This will not always be the case. Sometimes personalities just don't gel. Other times, his teaching methods don't mesh with the way that you process information and learn.

The upshot is that he may be the best teacher around. He helped your buddy a lot. But he didn't help you at all (or made matters worse!) Unfortunately, you may be several hundred dollars into this golf lesson process before you conclude that he's not the right instructor for you.

(Golf lessons from a PGA pro are typically offered at $30-$60 per half-hour lesson with a package of six lessons recommended.)

The reason many of us seek the help of a teaching professional is that we can't "see" our own golf swing. We're hoping that his trained eye will spot some flaw and help us correct it. Here's a thought. Have a friend videotape your golf swing. You will be amazed (and maybe aghast) at what you see.

Most avid golfers (even higher handicappers) know what a good golf swing should look like. My response when I've tried this is usually, "Agh! How can I play as well as I do with a swing like that?!" Try it. It may be the best golf lesson you've had in a long while.

Online golf help (golf swing instruction over the internet) is now all the rage. For many, this is a preferred learning environment to one-on-one instruction. You can read and absorb an e-book at your own pace.

You can watch a golf instruction video over and over. Go practice what you learned and watch the video again if you choose. Combined with a video of your own golf swing, this can be a powerful learning experience.

But like everything else on the internet, there is good advice and bad. More to the point, there is a wealth of information that is appropriate for some golfers and not others. This site is dedicated to finding and providing the best online golf instruction available.

Remember, we love golf because it cannot be mastered and we hate golf because it cannot be mastered. Finding the right balance in this love/hate relationship is a lifetime endeavor.