Maximizing Your lesson

At The Academy at the Stephens Golf Center, our goal is to help every student play better golf. It is a collaborative effort between the instructor and the student. Golf lessons are like anything else in life, YOU GET OUT OF THEM WHAT YOU PUT INTO THEM. The best way to maximize the effectiveness of your lesson and to see maximum improvement is to practice, practice, practice. Not every golfer has the ability to dedicate 5 hours a day to their golf game, but every golfer can probably find a few minutes a day to work on their swing. Our staff will make sure to prescribe you with practice activities for the range as well as for home, and please feel free to ask us for any ideas on how you work on things on your own.

We typically recommend a minimum of two weeks in between lessons and at least 2-4 practice sessions/rounds of golf in between lessons. If the golfer is able to practice and play more often, then the frequency of lessons can be increased and positive results will still be seen. The students that don’t achieve the success that they desire are those who aren’t able to put in the time in between lessons to develop a comfort level with their new technique. Our instructors will provide you with the key concepts and the blueprint to improve your game, but true success comes from our student’s taking what they’ve learned from us and making it their own.

We recommend more frequent practice sessions that are shorter in length. A student will get much more out of four 30 minute practice sessions than they will one 2 hour session. A typical practice session should include:

• Proper warm-up and stretching
• 1/3 of practice time dedicated to drills/swing work
• 2/3 of practice time dedicated to simulating on course situations
• The golfer should use a variety of clubs and hit to a variety of targets
• No more than 2 balls should be hit per minute during a range session
• The golfer should always check alignment and other fundamentals at the beginning of a session
• The golfer should hit a few shots each session where they go through their pre-shot routine and prepare to hit the shot they would on the golf course.

Practice becomes more effective when it resembles the game we play on the course. Hopefully, if you follow these guidelines, you will improve the focus of your practice sessions and thus get more out of your time with us at the Stephens Golf Academy!