Taking lessons from a qualified professional is the sensible choice if you want to improve your golf game quickly as possible, but should you choose outdoor or indoor lessons, and which one is more effective for your golf game?
Neither is better but Indoor lessons allow you to practice at any time or weather and focus on your technique instead of ball flight. Golf simulators use the latest technology to track swing metrics and allow you to play on any course. But outdoor lessons are more realistic to the game of golf.
The truth is there isn’t a perfect answer as it will depend on where you live. Keep reading and I will explain all the positives and benefits of taking golf lessons indoors/outdoors so you can make up your own mind.
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Advantages Of Indoor Golf Lessons
Indoor Lessons Allow You To Focus More
A big issue most golfers face (myself included) is worrying too much about the ball flight and not focusing on the changes that need to be made to your swing and the drills your coaches tell you to do.
Ask any proficient teacher or player and they will say if you have all the basic fundamentals such as the swing and set up with all the clubs, the ball flight will take care of itself.
It’s far easier to concentrate in the intimate setting of an indoor golf facility on your technique than outside with all the birds and trees, you will want to smack the golf ball as far as you can and see it fly through the air, rather than understanding the process of your swing and improving technique.
If you are the kind of person who doesn’t need to see results in your lesson it is easier to take indoor lessons because of fewer distractions, but if you need results while you learning and a more visual and NEED to see that ball fly then you should take outdoor classes.
For a complete guide on everything you need to know about golf lessons please check out my helpful article.
Indoor Classes Use Latest Golf Technology
If your taking lessons, you should go for facilities that have the latest launch monitors available, the best being the trackman.
Although this will depend on the quality of equipment and your in-door facility, make sure you only use the best as otherwise, the metrics measured could be incorrect.
Trackman launch monitors provide the unvarnished truth about a swing, information vital to improve as a golfer, with powerful videos that show the real reality of your swing.
Metrics Trackman Monitors Measure
- Swing path
- face-to-path
- Spin Axis
- Spin loft
GolfTec a company that uses the latest trackman launch monitor technology is an example of in-door golf coaching done right, to know if GolfTEC is worth it check my article.
It is one thing for you or someone to ‘feel’ something about your swing, it is another thing to have credible data to pack up those ‘feels’ with hard objective science.
Whilst you can get launch monitors with a professional coach that works outside, that will only be for the minority of golfers as it’s far more expensive.
Golf Simulators Allow You To Play Different Courses
In the ‘real’ golf world it is impossible to play Pebble Peach and then immediately teleport to St. Andrews in Scotland and tee of there.
Or get the experience with playing in soft wet calm conditions only to switch the weather and play in hard dry windy conditions to compare.
With a golf simulator, all these factors can be changed at will. If you struggle in a specific weather condition, having indoor lessons allows you to work on your weather weakness.
Learning at an in-door facility allows your coach to collect a baseline set of data whilst other variables can be controlled.
If someone asks you ‘how long do you hit your 7-Iron?” You answer likely in yardage ‘I hit around 170’.
The problem is are you hitting into a hard fairway or soft green? Are you counting carry or total, what temperature was it, was it downwind or into the wind was the lie flat or on a hill? Did your ball have dirt on it, were you using Pro V1s or some entry-level balls?
In Golf all these variables make a HUGE difference to how far you hit the ball, so you won’t really know the answer to that question. If you have a lesson outside these variables can dramatically affect your yardages.
Indoors all these variables can be changed or be consistent, this allows you to work off a solid baseline of data collected in a controlled environment allowing you to work your swing and improve.
Also if you struggle with a specific part of your golf game like chipping in a bunker, a simulator allows you to move around the course and hit your worse shot again and again until you finally hit it ‘just’ right.
If you start having lessons later on in your golf journey you will have to become worse to get better as the coach needs time to correct the bad habits you developed. To learn more about why people need to get worse to get better and why it’s so common in golf check out my article.
Indoor Lessons Are More Private
Learning indoors provides an atmosphere that encourages one-on-one communication with your instructor. Privacy is key for golfers at all levels and importantly it removes the fear and anxiety of learning something new and performing in the presence of others.
If you have outside lessons you won’t have the range or area to yourself, so if you get anxious performing in front of people learning in-doors in a private environment should be a no-brainer.
In-Door Lessons Don’t Get Affected By Weather
If you ever struggled to swing a golf club when it’s freezing cold or getting burned alike on a hot summer’s day and almost passing out you know the challenges of playing golf in hot or cold weather.
A freak lightening storm will put an end to your weekly outside golf lesson, but training indoors it wouldn’t make a difference, rescheduling lessons due to weather is a pain, and you won’t ever experience this training indoors.
It’s even better if you live somewhere tropical like Florida where the weather can change in an instant, or in the UK where it is always raining anyways.
An indoor facility will have the same temperature and weather no matter what time of year it is. You walk on average 6.6 miles in a round of golf, in a lesson this will be less but you still get tired and sweaty, which depending on your fitness levels could take energy away from the lesson.
How about never getting tired in golf? Sounds good right, learn what muscles are used in golf and how to swing stronger in my article.
In-Door Lesson Allow You To Learn Anytime
If your a busy person and get out of the office late when the sun goes down, no problem.
Indoor golf allows you to practice in the evening or during the day, if you work a lot and struggle to find practice time to play, learning lessons indoors could be your ticket to improve.
Also, indoor golf is far less formal than golf. Going to outdoor golf lessons requires a certain form of attire and etiquette, you can’t just come in wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
See TrackMan’s YouTube video above of what your in-door facility might look like, want to relax with a nice beer after your lesson? Indoor lessons allow you to do that.
Want to maximize your time at the driving range? Please check out my article to get the best practice possible.
Advantages Of Outdoor Golf Lessons
You Learn Golf Etiquette
Golf is different to most sports as it has specific rules you should follow.
Your coach can teach you the appropriate dress code, whether you’re allowed to walk or drive on the course, what to do with balls you find and how to keep yourself and others safe on the course and keep a good pace especially on a busy day on the course.
Whilst you can learn these things at an in-door facility, due to the less formal nature and the fact your not on a course you won’t learn as much as if your taking lessons on a real golf course.
Your Learning The Real Thing (It’s More Fun!)
Top golf simulators are as accurate as playing golf for real, but nothing can replace that beautiful feeling of hitting a crisp drive and seeing the ball soar through the sky. It’s just WAY more fun playing golf for real.
Hearing the birds chirp seeing animals on the course whilst walking through nature, all these things cannot be replaced in a simulator and are a big part of what makes golf special.
All the different conditions you experience, the wind speed constantly changing, rain on and off. These conditions might not be the best way to learn but having lessons outside forces you to attempt to these conditions just like if you were playing golf for real.
In reality, whilst there are benefits to learning golf indoors/outdoors the truth is it isn’t one without the other, you need to have both to become the best golfer you can be.
Want to know everything there is to know about golf lessons? If so I suggest you take a look at my helpful article.