Should I try a Golf School?

Dear Golf Nut: I am a beginner golfer and struggling to get my score below 100. I’ve considered taking lessons, but a friend recommended that I try a golf school. What do you think about this approach?

This question comes up quite a bit and you can get a wide range of opinions on this topic. You’ve probably heard the statement concerning big projects that says there is time, money, and quality, you can have one or two, but not all three. The same concept applies to trying to fix your golf swing. As it relates to your golf game, the components are patience, money, and ego.
In discussing golf schools, you need to understand that they can be expensive, but can also have a significant impact on your game. Here is where the caveat comes in, however. My experience is that they generally require a real commitment to follow their teachings very closely to gain maximum impact in the short term. This is usually harder to do for more experienced golfers.
So I believe that if you are truly a beginner (less than a year playing the game of golf), then, yes, you may want to consider a golf school. Now I’m not talking about the specialty schools like the Dave Pelz short game school. But the 4 to 6 day complete game schools can really give you a good foundation for the whole game.
But if you’ve been playing for longer than a year, you may find it hard to stick to the approach that the school is advocating. Sometimes, too much knowledge is not a good thing. Putting your ego aside is not that easy when it comes to this challenging game we call golf.
So, the bottom line is that if you have the money, not much patience, and can put the ego aside to really follow a program, a golf school may be just what your game needs to get kick started.