The Difference Is Incredible: Why Lessons Are 10x More Valuable After Two Years Of Golf

It’s been two years since I last had a golf lesson. Back then, I was still getting to grips with the basics, learning mostly indoors at Pitch London, hitting balls in a simulator and figuring out how to make consistent contact. It was all new, exciting, and slightly overwhelming.

Fast forward to now, and my relationship with golf feels totally different. I’m no longer a complete novice. I know what works for me, what doesn’t, and how it feels when I strike the ball well. That understanding makes the process much more collaborative. Instead of placing all my trust in the coach as the expert and me as the student absorbing information, it feels like a partnership. We’re analysing things together, working out what’s happening, and why.

My Experience Playing Golf In Costa Rica

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spent a lot of time playing in Costa Rica, where I joined La Iguana Golf Club. I was playing regularly, surrounded by more experienced golfers, and I learned a lot just by watching how they managed the course. My etiquette improved, I became more confident with different players, and I found a rhythm to my game that felt calm and natural.

More importantly, I remembered that golf is meant to be fun. Somewhere in my beginner phase, I’d lost a bit of that: overthinking, chasing constant improvement, and worrying too much about my bad shots.

But while I gained confidence, I also hit a bit of a wall. I’d fallen into a pattern of relying on the same few clubs: my driver, 7 wood, hybrid, pitching wedge and putter. Occasionally, I’d throw in an 8 or 9 iron, but I was basically getting around the course with a half set. It worked, but it wasn’t complete golf. I couldn’t shape or control the ball the way I wanted. I couldn’t achieve my goal of breaking 100 and my scores were consistently sitting between 115 and 105. That’s when I realised it was time to invest in more coaching.

Why It Was Time To Return To Lessons

When I was playing in Costa Rica, I wasn’t able to see my swing and analyse it properly. I’d get feedback from more experienced golfers, but without being able to visualise it - and without knowing that the golfer fully understands the complexity of a swing rather than just an isolated glitch - you can get a bit stuck on how to improve. Having lessons again has been a great investment. Otherwise, you’re just trusting someone’s opinion without truly understanding what’s happening.

Having returned to the UK this summer, I started working with a local coach, Richard Lally, at Aspley Guise Golf Club. He offered me a package of both simulator lessons and outdoor sessions. I love this balance. The simulator gives you clear, visual, technical feedback, while the outdoor practice gives you the on course feedback you just cannot replicate indoors. It really does feel like the best of both worlds, and it has reminded me how valuable consistent coaching can be. As Richard put it, “The key is to stay on the lesson train. Ideally, golfers should keep having lessons. That is how you keep progressing.”

Lessons 1–2: Relearning The Fundamentals

In our first couple of sessions, we made small but important changes. I adjusted my grip, corrected my wrist hinge, and worked on rotating my hips more through the swing. I’d been hitting my irons a bit like a lob shot before, open faced and high, which was costing me distance.

We also discovered that what I thought was a half swing was actually a more controlled full swing. By staying more compact and controlled, I added around 20 yards to my 9 iron distance. The simulator helped confirm that improvement, showing cleaner strikes and better compression.

Understanding why each change mattered made a huge difference. It wasn’t just about copying movement anymore. It was about feeling the effect and seeing the results almost immediately.

Lesson 3: The “Golden” Piece

By the third lesson, everything came down to one simple thought: clubface, clubface, clubface.

The clubface is really responsible for the initial launch direction. When your clubface is open, that’s what’s causing your shots to go off. It sounds simple, but getting that awareness right changes everything.

My coach described integrating this change as “Tai Chi golf”, an analogy that really stuck with me. Slowing down the movement and not getting caught up in the anxiety of the outcome helped everything click. We worked on avoiding an early wrist release (or casting), which was stealing power and accuracy. Once I started holding the angles longer, my shots felt more compressed, more solid.

As Richard explained, “One of the secrets to lessons is finding that one thought that kills five birds with one stone. It’s not always easy - sometimes it’s trial and error - but every now and then you find the one thought that makes everything else fall into place.”

Lessons 4–5: Taking It To The Course

I really enjoy learning outside and feeling nature support me. At this stage, it’s been invaluable to take what I’ve worked on in the simulator and on the range and apply it to the course. Having a coach watch how those changes hold up under pressure is really useful.

These sessions also sharpened my short game awareness. My putting has been steady for a while; I’ve got a consistent stroke and read greens well, but maintaining a smoother tempo will make it even stronger.

Chipping, though, has become my main focus area. Improving my accuracy and distance control around the greens is where I know I can really start saving shots, something that’s key to achieving my goal of breaking 100.

The Mindset Shift

Another thing I noticed through this process is that now I’ve been playing for a couple of years, my mindset on the course has completely changed. I remember feeling intimidated by everything going on around me: the group behind, the players watching, the pressure to keep up. That feeling has shifted from “I must keep up” to “I’ll show you how good I am.”

One of the main things you’ve got to do is just breathe. Slow down. Take a deep breath. Concentrate on your own game. You’ve got to put yourself in your own bubble.

My coach Richard summed it up perfectly: “Instead of seeing it as something to be a victim about, use it as fuel.”

That’s stuck with me. It reflects the way I try to approach every round, less about fear, more about focus and confidence. Even if you don’t feel confident, the more you try to embody it, stick to the plan, and not let your emotions take over, the more this will become your new normal.

What Comes Next

As this series of lessons comes to an end, I have been thinking about what progress really means. It is not just about breaking 100 anymore.

Richard has helped me see that improvement is never finished. It is about constantly refining small details, trusting yourself and staying curious. Each lesson has given me something new to build on and a clearer sense of how to get the best out of my game.

These golf lessons have also reminded me that progress does not move in a straight line. Some days everything flows, other days it feels like starting again. But that is part of it. The challenge, the patience, the quiet moments when something finally clicks.

I still want to break 100, but the real value has been understanding my game on a more technical level and continuing to focus on the simplicity of improvement. Progress starts to come naturally once things are broken down to suit your game. The more you invest in yourself, the more golf gives back. If you have been waiting for a sign to book that next lesson, this is it.