Do I need a golf school or just private lessons? What a great question to ask yourself. I teach both private lessons and I teach for National Golf Schools. Both are good but what does a student really need? Here are my thoughts and recommendations.
I will tell you that the average student learns more from a golf school such as National Golf Schools. The reason being is (for a lack of better terms) golf schools are “boot camp for golf.” The focus of an intense 2,3 or even 4 day course is great for repeating instruction and getting those important “swing nuggets” of information buried into the gray matter we call our brain. A typical day at National Golf School lasts between 7 and 8 hours! No, it is not just pounding balls at a range. It is much more than that. It covers all aspects of the game and probably one of the most critical parts, a playing lesson each day. On the hand private lessons are good for fixing a specific item but typically is not as holistic as a quality golf school. Most amateur golfers take one lesson and then never go back nor see much improvement. They then think the lesson did not work. The other reality of life is that 90% of us do not spend the time on the practice range we need to spend. National Golf embeds the training into the student through a focused core sessions.
So lesson from National Golf Schools does provide better memory retention. Too often the student who takes private lessons has the thought process of “one and done.” Take one lesson and think is it a cure all and then a year later wonder why they did not improve. With an intense golf school the student realizes it is not a one done scenario. When the student leaves the school they take with them a wealth of knowledge with them so that with practice they do see growth in their golf game.
Do not get me wrong private lessons are very good providing that the student is consistent and diligent to take lesson after lesson after lesson. Yet, few people have that dedication. Today we have many stresses in our lives pulling us many different ways and what drops off of the plate first are things such as golf lessons or tennis lessons or going to the gym. National Golf Schools understands the commitment the student signs up for and we take that commitment seriously. We know it is not just a vacation but and investment into improving the students golf game and enjoyment on the course through better play.
Another issue I have found is, one of the worst things a student can do is jump around to multiple pros. Many instructors have their own method of teaching and have difficulty matching what another pro has done. The reality is that most instructors no matter if it is golf, bowling, racing… have pretty big egos and have a lot of trouble leaving their egos at the door. Our focus at National Golf Schools is “the student is the priority not our egos.” It does not matter if I am providing private lessons or working for National Golf Schools during the interview process I always work with the student to find out if they have been working with another pro. I then work (when possible) to stay consistent with their previous instruction.
There those situations where a private lesson works very well. If a student is having an issue with just certain segment of their game or one part of their game has hit a problem, i.e. putting or pitching, then the keen eye of the local pro may be able to capture the flaw and fixed it quickly.
The advantage of a high quality golf school is that the student for a period of time is in intense focused and holistic instruction. This includes a playing lesson each day. Nation Golf Schools includes that all important playing lesson on a live course. So we take it from the range to reality and also learning many other mental aspects of course management. I know National Golf Schools provides that interface of range to reality. So daily, what we learn on the range and then apply it to reality on the course.
I can tell you after teaching both private and teaching for National Golf Schools the instruction through a golf school is intense, it does take a commitment in both time and money. Overall, a golf school such as National Golf Schools is by far the best and most effective way to go. It is the most effective way to learn, improve and
Joe Blanc, NPGIA
2012 National Golf School “Teacher of the Year”