What to Expect from a Lesson with Nick Moncur PGA
A good golf lesson should leave you with more than a bucket of balls and a few swing thoughts. It should give you a clearer picture of what is happening, why it matters, and what to practise next.
That is the real value of working with a PGA professional. A lesson with Nick Moncur PGA is not about guessing your way through another quick fix. It is about understanding your game, finding the changes that matter most, and building confidence in a way that feels practical on the course.
Whether you are new to golf, returning after time away, or trying to lower your handicap, knowing what to expect can make the first lesson feel much easier. Here is how a typical session may unfold, what you can bring, and how to get the most from the experience.
The lesson usually starts with a conversation
Before any technical work begins, expect a short chat about your golf. This matters because no two players are trying to solve the same problem.
Nick may ask about:
How long you have played
What your usual score or handicap range is
Your common miss
Which clubs feel comfortable or difficult
Any injuries or movement limits
What you want from the lesson
How often you can realistically practise
This is not small talk. It helps shape the lesson around your actual golf, not a textbook model.
A player who slices the driver, loses confidence with wedges, and only practises once a month needs a different plan from a player working on tournament preparation. A good coach looks at the whole picture, not just the shape of one swing.
If you are not sure what your main problem is, that is fine. Many golfers arrive with a vague feeling that “something is off”. The early part of the lesson helps turn that feeling into something clearer.
Nick will want to see your current game
Once the goal is clear, the lesson normally moves into observation. This often means hitting a few shots while Nick watches your set-up, ball flight, contact, rhythm, and movement.
Try not to perform a “lesson swing”. Hit your normal shot. If the first few are thin, heavy, hooked, or sliced, that can be useful information.
Golfers often feel they need to impress the coach straight away. In truth, the poorer shots can reveal the most. They show patterns. They show where the club is travelling, how the face is behaving, and where the body may be compensating.
During this stage, Nick may look at areas such as:
Grip
How your hands sit on the club and how that affects the clubface.
Posture
How you stand to the ball and whether your body can move freely.
Alignment
Where your feet, body, and clubface are aiming.
Ball position
Whether the ball is placed in a spot that suits the club and shot.
Swing path
The direction the club travels through impact.
Clubface control
The main reason many shots start offline or curve too much.
Simple fundamentals often have a big effect. That does not mean the lesson will feel basic. It means the work should focus on the parts of the swing that influence the ball most.
The diagnosis should be clear and simple
One of the best signs of a useful lesson is that the explanation makes sense.
Golf instruction can become confusing when too many ideas arrive at once. A strong coach filters the noise. You should expect Nick to explain what he sees in plain language, then connect it to the shot pattern.
For example, if the ball starts left and curves further left, the discussion may include face angle, path, and strike location. If the ball is often hit fat, the focus may shift towards low point control, weight movement, or set-up.
The key is that the diagnosis should answer three questions:
What is happening?
Why is it happening?
What are we going to change first?
That final question is important. Golf swings have many moving parts, but lessons work best when the focus narrows. Trying to fix grip, posture, takeaway, backswing, transition, impact, and finish in one hour can leave a player stuck between ideas.
A focused change gives you something to trust.
You may use video or training aids where they help
Many PGA coaches use video, launch data, alignment tools, or simple training aids during a lesson. These tools can be useful, but they should support the coaching rather than replace it.
Video can help you see what you feel. That is powerful because feel and reality often differ in golf. A player may feel they are swinging slowly, when the rhythm is actually rushed. Another may feel their stance is square, when their body is aiming well away from the target.
Training aids can also help create a clear sensation. An alignment stick, headcover, impact bag, or putting gate can make a movement easier to understand.
The best use of these tools is practical. They should answer a specific question or help you repeat a specific skill. If a piece of equipment does not make the lesson clearer, it does not need to be part of the session.
Expect one or two key changes, not a total rebuild
Many golfers fear that a lesson will pull their swing apart. That fear is understandable, especially if you have played for years with a movement that feels familiar.
A good lesson does not change everything for the sake of it. It identifies the change that gives the best return.
For one golfer, that may be a small grip adjustment. For another, it may be learning to turn better through the ball. Someone else may need to change how they aim, because their swing has been compensating for poor alignment.
Small changes can feel big at first. That is normal. Your brain and body are used to doing things a certain way. The goal is not to make the new movement feel natural immediately. The goal is to understand it, repeat it slowly, and connect it with better shots over time.
During the lesson, you might move between:
Hitting normal shots
Making rehearsal swings
Working without a ball
Using half swings
Trying a drill
Testing the change with different clubs
This variety helps the change settle in. It also gives Nick a chance to see whether the idea is working.
Lessons can cover every part of the game
A golf lesson does not have to mean full swings on the range. Depending on your goals, the session may focus on any area of performance.
Driving and long game
If the driver is costing shots, the lesson may look at tee height, set-up, strike location, launch, face control, and confidence. Many players swing differently with a driver because they feel they need extra power. Often, a calmer and better-sequenced move produces stronger results.
Iron play
Iron lessons often focus on contact and distance control. The ability to strike the ball before the ground is a major skill. Nick may help you understand low point, body movement, and how to produce a more reliable flight.
Wedges and short game
Around the green, technique matters, but so does shot choice. A lesson may cover chipping, pitching, bunker play, or distance wedges. You may work on landing spots, club selection, and controlling the length of swing.
Putting
Putting lessons can include aim, set-up, stroke, pace control, green reading, and routine. Many golfers lose shots on the green because they practise putts without structure. A good putting lesson gives clear skills to train.
On-course thinking
Some lessons may include strategy, routine, and decision-making. This is where coaching can make a big difference. Knowing when to attack, when to play safe, and how to recover after a poor shot can lower scores without changing the swing much at all.
The lesson should include feedback you can feel
Clear feedback is one of the biggest benefits of coaching. When practising alone, it is easy to misread the result. A straight shot may come from a poor swing with a lucky face angle. A bad shot may happen while the movement is improving.
Nick can help separate result from process.
During the lesson, expect feedback that links the ball flight to the movement. This may include comments on strike, start line, curve, tempo, balance, or decision-making. The aim is to help you become your own coach when you practise later.
That does not mean you need to remember every detail. In fact, you should leave with a small number of clear priorities.
A useful summary might sound like:
Check alignment before every shot
Rehearse the new takeaway slowly
Hit sets of five balls with a specific target
Use a drill for ten minutes, then test it with normal swings
Track strike pattern or start direction
This kind of structure makes practice more productive.
You should expect honest guidance
Good coaching is supportive, but it is also honest. If a change will take time, you should know. If a goal needs more practice than your schedule allows, that should be part of the conversation.
That honesty is helpful. It stops you chasing instant results and helps you measure progress properly.
Progress in golf can show up in different ways. It might be:
Fewer extreme misses
Better contact
A tighter shot pattern
More confidence over one club
Improved distance control
A clearer pre-shot routine
Better choices on the course
Scores may not fall after one lesson. Sometimes the swing needs time to adjust. Yet even after one session, you should understand your game better and know what to work on.
What to bring to your lesson
You do not need to arrive with perfect kit, but a little preparation helps.
Bring your own clubs if you have them. Wear comfortable golf clothing and shoes you can swing in. If you use a glove, bring that too. A bottle of water is useful, especially for a longer session.
If you have recent scorecards, performance notes, or a specific problem shot in mind, bring those details. You do not need pages of data. A simple example can help.
For instance:
“I miss most drives right.”
“My wedges fly different distances every time.”
“I feel nervous over short putts.”
“I hit irons well on the range but not on the course.”
Those clues help the lesson start in the right place.
It is also worth bringing an open mind. Some advice may feel different from what you expected. That is part of the process. The best results often come when you are willing to try the change fully before judging it.
How to get the most from the session
A lesson is the start of improvement, not the whole journey. What you do after the session matters.
During the lesson, ask questions if something is unclear. You do not need to understand every technical term, but you should understand your task. If a drill feels confusing, say so. A good coach can explain it another way.
After the lesson, make a short note while the information is fresh. Keep it simple. Write down:
The main issue
The key change
The drill
The practice plan
One swing feel that worked
Then practise with purpose. Avoid hitting ball after ball and hoping the change appears. Use slower swings, smaller targets, and regular check points.
A good practice session might include:
A few warm-up shots
A drill without caring where the ball goes
A set of shots testing the movement
A break to reset
A final set with full routine and target
That mix helps bridge the gap between lesson and course.
What a good first lesson should feel like
By the end of the session, you should feel clearer. Not overloaded. Not lost in technical language. Clearer.
You should know what your main pattern is, what change you are working on, and how to practise it. You may not hit every shot perfectly straight by the end, but you should see or feel a direction of travel.
A strong first lesson often gives you:
A clearer diagnosis
You understand why the ball behaves the way it does.
A practical swing thought
You have one main idea to focus on.
A useful drill
You can practise without needing the coach beside you.
A sense of progress
You can see what better contact, direction, or control might look like.
A plan for next time
You know whether to keep working on the same area or move to another part of the game.
That is what makes coaching valuable. It turns golf from guesswork into a clearer process.
A lesson is most useful when it fits your golf
Every golfer arrives with a different swing, body, schedule, and reason for playing. Some want lower scores. Some want to enjoy their weekly round more. Some want to stop losing balls off the tee. Some simply want to understand what they are doing.
A lesson with Nick Moncur PGA should meet the player where they are. The aim is not to copy someone else’s swing. The aim is to make your own game work better.
If you are preparing for your first session, arrive ready to share what you struggle with, hit your normal shots, and listen for one or two clear priorities. The best lesson is not the one packed with the most information. It is the one that helps you walk away knowing exactly what to do next.
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