Do You Need Professional Help?
We’re a couple weeks into 2026 and about halfway through the winter, so many golfers are starting to think about the upcoming golf season. Unless you’re a true pessimist, you’re probably thinking about how this year could be your best yet. If you’re dreaming of golf improvement, you’re likely considering professional instruction, too, so I’m going to make the case for and against golf lessons.
This Lesson Is For You If:
You’re thinking about taking golf lessons
The Case for Taking Golf Lessons
If a friend asked me whether or not they should take golf lessons, I would think about my answer in terms of a list of boxes that all need to be checked. We’ll assume you can afford lessons and move right to the question of who to take a lesson from. If you have a coach that you trust – through a referral, your own research, etc – you’re on your way to being a person who should take golf lessons [more on how to select a golf coach HERE].
The next question I would ask is, “Do you have a clear idea of what you’re trying to accomplish?” This answer could take several forms.
“I want to shoot __”
“I want to have a handicap of ___ or lower my handicap by ___ strokes.”
“I want to learn how to hit certain shots/drive it better/have a better swing.”
If you know what you’re trying to accomplish with your game, a good coach can help you reach that goal faster. Conversely, if you don’t know why you’re taking a golf lesson, don’t.
Next, you have to be honest with yourself and ask, “Do I want to listen to the coach’s advice?” If your coach tells you to do something that’s uncomfortable, are you going to try it? If they tell you to do something strategically different to achieve a scoring goal, will you stick with it? Are you willing to suffer temporary setbacks to reach a higher level of golf? If the answer to any of these questions is “No,” then you’re likely wasting your time and money by taking golf lessons.
Finally, ask youself, “Do I want to work?” Paying and showing up for golf lessons does not entitle you to lower scores. Your coach can show you the path, but you need to walk it yourself by practicing diligently. If you can’t or won’t commit the time to practicing, don’t take golf lessons.
The Case Against Taking Golf Lessons
Despite what some people will tell you, there is a giant list of valid reasons to not take a golf lesson, even if you want to improve your game. Near the top of that list is not knowing a quality coach to work with. Hand in hand with that is not having the money to pay for a good coach. Good golf lessons are expensive, and if you have to choose between taking lessons and playing golf, I’d choose playing golf every time.
Another reason to skip paid golf lessons is the abundance of free golf instruction online. Do I think that going to YouTube University is a good way to improve your game? Not really [I explained why HERE and Tiger Woods agrees with me HERE]. That said, there are good tips online, some people can’t stay away from YouTube, and others simply prefer exploring the swing on their own. All of these are reasons to stay away from lessons.
Finally, if you don’t have a burning desire to shoot lower scores or change your swing – the kind of desire that will drive you to practice even when you don’t want to – don’t waste your time or money with lessons. Changing your swing in a meaningful way takes time and hundreds of repetitions. If you’re not ready for that kind of commitment, focus on enjoying the game with the swing you have.
Two Other Considerations
The average Plugged In Golf reader has an above-average knowledge of golf technology, and that may be a factor for you consider when deciding if you want to take lessons, and, if so, with whom. Do you need your instructor to have a launch monitor? If so, which one? Do they need motion capture? Video? Force plates?
There’s nothing wrong with want an instructor to have technology, even if it’s just so you can scratch the itch of seeing what it’s all about. That said, it’s important to remember that having technology doesn’t make an instructor good. Butch Harmon coached a lot of major champions with nothing more than his eyes. I’d even argue that technology can be a distraction or a shield for some coaches.
Finally, I’d caution you from falling into the belief that good players make good coaches. There are excellent coaches who can play the game at a high level, and there are excellent coaches who can’t. I’d be a bit skeptical of someone who can’t play at all, but, as a prospective student, I’m much more interested in a coach’s coaching resume than their handicap.
More Helpful Links
Matt & Andy Discuss: Should You Change Your Swing?
How Many Golf Lessons Should You Take?
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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12 Comments
I just can’t afford it. I have grown to love golf since I started playing during covid. Many people I know who started playing the same time I did have quit. Not me. I absolutely love it. As I get older, I find that golf is the perfect intersection of physically and mentally challenging. It’s like playing pickleball or tennis, combined with crossword puzzles. Great for the body and mind. The problem is that people like myself can’t afford quality instruction. I pay for my son to take piano lessons every week. $25 for a 30 minute lesson. At Golf Galaxy, a 30 minute lesson costs $100. No way on God’s green earth could I, or most average people afford to pay that much for a weekly lesson. Yes, golf is a motor skill and regular lessons are a must. If a piano teacher can figure how to offer $25 lessons on a weekly basis, why can’t golf? I know people will argue, “well golf has a lot of overhead costs”. Sure, i guess, but my son’s piano teacher has a $20000 grand piano. That’s basically a Trackman studio setup. If she can load up her schedule with students paying $25, why not a golf teacher. It seems like most golf pros spend their time puttering around the clubhouse when they could actually be out helping people. I guess golf is, and always will be, a rich person’s sport. Denigrate me all you want for not paying someone $100 for a 30 minute lesson, but I, like many others, just can’t afford it. If the talking heads were really sincere about “growing the game”, they would find a way to lower the pay wall that exists for the vast majority of us. I love this sport and I will continue to play it for the benefit of my body and mind, but I refuse to be treated like a peasant because some guy in a polo shirt thinks his time is 4 times more valuable than a piano teacher’s.
Gary,
I’ll rage against the cost of golf with you all day, but – and this is a sincere question – where do you live that your son is getting piano lessons for $25?
Best,
Matt
Hi Matt, I live in western NY. These prices are not that uncommon. $25 for a half hour is $50/hour for the teacher, or about $100,000 a year full time. Not bad for someone, much like a golf instructor, who turned their hobby into a job.
Gary,
I was with you until that last bit. No one’s work is worth less because someone else views it as a hobby or because they enjoy it.
-Matt
So, you disregard my multitude of salient points because we disagree on the degree of effort required to become a pro golfer? My point is that most of these teaching pros want to be compensated like they spent ten years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars on rigorous training to become something equivalent to a neurosurgeon ($100/half hour= $200/hour= ~$400,000 a year). When in reality, the path to becoming a teaching pro is much shorter and less expensive. Their hourly rate should reflect that. But go ahead, and keep defending the status quo. You, yourself, admit that golf is too expensive. If you want that to change, try calling out and challenging the status quo, instead of being submissive to it.
Gary,
I said I generally agreed with your other points – “I was with you” – until you were disrespectful toward certain people’s professions. That’s not me “defending the status quo,” that’s me respecting people’s work.
If you want me to go in on your other points, I can do that. Your math reflects the fact that you’ve never taught golf or seriously talked with someone who does. The percentage of golf instructors who actually teach 40 hours/week is virtually nonexistent. And that’s not because they charge too much, it’s because booking a lesson is threading a very small needle: golfers in their area, who want to take lessons, who can afford it, and who have time to take a lesson when they have time to give a lesson. Outside of the handful of names everyone knows – Haney, Ledbetter, Harmon – people are not getting rich teaching golf.
There are many ways in which golf should be made less expensive; taking money from the people who teach the game is not high on my list.
-Matt
Green side bunkers were ruining an otherwise (for me) good round. I took one lesson ($119/hr) and now I am getting out of the bunker in one. Not always close to the pin but I’m not taking 3 strokes in the bunker anymore. I think that was well worth the time and money.
Kevin,
That’s a perfect “pro-lesson” scenario: you knew that you needed help in a specific area, you got it, and you did the work on whatever they told you. Congrats!
Best,
Matt
I started playing golf in my early 50s and for several years hacked away with my homemade swing to scores that ranged from 105 to 130. Thanks to the joy from playing with my son, and a few good shots every round, I got hooked. Golf lessons saved my game and allowed me to reach my dream handicap of 15 (even dipped to a 14 five years ago). The first year I played more than 30 rounds – 2014 – I took a lesson package and shot my first 80s score. Since then I’ve followed with 330 more rounds in the 80s (at 50 different courses). I get regular ‘tune-ups’ as my original bad swing habits keep creeping back in. Lessons can be expensive. That said, in the Washington DC area I’m taking advantage of a winter discount of $50 for a (generous) half hour lesson with an excellent instructor. Practicing on your own what you’re taught is essential.
I used to purchase lessons through Groupon at 3 for $125. My instructor used video to show me flaws in my swing and gave me an incredible leg up. That coach now gets $125 for a half hour lesson. He’s probably worth it but I can’t afford it.
Once upon a time I lived near a “barber college” where you could get a haircut from the students for $5. They usually did a fine job and had instructors watching them. Makes me wonder if there is a golf college where cheap lessons from aspiring pros can be had on the cheap.
I found lessons to be worth it if you find the right coach and are honest with them about what you’re looking for. A good coach should be asking that up front. I was fortunate to connect with a great fitter who is also a great coach.
I found the 30 minutes lessons (half the price) every so often were good for me. We realized I responded well to drills and he would give me drills I could do regularly without hitting a ton of balls. Unfortunately he is only doing fittings now, but I made notes at each lesson and following his drills with not much play or practice my handicap has dropped over the last 2 seasons.
I think 1 very critical part is missing. If you don’t have the mobility / flexibility, stability, strength and balance that is needed to maximize improvements both in life and on the course, are you throwing good, hard-working money away. What good is it if you can bench press 500 pounds but can’t bend over to tie your golf shoes or pick up the ball in the cup?