During a typical session with a student, a qualified instructor will likely spend the first 5 to 10 minutes observing your golf swing and making an effort to establish a comfortable setting which will lead to more effective communication.

Your instructor ought to ask you for some background information:

• Previous golf and sports history; previous injury history, i.e., any physical limitations; occupation; previous instruction history; goals for golf.
• Specific golf information. Your practice habits; motivation for playing golf (i.e., competition vs. hobby vs. spouse activity, etc.); motivation for taking golf lessons and examination of your equipment.
• Set an objective for the lesson. “What specifically would you like to accomplish?”

Next, your instructor will analyze your technique. By watching you hit shots with various clubs, he/she can see ball flight characteristics; find out how far you hit each club; and determine your strengths and weaknesses in the various aspects of golf.

Explanation, error correction and review make up the last portion of the lesson. In this phase, your instructor will explain some ideas, demonstrate certain fundamentals to perform and make suggestions as to what you need to change to accomplish desired results. At the end of the session, he/she should summarize the information.

More advanced, experienced golfers generally want error correction which can usually be accomplished in one to three lessons over several weeks. For those who need additional coaching, your instructor will probably suggest several series’ of golf lessons with a custom curriculum over the course of a few months. During that time, you and your instructor will see one another on a regular basis to gain improvement.