With the many golf schools and academies available, it is more important than ever to do your homework in making the right choice.
First, select a desirable destination. Whether it is a high-profile location like Las Vegas or Orlando, or a place near home, it is important to be comfortable with the location.
Next, make sure there are playing lessons involved. It is important to get out on the course with your instructor to fine tune your progress.
Be sure to check out the teaching philosophy of the school you are considering. Do they teach the latest quick-fix or do they concentrate on proven fundamentals?
Many schools offer unproven strategies that may not last after you leave. Be sure you will get the type of instruction you want. Learn as much as you can about their instructors, such as age, years teaching and how long they have been with that particular school.
Finally, make sure the maximum student/teacher ratio 4 to 1.
Remember this is going to be your school, do your homework.
What to Expect at Your Golf School
You arrive with excitement. You're anxious to get started. You may be a little nervous. This is natural. Your instructor should immediately put you at ease and fully explain the schedule of activities.
It's also important that you, as the student, take the time to explain where you are and where you'd like to go with your game.
It's critical that you ask questions. You have an expert golfer at your disposal. Use him and remember that all questions are welcome no matter how basic.
As you begin your school, remember to pace yourself. Quality is always better than quantity. If there is more than one student in your school, be prepared to work some on your own as the instructor works with other students. Use this time to work specifically on what you have learned.
Try to ignore what the instructor is doing with other players during one-to-one time. They may be working on something that doesn't apply to you and it might distract from your learning experience.
Be ready to manage your expectations. You will improve immediately in some areas and other areas will take some post-school practice to perfect. Winston Churchill said, "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often."
The practice range portion or your school is where you learn the fundamentals. The playing lesson portion is where you apply what you've learned in real time. This is where you use your good shots to build your confidence, and learn from your mistakes in a non-competitive, non-judgmental environment.
Above all else, golf school should be fun and enjoyable. Taken in the right spirit, golf school can be a great learning experience where you spend quality time with family or old friends, or you meet new friends.
Teaching Philosophy
In choosing a golf school you might be tempted by the offer of gimmicks or quick-fix promises. If so, ask yourself mentally if these techniques are so effective, why don't the pros use them? The answer is they don't. Professional tour players practice the fundamentals day in and day out. Rarely will you hear of a tour player that adopts an untested playing method just to be stylish.
Remember that the tried-and-true fundamentals of golf have not changed for 70 years. Legendary golf greats like Byron Nelson and Sam Snead used equipment that is technologically inferior to today's large drivers, composite shafts and hybrids. But they still won again and again. Why? Because they stuck to basics and ignored the fads.
Many recreational golfers never took the time to learn the fundamentals when they started out. As a result, they are stuck with bad habits that affect their entire game. A good golf instructor won't attempt to radically change your game. He will look for one or two areas to improve that will affect five or six other areas. This is the power of leverage and it's the key to getting the most from any golf school.
A truly good golf school will empower you to take what you've learned and apply it long after you leave. Remember, gimmicks and quick-fixes come and go, but fundamental improvement lasts a lifetime.
Follow-Up
Remember the last time you attended golf school? Were you able to transfer what you learned to real life when you got home? Did you have a clear picture of what you needed to work on? Did your instructor give you specific drills to practice and did you follow through?
Golf, like other areas of life, shouldn't be a spectator sport. If you want to improve, you have to work at it. Fortunately, working at improving your golf game can be fun and enjoyable once you know what to work on.
Most good golf schools use video and special teaching software to provide post-lesson analysis that enables you to take the lesson with you and use it as the basis for improvement.
Most good golf schools encourage you to keep in contact with your instructor to let him know how you're doing and to ask questions or get ideas.
As with any sport, learning is an ongoing process. It's important to take follow-up lessons at least once a year to build on what you learned in the prior session. For best results, you should take your lessons from the same person each time so that you'll get a consistent learning experience. A golf school can be more productive than taking golf lessons from your local pro because a good golf school provides a more comprehensive approach for six to seven hours a day versus an hour or half-hour at a time.
Golf school can be a very positive, rewarding, fun experience. Students come for a variety of reasons, but where else can you spend quality time with family, friends, or business associates? Golf is a game you can enjoy for a lifetime. A good golf school helps you get the most out your golfing experience.
The following links are recommended only because they provide a "Guaranteed Improvement" guarantee, and are the only ones to do so. The writer is not affiliated with these schools nor has attended them.
http://www.gotogolfschool.com
Ken Venturi Golf Academies
http://www.kenventuri.com
James Wilson is an online infopreneur, syndicated news columnist, and founder of Vegas Buzz News http://www.vegasbuzzz.com home of over 70 channels of syndicated news feeds including Golf Buzz, Golf School News and Golf Links.
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