I am a 43-year-old golfer with a 12 handicap. I purchased a one-month membership with the goal of…read moremaking some changes to my swing and potentially buying new irons. The facility itself is clean, impressive, and well maintained. Unfortunately, my experience with the golf instruction was disappointing.
As part of the membership, I received a swing assessment with Shane. During the assessment, he never asked about my handicap, my golf background, my typical ball flight, my goals, or what I was hoping to improve. I felt like I was being judged entirely on my swing without any context about my game.
He showed me pictures of Ben Hogan's and Tiger Woods' swings and suggested that I watch PGA tournaments and pay attention to how players practice. He told me my takeaway was wrong, that I needed to widen my setup, and that I needed to rotate my shoulders. However, I was given very little instruction on how to make those changes. I was given a swing sequence and a shoulder exercise, but no real progression or repeatable drills to help me develop the new movement.
At the end of the lesson, I was asked if I wanted to sign up for five lessons for $550. I was already somewhat deflated by the experience, but I wanted to improve my swing, so I decided to continue.
When I came back for my second lesson, Shane did not remember me. He again showed me the same Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods swing pictures and once again told me to watch PGA tournaments and watch players practice. It felt like I was receiving essentially the same lesson for a second time.
This time, he moved me farther away from the ball and then told me to choke up on the club. I told him that I felt extremely far from the ball and that I could feel my back pulling to compensate for the position. I took three swings, and on the third swing I lost my balance. He then pointed out that I was out of balance. From my perspective, the setup changes had contributed to the problem, and I wasn't given a clear explanation of why the changes were being made.
My biggest issue was not that he identified things in my swing that needed work. I expected to be critiqued. My issue was that I was often given 10 things to fix but no clear plan for how to fix them. I wasn't given enough repeatable drills, practice routines, swing feels, or progressions that I could take to the range and work on.
I ultimately spent about five weeks watching YouTube videos and working on my takeaway and swing on my own. I realized I was spending more time trying to teach myself how to make the changes than I had spent actually learning how to make them during my lessons. That made me question what I was paying for.
I decided to ask for a refund and will be looking for a different instructor. I understand that different golfers respond to different teaching styles, and Shane may be a good instructor for some players. However, his approach was not a good fit for me. I felt like he had one particular way he wanted me to swing, rather than working with me to understand my existing swing and giving me a structured way to make changes.
I don't have anything negative to say about the facility itself, and the other instructor I interacted with was a nice guy. I may still use the facility when I am ready to purchase new irons. My criticism is specifically about my experience with the lessons.
My advice to other golfers would be to take one lesson with Shane before committing to a package. For me, the experience was ultimately discouraging because I wanted instruction that gave me a clear understanding of what I needed to change, why I needed to change it, and--most importantly--how to practice it.
