How to Give a Golf Lesson

Giving a truly effective golf lesson goes far beyond just spotting a swing fault. It’s a craft that blends observation, communication, psychology, and the ability to simplify a notoriously complex motion. This guide breaks down the essential steps to structuring and delivering a golf lesson that doesn't just provide temporary fixes, but builds lasting confidence and genuine improvement for a student.

Before the Clock Starts: The Preparation Phase

The best lessons are set up for success before the student even hits their first ball. What you do in the first five minutes can determine the outcome of the entire session. Don't rush this part, it's foundational.

Understand Your Student First

Your first job isn’t to watch a swing, it’s to listen. A golf swing is a reflection of a person’s athletic history, their physical abilities, and their mental approach to the game. Before they even pull out a club, start a conversation. You’re looking for context that will shape the entire lesson. Ask open-ended questions like:

• “How long have you been playing, and what does a typical round look like for you?”
• “If you could wave a wand and fix one part of your game, what would it be?”
• “What’s your most common miss? A big slice to the right? A thin shot that doesn’t get airborne?”
• “Do you have any physical issues I should know about? A sore back, tricky knees, shoulder stuff?”

Their answers are gold. A player who says "I topped it all day" has a different problem than someone who says "I keep hooking the ball." A student with a bad back cannot be taught the same aggressive lower body rotation as a flexible 25-year-old. This initial conversation builds trust and shows you respect their unique experience. It transforms you from a walking instruction manual into a collaborative partner.

Set One Clear Goal for the Session

Once you’ve talked and watched them hit a few balls to warm up, it’s time to set an agenda. The single biggest mistake amateur coaches make is trying to fix everything at once. No one can rebuild their grip, change their takeaway, shift their weight properly, and learn a new finish in a 45-minute lesson. It’s a recipe for confusion and frustration.

Based on your conversation and an initial observation of 5-10 swings, identify the root cause of their main issue. A slice isn’t the problem, it’s the symptom. The problem might be an open clubface caused by a poor grip or an over-the-top swing path. Your job is to pick the one piece that will have the biggest positive downstream effect.

Then, state the goal out loud. Make a contract for the session. For example, “Okay, I’m seeing a few things, but I think the most important thing we can work on today is your setup. You're aiming to the left without realizing it, which is causing you to swing across the ball to compensate. For the rest of this session, our only goal is to get your alignment square. Sound good?” This focus gives the student a sense of purpose and progress.

During the Lesson: The Art of Coaching

With a clear goal established, the main part of the lesson begins. This is where you transition from observer to coach, using a variety of techniques to help the student understand and feel the necessary changes.

Explain the "Why," Not Just the "What"

Telling a golfer to "do this" without explaining *why* rarely works. Adult learners need to understand the logic behind a change to commit to it. Connect the cause to the effect. Frame your instructions in a simple "if-then" statement.

• Instead of: "Turn your hips more."
• Try: "Right now, your arms are doing all the work, which is why you feel tired and get inconsistent results. If you start initiating the downswing by turning your hips first, you'll tap into a much bigger source of power and the club will naturally fall into the right position."

When the student understands that changing their grip will directly cure their slice, they become motivated. When they realize weight shift is the source of power, they become an active participant in their own improvement, not just a passive follower of commands.

The "Seeing is Believing" Principle

Golfers have a notoriously unreliable sense of what their body is doing in space. What *feels* like a full shoulder turn might be a barely-there rocking of the arms. This is where modern technology becomes an indispensable coaching tool. Your smartphone is your most valuable asset.

Record a few swings from two critical angles: “face-on” (directly in front of the student) and “down-the-line” (directly behind the student, looking toward the target). Then, show it to them. This isn't about shaming them, it’s about providing objective reality.

Slow the video down and point to the one thing you’re working on. “See right here at the top of your swing? How the club is pointing way across the line? That’s what’s forcing you to loop it over the top on the way down.” Suddenly, the weird-feeling drill you’re about to give them makes perfect sense. Visual feedback cuts through the noise and provides an "aha!" moment faster than any verbal explanation.

Keep it Super Simple: The "One Thought" Rule

The golf swing happens in less than two seconds. A brain cluttered with a checklist of mechanical positions will short-circuit. Once you’ve identified the change, your next job is to boil it down to a single, simple swing thought or feeling. Resist the urge to pile on advice.

Instead of hitting them with a barrage of instructions like "Shift your weight, set your wrists, drop the club inside, and finish high!," give them one manageable piece of the puzzle.

• If they’re swaying, the thought could be, "Turn around the barrel."
• If they’re using all arms, the thought could be, "Get my belt buckle to the target."
• If their takeaway is flawed, the thought could be, "Keep the clubhead outside my hands for the first two feet."

Let them hit 10-15 balls focusing only on that one feeling. Don’t even talk about where the ball goes initially. You are training a new motor pattern, and that requires focus and repetition on a single element.

Use Drills, Not Just Words

The best way to instill a new feeling is through a drill that forces the body to do it correctly. Drills provide physical feedback that is more direct than any verbal cue. They essentially install the new move for the student, who just has to perform the drill.

• For poor path (the slicer’s over-the-top move): Place an empty club headcover about six inches outside and slightly behind the golf ball. If they swing over the top, they will hit the headcover. Their body will quickly learn to swing from the inside to avoid it.
• For lack of rotation: Have them make back-and-forth, continuous practice swings without stopping, like a pendulum. This "never-ending" swing feel promotes body flow and stops the arms from taking over.
• For poor impact (thin or fat shots): Place a tee in the ground an inch in front of the ball. Tell the student their only goal is to hit the ball and then clip the tee out of the ground. This promotes the correct downward angle of attack with irons.

Wrapping Up: Making the Lesson Stick

A lesson that ends the moment the last ball is hit is a lesson that will be quickly forgotten. The final five minutes are essential for reinforcing the new information and giving the student a plan.

Summarize and Prioritize

Before they pack up their bag, stop all activity and verbally review the session. Reiterate the one key idea in simple terms. Remind them of the cause and effect.

"Okay, fantastic work today. To recap, the whole reason you were slicing was because of that weak grip that left the clubface wide open. By strengthening your left-hand position - remember, seeing those two knuckles - you now have control of the club. That should be your only focus for the next two weeks."

Give Actionable "Homework"

Improvement happens between lessons, not just during them. Give your student one extremely simple drill they can do at home. Often, the best drills don't even require a ball. Simply making 20-30 slow-motion practice swings in front of a mirror while feeling the new move is more valuable than beating a bucket of balls with the old, flawed swing.

A brilliant finishing touch is to send a follow-up text or email. Acknowledge their hard work, attach the short video clip you took of their "new" swing functioning correctly, and restate the key swing thought in one sentence. This small gesture dramatically increases the chances that the lesson will actually stick.

The Mindset of a Great Golf Coach

Teaching effectively is as much about your demeanor as your knowledge. The student is often vulnerable, frustrated, and looking for hope.

Be a Confidence Builder, Not a Fault-Finder

Golf is hard. Players are already acutely aware of their shortcomings. They don’t need you to list all 17 things they are doing wrong. They need you to find the *one* thing that will start making them feel successful. Your role is to be an unwavering source of positive energy. Celebrate the good shots enthusiastically. A "Yes! That's the one! See that flight?" creates positive reinforcement and builds the momentum needed to get through the awkward early stages of a change.

Patience is a Virtue

A new move will feel strange. It will often produce bad shots before it produces good ones. Reassure your student that this is a normal part of the process. Tell them, "Don't worry about the results for these next few shots. We're just trying to feel the new position. It's supposed to feel weird." Managing their expectations - and your own - is fundamental to long-term success. Success isn’t one great lesson, it’s building a new pattern over time.

Final Thoughts

In short, being a great golf teacher is about being a great simplifier and a source of confidence. It’s about listening to the student, diagnosing the true source of their issue, clearly communicating one solution, and providing them with a concrete plan to implement it. Do that, and you won’t just be giving lessons, you’ll be changing someone’s relationship with the game.

While an in-person lesson is invaluable, you want your student to continue making progress on their own. We developed Caddie AI to act as a 24/7 reinforcement tool, helping your students remember lessons and make better decisions. It can answer their questions when you're not available and provide on-course strategic help, ensuring the principles you teach in the lesson bay are successfully applied on the actual golf course, where it counts.