How Much??

How much would you be prepared to pay for a lesson from a former U.S. Open champion and PGA Tour pro??

I'm asking because one is going to be in residence and offering lessons at one of the resorts I'm staying at during my December trip.

I'm quite happy with what I'm working on with my own pro at the moment and I wouldn't want a complete change of direction but I'd be extremely interested to get an insight into how guys like that manage their game but the price being quoted for 50 minute lessons and/or a 9 hole playing lesson are eh ahem...steep!! So....what value is there in tapping into the mindset of a major champion??

See if he can do a 20 minute brew stop and just chat to you.

$400? Maybe $600 for the 9 holes. Depends who it is, to an extent. Steve Jones?

Steve Jones would probably be quite good, super player with something of a home-made swing, could probably learn a lot from him.
Andy North's putting also, especially if the pupil is a tall man!
Looking at the options, I'd say a short-game clinic from Corey Pavin might be the best value out there; and you don't have to adopt his putting style to learn from him, pace, reading the greens etc.

Nix to Scott Simpson, don't want to learn how to swing round a beer gut like his.

Payne Stewart might be a bit unpleasant to play a round with, probably a bit niffy by now

If it's Jim Furyk, 50 minutes won't be enough.

Lol Kwini it is Scott Simpson and $500 for 9 holes, or $175 for 50 mins.

If it's Michael Campbell he should be paying you!

JAS,
Thing about Simpson though is that he was a master at getting the most out of his game, terrific course management and should have won a second US Open.
Appeared to have a very upright swing which wouldn't suit everyone. Always the same routine, full practice swing and goes.

Aye to be honest Kwini I'd be much more interested in the course management and mental side of things and routine than swing technicalities (like I said I'm happy with where my pro is taking me on that front). if he can chip in when he sees something obvious and give me a wee nugget to work on then all good.

Re the beer gut...Best load up the cooler in the cart with a few Longboard Lagers then?

Jas.... met him at Muirfield about 20 years ago.
Seemed like a really nice guy.
Not bad value.

Now if it were Jacklin 50p might be more in line.

Sounds quite a lot to me. Question is a) would you get $500 / $175 of improvement in your game? or b) would it the experience be worth the $500 / $175? If yes to either question - go for it!!

super_realist wrote:Payne Stewart might be a bit unpleasant to play a round with, probably a bit niffy by now

Ahhh super (need a facepalm emoticon).

JAS wrote:Aye to be honest Kwini I'd be much more interested in the course management and mental side of things and routine than swing technicalities (like I said I'm happy with where my pro is taking me on that front). if he can chip in when he sees something obvious and give me a wee nugget to work on then all good.

Re the beer gut...Best load up the cooler in the cart with a few Longboard Lagers then?

Ahhhh... Longboard! Off to Hawaii again then? You lucky man. Where are you going?

If he's going to Maui, he'll be eating at Cheeseburger In Paradise on the sea-front in La Haina! (Don't go, tourist trap.)

kwinigolfer wrote:If he's going to Maui, he'll be eating at Cheeseburger In Paradise on the sea-front in La Haina! (Don't go, tourist trap.)

I can trump that. We went to Bubba Gump a few doors down from cheeseburger in paradise... surely even more of a tourist trap!

Nope, no Maui this trip, Koolina on Oahu (which is where Simpson will be) for 4 nights (cashing in Marriott reward points) then Princeville on Kauai for a week (Timeshare). I don't do burgers, especially cheeseburgers (prefer pasta and ketchup :-p )

The other good thing about Koolina is that the clubhouse restaurant is a Roy's.

Be interesting to see how it's changed out there since the new Disney resort opened.

Intending to play Koolina and definitely Koolau, was thinking of trying Luana hills again...looks like its had a makeover and is now called Royal Hawaiian.

When I get to Kauai, both Princeville courses will be getting it large, Also want a pop at the rehashed Kauai Lagoons as its changed since I played it 6 years ago.

Just to put the mockers on this JAS, what makes anyone think that a good tour pro can teach????? Quite a lot of dosh if all you get is "Keep your head down"...which isn't that much use anyway.

I couldnt do it personally. Its a bit like those pre tournament packages where you pay for a round with a pro. He doesnt want to be there clearly but its a nice little earner, I just find it all a bit cringey to be honest.
I mean we know that players dont always make the best coaches so why pay for time with this guy unless its because of his celebrity status ? Maybe he has coached for 10 years and is seen as a brilliant guru in some are of the game, not just in playing but in passing on his skills, if thats the case fine, but if not then Id struggle to see the point really.

sounds like a scheme for hooking those with more money than sense

isn't koolau 'the worlds toughest course' or something silly like that. sure i've seen a picture somewhere of it - stunning location for a golf course.

Yeah Koolau does try to sell itself on that basis Barragan, I have played it a couple of times on previous visits and it has got a point, a missed fairway generally means Jungle filled ravine, quite a few forced carries. Scenery is stunning but it is on the windward side of the island and at the sort of elevation which means more "moist" shall we say.

Reading into the Simpson thing a bit more, it sounds like a 9 hole playing lesson would be in groups of 3 therefore $500 for a third of his time, if you get stuck with 2 gobby boneheads then $500 wasted. As i said yesterday I would rather tap into his course management and mental approach/routine elements rather than have him picking away at my head position, foot position, grip etc (which is all he could do in a 50 minute range based lesson. So I'll probably give it a miss

I had a bit of a change of heart since my last post, I went with the Simpson thing in the end. I had half an hour on the range, he took the time to assess where my game was at, what I'm currently working on and what I wanted out of the session. We then went and played the back 9 at Ko'olina (we were all square coming down the last!! Although to be fair I was focussed only on my game he was watching me and making notes rather than being 100% focussed on his own game). After the 9 holes we went back to the range and the short game area for a couple of hours.

I basically got what I wanted from the session, a decent assessment of my game and a couple of things to work on.

He did come across as a really nice guy. Still being on the Champions Tour he's not going into coaching full time until he retires from the tour (probably about another 5 years).