Whether you are a scratch golfer or just beginning, the future of golf instruction has arrived thanks to this new app.
You are watching the final round of the 2024 Masters Tournament, and Scottie Scheffler has begun to exact his will on Augusta National.
The World No. 1 just birdied the 9th hole and is now headed to the back nine with a one-stroke advantage over Ludvig Åberg. Scheffler then birdies the 10th hole and adds three more par-breakers on the par-5 13th, the par-4 14th, and the par-3 16th, pulling away from the contenders and winning his second green jacket by four.
This awe-inspiring performance forces you to get off your couch and head to the driving range. You want to practice your swing and perhaps even incorporate your own version of the ‘Scheffler shuffle.’ But to practice purposefully and improve your game, you have to do so consistently. You also need to receive some instruction to improve, just like with any other sport.
But how can you get live instruction quickly? Scheduling a lesson with a PGA of America professional often requires advance notice. Your local teaching professional could also be booked for months.
That’s not the case with GolfLive, however.
This app has dozens of certified teaching professionals from all over the world ready to provide a lesson at a moment’s notice. You essentially FaceTime an instructor and can do so from your living room, backyard, or driving range. Should you decide to do so outside or at the range, GolfLive instructors encourage you to wear an AirPod or a Bluetooth-compatible earpiece so they can easily listen and interact with you. Having a conversation and talking with your instructor is paramount to the experience.
I had a lesson from my Manhattan apartment, which is nowhere near a course or practice range. It was also freezing outside, limiting my options outdoors but keeping them limitless through the app inside.
Allan Belden, the Vice President of Coaching Sales at GolfLive and the Director of Instruction at Salem Country Club in Massachusetts, was my instructor, and we began our lesson with an introductory conversation. He asked me questions such as, “How often do you play?” “Do you carry a handicap?” “What is your typical ball flight?” and “What areas do you want to focus on today?” I then explained how I wanted to improve my golf swing overall, working primarily on my transition from the top of the swing and through.
He flipped his camera on, asked me to do the same, and said, “Grab a club. I want you to set up down the line.”
I snagged my sand wedge and then took my stance in my living room. I set up my iPhone camera on the counter immediately behind me, with Belden watching me through his iPad. It’s as if he were standing right behind me on the driving range — looking directly “down-the-line.”
“When I am watching a player down-the-line, the things I am looking for are posture and path,” Belden explained.
After I took a few practice swings, Belden asked me to rotate 90 degrees with my torso facing the camera. He wanted to check my grip, the most crucial aspect of the golf swing.
“You have what I would call a neutral grip,” Belden said.
“You need to rotate your [left] hand a little more [towards the right]. I want you to be able to see the first two knuckles on your left hand as you look down towards the ball. We need the club more in your fingers.”
After adjusting my grip, I returned to my down-the-line position and took several practice swings. Then, Belden asked me to stop so he could diagnose a couple of issues with my posture, setup, and swing. But in doing so, he had me watch the swings I took through the app. He screen-recorded everything and drew lines on different body positions as an NFL color analyst would do with a telestrator on a broadcast. This allowed me to receive immediate feedback, all while watching myself in real time and seeing exactly what parts of the swing I needed to improve upon.
Belden said that my weight was in my heels, which limits my hip rotation and forces me to ‘stand up’ through impact. He also explained how my tail should be farther out, and my chest should point further down. He then demonstrated what he meant.
“The difference between in-person and doing remote lessons is I, as a coach, need to demonstrate to the student a lot more than I would do,” Belden said.
“I can’t put my hands on you and the club. So after I demonstrate this, I will have you do this same thing back.”
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Belden visualized what he meant and then gave me a drill to do every day during the winter months.
“Take a driver, a hockey stick, or anything long like that, and put it across your chest,” Belden said.
“Hug yourself with the driver — opposite hand, opposite bicep — and have the club go right between your middle fingers. Go ahead and turn sideways down-the-line, have your tail out, and chest down, and I want you to turn that club back to the big toe of your right foot.”
I did this drill a few times during my lesson with Belden, who continued to give me pointers on how to improve. He told me to keep my left shoulder down, and my knees flexed.
This drill initially felt awkward, but that’s how I knew I was changing my swing. These different sensations will eventually wear off through repetition, making me a better player.
“The whole notion that you have to pack up your gear, drive to the range, and hit balls — at some point, you have to do that to validate what you’re doing because, ultimately, we need to see the ball fly — but you can make changes away from the driving range or the golf course,” Belden said.
“Much of what we do has nothing to do with swinging the golf club.”
Perhaps the best part of GolfLive is that all your lessons and swings are stored within the app’s library. You can go back and watch any lesson at any time and receive immediate feedback or reminders. Each teaching professional then sends their client a lesson summary, which is a good synopsis for review. The two things I worked on with Belden were strengthening my grip and ensuring my posture was more flexible, which he explained in my written assessment after the lesson.
Many GolfLive professionals, including Belden, offer free consultations to players worldwide. Depending on your preference, you can schedule lessons sporadically or consistently. Payments are also handled through the app, making it a one-stop shop for an instructor’s business and an easy-to-navigate platform for whoever receives the lesson.
“I wanted to build something that would allow me, from really anywhere, any time, to connect with a coach and have an impactful and enhanced virtual experience so that I could do it in my backyard, after the kids went to sleep, or I could go into the simulator at the office at lunchtime, or I could go out to the range and I can connect with my coach at any time,” explained GolfLive Founder Keith Sciolo to SB Nation.
“We did that through the app, and our technology has all the video storage for in-person lessons or async videos — sending back and forth with voice analysis if you’re not on a live call. We have all that built-in, and then we have Google Calendar integration for coaches to help run their scheduling. But we also have live streaming, so when you’re a golfer wanting some entertainment, you can hop in to watch Chris Como with one of his tour players doing a live-stream lesson where I can interact and ask questions.”
GolfLive currently has 500 coaches on the platform, including Como, who has worked with Tiger Woods and other major champions such as Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, and Trevor Immelman. Roughly 5,000 golfers are on the platform, an impressive number given that GolfLive is only a couple of years old. Coaches offer different price points based on their experience and accolades, but most lessons range between $50 and $500.
The future of golf instruction has arrived via GolfLive, which any golfer can use from anywhere in the world.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
