on the teachers foot.  If that guy ever writes a book, I am sure I will be in it, thanks to my son.

Jeff-That is a classic.

[PCCraig]

A friend who used to be a decent college golfer (+ handicap) was on vacation in Pinehurst during Masters week and thought he was hitting the ball too high. Decides to take a lesson from the old time club pro (former PGA Tour member) in order to work on getting a more boring trajectory. He ends up hitting about 5-10 balls long, high, and straight. The pro looks at him and says "Have you been watching the golf this week?" He responds "of course" to which the pro asks "do you see any of the pros hitting little worm burners into the greens at Augusta??" "Well, no" my friend responds. The pro just walks away, lesson over! 

[jeffwarne]

Worst.
Maybe 5 years ago I took a lesson from a somewhat noted instructor here in SC, whose son ( I will call him, "DJ") currently plays on the Tour and was an all american in college. And has won on tour.
As it is my first lesson with him, he encourages it to be a 2 hour lesson.
Consisting of my watching him hit balls for 1 hour and 50 minutes and hearing stories of his recent play in the Senior Open and how he never missed a fairway by more than 4 feet all week.
I hit maybe 8 balls the entire 2 hours. Per his direction. I swear no more than 8 balls. He wouldn't allow it.
Then he tried to get me to change my clubs completely to fit his vertacal swing concept. Thru his clubfitter on site.


I didn't go back.

Bruce,
Small world
I once stepped in and ran a junior event for an assistant pro who was sick on Hilton Head (he called me to help out a 1/2 hour before the event)
90 kids, 9 hole course, feaking zoo-by myself.
Parents could see I was understaffed, overwhelmed and doing the best I could having had to take over on no notice, with no help.
DJ's dad was an absolute asshole, yelling about the pace of play. lack of organization[/b]--never offered to lift a finger or help as several other parents did when they became aware of the situation
Completely disrupted the event and only slowed down the process.

Now you now why he had you book 2 hours.
no repeat business

[cary lichtenstein]

In the middle 80's, one of my Chicago friends told me about Arnold Palmer's great putting instructor, George Low. He taught out at St. Andrews in the summer in a Chicago suburb and charged $1000 for a series of 3 lessons. So I pony up the money and go see him. He reeked of booze, but... So he has me hitting 2 footers for the first 20 minutes. After sinking about 30 in a row, I lose concentration and leave one short.

He slaps me accross the face, gets about 2 inches from me, and is spitting on me as he yells at the top of his lungs, "What the fuck was that?"

It took me by complete surprise, but I can't remember ever not concentrating on a 2 footer again.

When I have time, I'll tell some other George Low stories, he was a hustler, mooch, freeloader and by the way, for 25 years I used his "open to square" putting stroke and anytime I went bad, I went back to my notes and after an hour or so, got it back. It worked until about the age of 52 when I got a little yippy with the short stuff. When I went to my notes, I got it back, but not reliable on the course, so I switched to left hand low I saw on TV on day and stayed with that. Eventually, I switched to an oversized grip, stayed left hand low and mastered that as well.

I stayed with that until I gave up golf about 3 years ago due to back surgeries.

[Dan Herrmann]

First lesson I ever had was from my great uncle.  Played against Walter Hagen and other guys of that era.  He must've been 80 when I first saw him.

I was 19, and he had me hit a dozen 7-irons.  First thing he said was "why are you trying to hit it so hard - that's what a 6-iron is for".  Slowed my swing down and I was puring them.

[Garland Bayley]

I have never taken a lesson, but I have learned that if you are about to play on the first tee, and someone is playing with you says I'm taking lessons, make sure the game is for money, it's in the bank. This certainly works in my high handicap world. Don't know about how the other part of the world works.

[JMEvensky]

When she was first learning to play,my aunt asked me how to hit a bunker shot.The next morning,playing with 3 other beginners,she holes her first bunker shot.

There are 4 people on Earth who think that I'm the greatest sand-play teacher alive.

[Howard Riefs]

I’m eight years old. My dad just purchased a starter set of left-handed clubs for me. He’s excited that I’m about to learn the game and we head to the local club for a lesson with the teaching pro.

Pro:  “The first tip is that he should play right-handed.”
Dad:  “I just bought him left-handed clubs. What’s your second tip?”

[Jud_T]

I've probably spent more time and money on lessons than anyone you've ever met who can't scare 85.  Anyway, I'd been working with a fairly well-thought-of local pro for a while when I finally brought my 8-year old son to him for a few lessons.  He asked my son to just warm-up with a few 7-irons while he took a look.  After the kid effortlessly hit a half-dozen balls with a natural swing and a lazy draw, he called David over and said, "Kid, are you sure this man is your father?"

[Joel_Stewart]

Best lesson I ever had was with the late Jim Lucuis at Olympic Club.

Instead of our usual we went to the practice green and chipped and putted for an hour.   It made a huge difference.  Now I understand why Dave Pelz is so much in demand.

[Alex Miller]

I never took regular lessons from a coach/professional, but did do many camps as a kid and occasionally took a lesson.

As I started high school golf, it was suggested that I see someone about my swing (it was fairly hideous and I would scrap and scrape for pars with a good short game)

After a couple lessons with the guy (he's coached many amateurs and professionals, some even pga tour event winners) we have made only a little progress. That progress was mostly me learning my swing was crap.

I'm left-handed but play righty. I'd later find out that the strong left hand was both a curse and a gift, but the changes we were trying to make just weren't taking. One day, just for fun, he had me hit a ball with the left-handed set of clubs he had.

I swung, sliced a 9iron 80 yards out into the range and thought nothing of it. He thought my lefty swing was so much better than my righty swing that he said, "maybe you should've played golf left handed."

I had a couple more lessons after that, but eventually decided that he just wasn't the right coach for me (wonder why? ).

[Ted Cahill]

Just finished a set of lessons from Lynn Blake. I am determined to stop flipping my wrists at impact and he has me on a good "rehab" program. For anyone heading to Cuscowilla and in need of a lesson- don't miss the chance to work with Lynn.

[Bruce Katona]

Our professionals have the following goal: If I can get my customer to hit 3 good shots per round, I have a repeat customer".  the range is a very dangerous place on the weekens; balls are flying in every direction.  At least the kids iggle and laugh when they hit one sideways.

[Tom_Doak]

The only real "lesson" I've ever had was from Dave Stockton when he came to Stamford to put on a clinic sponsored by the PGA, whatever year it was that he was the defending champion.  Probably why I was such a good putter for years!

I have played golf with some great teaching pros (Rick Smith, Jim McLean) and they have somehow resisted the temptation to analyze my swing.

However, the two times I was most uncomfortable were:

(a)  Being pushed out of the crowd by a friend as a volunteer for a clinic given by Patty Berg, at Harder Hall in 1984.  Pretty much every one of the girls playing in that tournament could kick my butt around a course, so giving a demonstration for them was pretty silly.

(b)  Being watched on the practice tee by Harvey Penick while warming up to play Austin Golf Club, while I worked for Mr. Dye.  Mr. Penick knew I was a friend of Ben Crenshaw's, and he had been giving a lesson to someone else, but stuck around to watch me.  I was probably hitting it as good as I ever have, but I was still nervous as hell.

Neither of those really qualifies as "a good story," but getting to meet two of the legends of golf was worth the embarrassment, in hindsight.

[Joe Grasty]

For me, I've found that the lower the cost of the instruction, the better it has been.  My best lesson ever was a 10 minute lesson from a Yes putter rep that was free.  He changed my grip a little and I went from having half a dozen 3 putts per round to 1 per round.  And I didn't even buy a putter.

My best full swing instruction came from a PGA pro name Mike Murray at Golf Galaxy, where, during the depths of the 2008 meltdown, they had a 5 thirty minute video lessons for $100 special (later, 4 for $100).  I learned more from those lessons than I got from instructors that charged me north of $100 per hour.  I ended up spending about $400 on lessons from Golf Galaxy and knocked 8 strokes off my handicap.

[Cory Lewis]

When I was 14 I developed a really bad hook.  My dad and I came down to Pinehurst in the Spring, and my dad suggested we call Harvie Ward to see if he'll give me a lesson, surprisingly he was in the phone book, and he met me at Pine Needles for a lesson.  Before I even hit a shot he knew what was wrong just from my description of the problem.  After an hour and a half of him telling stories and giving me instruction I was hitting a nice gentle fade with every club!  Three months later I reached a zero handicap for the first time ever.  My dad and I still talk about that amazing day all these years later. 

[Carl Johnson]

Not my lesson, but one that was told to me by a playing partner this summer.  I'd never met or heard of the guy before, but we were paired together in summer league play.  He was 80 years old, but did not look it.  He was fit, athletic.  He told me this story.  He said he'd been scratch at one time in his life, but was now a 12 (which, from his play, I could believe).  He said that last year he'd finally gone to his home club pro for a lesson.  The pro asked him to hit some shots (while the pro watched).  After a while, the pro said, "Why do you want a lesson?"  My partner said, "I'm losing distance.  I want to hit if further."  His pro responded: "Move up a tee.  End of lesson." [During our round, his drives were 200 yds., plus or minus.]

[Bob_Huntley]

Shivas,

I had the same experience. I was living in Santa Monica at the time and was thinking of trying to qualify for an event. I flew up to Monterey having decided to see Art Bell, pro emeritus at Pebble Beach, a a bit of a crusty old sod. He asked me to hit a half a dozen 7 irons, which to this day is probably the most consecutive succesful shots I've consumated in a lifetime. Expecting some sort of praise or at least a well done, he uttered, "Bob, are you trying to win a long drive exhibition?  The iron is a precision instrument to be caressed, not swung like a battle-axe." Here endeth the lesson.

Bob

[Pete_Pittock]

Booked a lesson.
Me: "I'm not swinging my irons the way I used to. I'm losing 20 yards."
Pro: "Well, show me how you used to swing"
Me : Swing. Swing. Swing.
Me: "Thank you."
Pro: "Anything else?"
Me: "Nope"

Total time, less than 5 minutes.

[jeffwarne]

While I've got enough funny stories about teaching to fill multiple books, no golf lesson discussion would be complete without mention of Palmetto's Tom Moore.

Age 16 I win a big junior tournament in Augusta, and we have a tournament at the club Tom is an assistant the day after.
Tom is the starter and announces me as The XYZ 1979 Jr. Champion (which I found very flattering)
I snap hook it (not that uncommon for me then) and shoot 82.
I wander over to the range after the round and am practicing desperately trying to find what I had 24 hours before and Tom shows up.
After watching for a long time(now I'm stupid nervous) he quietly makes a couple subtle suggestions-I start puring it-stays there with me until dark working on every aspect of my game.

A few years later he gets the job at Palmetto, allows me to play frequently-Once I got established, he was influential in getting me into Palmetto.
Funny thing is, every time he's ever watched me hit balls, I've left puring it.


I used to play a lot of golf with Tom.
Time to return the favor....

[Gary Daughters]

I had a kid in one of my First Tee groups, a big kid for age 10, who didn't seem to have even the faintest aptitude for golf.  He'd always come with his shirt untucked and his shoes untied, and since he didn't own clubs I'd pair him with another student, whose clubs never fit him.  He suffered terribly from allergies.  His lack of skills aside, he displayed enough interest that I took to working with him after the rest of the group had left, and it was a triumph when he finally stopped whiffing half his swings.  I'll admit to having wondered whether his Saturday afternoons might be spent more productively.

On the final lesson of the session I'd given in to my students and let them hit driver.  We were having a long drive contest, and my big protege wasn't faring so well.  On his third and last attempt, out of nowhere, he connected.  Pured it.  160-170 yards, and as he stared at the thing in amazement I asked him matter of factly how it felt.

He turned around with the biggest, most disbelieving smile I think I've ever seen.  "AWE-thum!"

[Jason Topp]

Had a foreign exchange student from Norway - Miriam.  I took her to the Solheim Cup at Interlachen in September.  We followed Suzanne Pettersen around for her singles match against Michelle Redmond.  On the front nine the only crowd consisted of us and some Norwegians who apparently were family.  Pettersen was four down with four to play and rallies to halve a match.  The crowd swells and Pettersen lets loose an expletive on NBC afterwards.

In February Miriam announces that she has joined the high school golf team.  The coach had told her that the team was for kids who played golf.  Miriam told the coach she played. 

I realized Miriam needed a lot of lessons before practice began.  A local pro took her under his wing in a dome.  We went to Texas for spring break and I played a couple of nines with Miriam so she could learn what to do on the course.  She played on the JV team and shot a 42 on an executive course in one of the matches.

The pro passed away at a young age a couple of years ago.  A friend told the story of Miriam at his funeral.