Lesson number one

By Dave Tindall Last updated: 11th November 2009

At the end of the film, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, American Office star Steve Carell and the cast burst into joyful song after he finally gets laid.

And I had a very similar feeling of euphoria yesterday after finally biting the bullet and doing it with a pro.

Yes, somehow I had reached 40 years old and never had a golf lesson - a ridiculous state of affairs given that I had clearly reached a ceiling with my untutored 'talent' years and years ago.

But having finally taken the plunge, I now feel like Carell's character in the film - full of new-found confidence, desperate to do it again and kicking myself that I hadn't tried it earlier.

The venue was Playgolf Manchester and my personal tutor was PGA Professional Golf Coach James Curtis.

As I was a journalist rather than a proper paid-up client, James wanted to get me swinging a club rather than dwell too much on filling in the Player Assessment chart that is part of the £35 first-visit lesson although he did tell me that being pretty handy at snooker (my best sport) was a good sign in terms of hand-eye co-ordination and dealing with a stationary ball.

James observed as I took few practice swings and immediately commented that he liked my rhythm. We then moved onto hitting a seven-iron and a driver and although I struck the ball fairly well James quickly spotted why I had told him at the start that I don't hit the ball very far.

Without really being aware of the cameras, my swing had been filmed and what an eye opener when James played the footage back to me.

James used a split-screen comparison of me and Ernie Els and I couldn't believe how rubbish my swing looked compared to the smooth-hitting South African's.

But James chose to focus on the positives and I certainly really warmed to that approach. I respond much better to the carrot than the stick and that's why, if put in a kitchen, I'd always prefer Jamie Oliver enthusiastically encouraging than having Gordon Ramsay shouting the F-word at me.

So after pointing out the plusses, James skilfully pinpointed the reason for my lack of power - bent arms which wrapped around me and a failure to turn through the ball. While Ernie's hands were straight and high above his head at the top of his back-swing mine were folded and around chin level.

To see this on tape rather than explained in a string of long and technical sentences was immensely helpful and James then gave me two drills to practice.

The first was folding my arms across my chest and turning so my left shoulder replaced the position my right shoulder had just vacated. The second was trying to get a bigger arc by getting my hands much higher in the backswing.

I could really feel it down my right side when I tried this latter move but, as James pointed out, given that I don't have any back problems this was just a case of golf muscles I'd never used before being woken up.

It felt a little strange and awkward at first and when doing the turning shoulders drill I also had to fight the urge to move my legs at the same time rather than plant them.

James then introduced a club into my hands and finally we hit some balls with the new technique and when I remembered to do both there was a definite crisper feel to my ball-striking.

The second part of my lesson was some short game technique and, again, I was amazed at how far out I was.

James got me to chip a few balls onto a green with my gap wedge and although I'm fairly tidy at this part of the game I do get afflicted by the dreaded shanks.

My problem and the root cause of the shanking is my tendency to bring the club back far too inside the line so I hit the ball with the heel unless I save it with my hands.

James got me to stand with my left foot a little behind my right and then swing on a much straighter back and through plane. And when I moved to the 56 degree wedge he stood behind me and a bit to the right (south east I'd guess you'd say) and got me to take the club back towards him so I would cut across the ball with an out to in plane.

The results were good and, as if to prove the point, when I didn't follow his instructions I shanked a couple!

While James analysed me, golf365 colleague Matt Cooper (saw a pro so long ago that he can't remember when) and skysports.com's Mark Kendall (another golf lesson virgin) were also having personal one-on-one's and when we emerged from the range we were like excited children, talking over each other as we recalled in detail what we'd just learned.

With the days getting colder, Playgolf Manchester is a great place to visit. As well as getting lessons we also played the hugely addictive Championship Miniaturegolf course (see Matt's review) and a big cash injection in the next couple of months will really make this already excellent facility state-of-the-art.

And husbands, make note of the location too. It's right by the Trafford Centre. Surely nipping off for a bit of golf rather than feigning interest around the shops would be better for all concerned.

Anyway, with my teacher James telling me that I have the potential to reduce my handicap from 22 to single figures I'm absolutely chomping at the bit to get down my local driving range to try and groove my swing. And, of course, the drills he showed me I can practice anywhere.

So after years of misguided mediocrity, an hour with James has quickly ended those stupid, romantic notions I had that I could solve this game on my own without resorting to professional advice.

Some more lessons and maybe 2010 will be a breakthrough year.

Full full range of coaching packages, check manchestergolf.co.uk

Dave Tindall