Finding a teacher

guids · #1 09-02-2007, 04:22 PM

Im looking for a teacher to get some lessons in before winter, so I can practice during the cold months, where do should i start looking? I searched the forum, but couldnt find much, I thought there was a website that you could look at to find pga instructors etc?

Shoot59 · #2 09-02-2007, 05:32 PM

Where are you located?

RacersEdge · #3 09-02-2007, 07:29 PM

Word of mouth. Talk to people who have taken lessons from different pros. I haven't looked recently, but go to a site like Last Minute Tee Times that has a message board on local courses and teaching pros. Even better, is to "overhear" a guy teaching at the range and see if you like his style.

K-Slay · #4 09-02-2007, 08:59 PM

Ask around at your local clubs. All private club pros give lessons to anyone who wants to pay for one. As you're asking you'll start to get an idea of who the best teaching pros in your area are. Or try a few different to get a feel for lessons and see what style and who you understand best.

TobDog · #5 09-02-2007, 11:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Word of mouth. Talk to people who have taken lessons from different pros.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good idea

[ QUOTE ]
go to a site like Last Minute Tee Times that has a message board on local courses and teaching pros.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is like looking for a dentist in the phone book, no wait, its worse, you have no idea what you are getting, you are getting a call canter that is based in Chicago and they have a fact sheet about the course and have never met these people(usually anyway), can you tell, I used to work at a place like that?

[ QUOTE ]
Even better, is to "overhear" a guy teaching at the range and see if you like his style.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pretty good, idea, keep in mind, you may not understand exactly what he is telling the student and your "homework" will be almost definitely different, but not a bad idea.

http://www.pga.com/home/pgaofamerica/

scroll down on the left, you can get a list of PGA members in your area, you probably want to still check out some sort of reference from them.

Where do you live?

Tobdog

Weir · #6 09-03-2007, 04:55 AM

yeah be careful......

i used to work at a golf course that has held a usga championship, and the head pro is probably about a 13 handicap and teaches people regularly.

He actually sounds pretty good for beginners, but I think there a few solid golfers that have no idea what they have gotten themselves into.

guids · #7 09-03-2007, 09:59 AM

I live in st louis

Shoot59 · #8 09-03-2007, 12:00 PM

Some ideas:
-Call the University of St. Louis golf coach, find out a few teachers his players use.
-Ask the pros at the courses you play where they get/would get lessons besides themselves.
-Find out who the best playing pros are in your section. Although not always the case, it is easier to trust a top player rather some guy that took 8 tries to pass his PAT. Here is a good place to find out who plays well in your PGA section

TobDog · #9 09-03-2007, 02:00 PM

Also, not to break your heart. A lot of pros that make a good % of their income winning section events often do not teach that much unless they are employed at a driving range(HP's at Country Clubs teach a lot of their members and are often not going to take on a random non-member).
And if you ask them how many tries it took them to pass their PAT, you are most likely not going to get a straight answer from anyone that took more than 2-3 tries unless you know them well.

tobdog

K-Slay · #10 09-03-2007, 02:18 PM

[ QUOTE ]
yeah be careful......

i used to work at a golf course that has held a usga championship, and the head pro is probably about a 13 handicap and teaches people regularly.

He actually sounds pretty good for beginners, but I think there a few solid golfers that have no idea what they have gotten themselves into.

[/ QUOTE ]

A teaching pro's handicap isn't a good indication of their teaching ability. David Leadbetter is regarded as one of the top teachers in the world and is a 12 handicap.