Your first golf lesson: what to expect

Most people put off their first lesson for a year because they think they need to get better before they take one. You don't. The whole point of the first lesson is that you're not good yet. Here's what the hour actually looks like, so there's nothing to be nervous about.

Before you arrive

Bring your clubs if you have them; if you don't, say so when you book and I'll have a loaner set. Wear whatever you'd wear to walk a mile in the sun. Bring water. If you've played before, bring a couple of scorecards, because they tell me more than ten swings do.

Don't warm up for an hour first. Don't watch six YouTube videos the night before. Come in with whatever swing you've got; that's the one we're working with.

The hour

First five minutes: talking. What you want out of golf. Playing with clients? Keeping up with a partner who plays? Breaking 100? The answer changes the lesson.

Next ten: hitting, no coaching. I watch, I film three swings, and I keep my mouth shut. The pattern shows up by about swing six, and I'd rather see it than guess.

Then one change. Not four. The one thing that moves the most strokes, which for most new players is contact: hitting the ball before the ground. You'll see it on video, feel it, and hit it until it holds for a few swings in a row.

Last ten: the plan. One drill, one feel, one thing to stop doing, texted to you before you reach the car. That's what you practice. Nothing else until next time.

What you should leave with

A ball in the air more often than not, one thing to work on, and a clear sense of whether you want to come back. If a coach fills your head with six fixes and sends you off with a grip change and a swing-plane lecture, that's a lesson for the coach, not for you.

The new-golfer page has the first three lessons laid out, and the first look is $95 so you can try one hour before committing to more.

Questions people ask