If you want to cut to the chase in your golf game, take a playing lesson

For the past couple of days, Jay Synkelma showed me around the two courses ? Conquistador and Canada – at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort. Synkelma is the lead instructor for the Hilton Golf Academy there, so I really lucked out this time. Essentially, the experience turned into a bit of a playing lesson.

What makes a playing lesson so much different than a regular lesson is you really can?t B.S. the instructor. Often, in a conventional lesson, they?ll ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are, and then you?ll work on that on the lesson tee. On the course, they don?t have to ask. Over the course of nine or 18 holes, your faults and patterns become quite evident.

The great thing about playing with Jay is that he?s seen it all and fixed much of it. (I?m convinced that some of us are unfixable) He?s also a very good player, having competed in several PGA Tour events as well as a being a regular on the Nike Tour, so he certainly has plenty of credibility. Plus, he has a pretty good sense of humor (he thinks the Vikings will beat the Cowboys this weekend), which is probably necessary when giving a playing lesson.

In my case, it didn?t take long for Jay to identify my tendencies and give me some keys during the round. They definitely helped. My guess is he could do the same for you.