Opinion on golf teacher

Hi everyone,

I am a lucky man and I get to have 10 weeks off work this summer. So since I really like golf, I will put in all my time into getting better. I am currently roughly a 23 handicapper. So I was looking for people's opinions on teachers in Ottawa. Perhaps you can post who you had lessons with and what came out of it and a rating from 1 to 10 on the teacher you had. My goal by the end of the summer is to consistently play in the 70s. So I know to get there I will need a good teacher.( I currently play in the low 90s). So there it is, post away!;)

Simon,

To be honest I am not sure how realistic a goal it is to go from a 23HDCP to a 7-8 HDCP in one season. I guess if you have the affinity and play almost everyday and practice every day it is possible.

But as for the teacher I really Like Greg Foley who works at the Kevin Haime's driving range. There are others who have taken lessons from hima dn like him too.

Godd luck. Sounds like your summer is planned out well.

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Originally Posted by Simonlap

Hi everyone,

I am a lucky man and I get to have 10 weeks off work this summer. So since I really like golf, I will put in all my time into getting better. I am currently roughly a 23 handicapper. So I was looking for people's opinions on teachers in Ottawa. Perhaps you can post who you had lessons with and what came out of it and a rating from 1 to 10 on the teacher you had. My goal by the end of the summer is to consistently play in the 70s. So I know to get there I will need a good teacher.( I currently play in the low 90s). So there it is, post away!;)

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Let me know when you find this miracle worker who will take you from a 23 to single digit in 10 weeks !! A little advice,most people set goals that are attainable. When it comes to golf, wich happens to be the most difficult of all sports to get reasonably good at, you would be better off setting more realistics goals. You might want to consider achieving a number of plateaux in your quest instead of shooting for the stars. Golf is best learned in baby steps and the next plateau is always more difficult to get to than the previous one.
Also, it will take much more than just a great teacher to get where you want to be. There are many great teachers out there, but it's like your golf clubs, you should be fitted for your golf clubs as well as there should be a fit, or a certain chemistry between you and your teacher. Everybody learns differenlty, not every teacher communicates the same way. You have to go out and actually intervue these guys/girls and make your decision based on the meeting.

Good luck

Some good points mentioned above.

As for teachers, I would highly recommend Joe Dubinski. A great guy. Not sure where he's teaching out of right now, but last I heard he was at Kanata.

I have had great success with Warren Grant at Manderley (and the west end dome), and would recommend him to anyone. I see you're in Vars, so I'm not sure how far you're willing to travel for lessons though.

I had taken lessons before from others, and had a good grasp of the fundamentals of setup, grip, posture, and takeaway. In my experience almost any reputable golf pro can get you this far - provided that the communication between student and teacher is good and you put in some quality practice time.

The problem for me (and for many of us I think) is learning the transition from the top of the backswing to impact. This is where Warren excelled for me, and my game improved dramatically after taking lessons with him last year. I still have a few bad habits that creep in from time to time, but the scores are coming down.

Chopping 5 strokes in a year when coming down from 23 would be doing extremely well. When you get to 15 be very happy with 2 or 3 strokes shaved in a season.

As downhillslider said, lessons and a fitting are the way to go for sure.

How a given teacher communicates with you is key. Some great teachers may not gel with you, so be careful with recommendations. Pick one that speaks your language. Also chose one that is easy to access. If you have to make too big a time commitment to getting a lesson you won't do it as regularly.

Lots of practice. a series of lessons is wasted if you don't. Personally I prefer playing to practice, so lessons and practice are a winter thing for me.

Just my 2 cents.

BTW, I too can vouch for Warren's ability as a teacher. I have been working with him this season at the west end dome and am feeling good about the things we are working on. As a 12 I can now start looking forward to the possibility of single digits, but we'll see. I'm not holding my breath or expecting too much!

Hi, <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
To reach such a goal your need a lot of determination and commitment. And for sure, a very good golf pro. I believe a Very Good Golf Professional is someone who is member of a recognized PGA such CPGA or PGA of America and has his/her degree. Check his/her background, to know if he or she has his degree (like Class A). if this Pro has played professional Tour or taught elite players, this is also a good reference. If the pro use advanced technology such V1, it will help you to improve faster. You can find most of these information in Internet with "Google" or professional organization websites. The best golf pro for you is above all the one you can trust and make you succeed today and not in 3 years. <o:p></o:p>
I won't recommend a golf pro in particular however I hope that all the information above will help you to find a good one.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>

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Originally Posted by Neimo

Hi, <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
To reach such a goal your need a lot of determination and commitment. And for sure, a very good golf pro. I believe a Very Good Golf Professional is someone who is member of a recognized PGA such CPGA or PGA of America and has his/her degree. Check his/her background, to know if he or she has his degree (like Class A). if this Pro has played professional Tour or taught elite players, this is also a good reference. If the pro use advanced technology such V1, it will help you to improve faster. You can find most of these information in Internet with "Google" or professional organization websites. The best golf pro for you is above all the one you can trust and make you succeed today and not in 3 years. <o:p></o:p>
I won't recommend a golf pro in particular however I hope that all the information above will help you to find a good one.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>

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And talent. Lots of it…

I think Rob Lindsay out of the Hylands is a great teacher, so is his staff. I think they get looked over because it is a private course but the leasons are open to everyone and they have a great teaching area with all the toys.

As for the fitting, in my opinion there is no point in getting fitted until you have your swing closer to the finished product. Take some lesson get a swing that is consistent then get fitted. You may not want to invest to much into clubs until you get down to the level you want because if you are going to keep working on your swing you will need to be refitted.

Droping from 23 to 7-8 handicap will not happen in one season with 1o weeks of lessons. It will take 3 weeks of lesson to get you out of the bad habits another 3 weeks of doubting if any of this is ever going to work and the last 4 weeks will be where it starts to come together. Just don't be discourage if you start shooting mid to high 80's inside of 70's. Getting down into the single digits is hard and usually your swing will only get you so far, its the short game that gets you there. As an 8 handicap I want to get down to a 5 this year, droping 3 points of your HC is really hard to do when you get down into the single and might be unrealistic for me so keep that in mind when your trying to drop 15 points on your HC. Mind you the upper digits are easier to drop then when you get into the lower ones.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I am totally aware of the Super High goal I have set myself. Thank mberube for the post. I definately need alot of determination and commitment (which I have). Being a Habs fan like you, we know how determined and committed we must be to still be habs fans! lol. The Cup is ours this year!!!
Ok back to golf. I will definately look into getting lessons from Warren or Rob, both are within my reach.

So thanks again, if anyone else has other suggestions please post them.
Oh and another question, If by the end of the summer I was looking to play in a competitive event, just to get a feel of competitive play, anything you guys would suggest?

I am currently an 18.5 HDCP and played in a two man team at the Greensmere Survivor challenge. It was my firsy formal competitive event and I had a ton of fun.

If South End is important, check out Colin Orr from the OAC. They teach out of FalconRidge in the summer. He is an excellent teacher, good communicator and very personable.

Good luck with your goals!

Garth.

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Originally Posted by Simonlap

Thanks everyone for the comments. I am totally aware of the Super High goal I have set myself. Thank mberube for the post. I definately need alot of determination and commitment (which I have). Being a Habs fan like you, we know how determined and committed we must be to still be habs fans! lol. The Cup is ours this year!!!
Ok back to golf. I will definately look into getting lessons from Warren or Rob, both are within my reach.

So thanks again, if anyone else has other suggestions please post them.
Oh and another question, If by the end of the summer I was looking to play in a competitive event, just to get a feel of competitive play, anything you guys would suggest?

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I would say Kevin Haime....I know I enjoyed my time and have sent many friends to him as well and they all have said nice things.

But you should go and talk to a few different Teachers and see what you think. You need to be able to talk freely and get the truth for what you are looking for...
A short game lesson by it's self is money well spent....I know this is also offered by Kevin...

Good for you for having a goal. First of all there are so many good CPGA teachers. You live in the east so maybe try one of the local pros there. As for attaining your goal, I don't think it is very fair to say it is unrealistic. For all we know, you could just miss every green in regulation and take 3 or 4 to get down from there each time. Therefore with a series of short game lessons, you could easily be a 7-8, or maybe your driver only finds the woods but the rest of your game is great...what I am trying to say, is that everyone has issues and depending on what they are can make a huge difference in your scores. The key is to find your weakness and focus on that area. So I don't think you would say you want to get to the 70's unless you believe it is possible. So good on ya and good luck. By the way, if you ever come to the west end, Greg Foley is a good teacher like Rez said.

2 guys i would recommend would be Foley at kevin haimes or Joe dubinski at kanata...both excellent teachers and great guys!