Question: When you take a lesson, what are you expectations for improvement?

Coach here

I’ve taught golf a long time, and I’ve seen both extremes. Sometimes a change clicks instantly and the student starts hitting noticeably better shots right away. Other times, the swing is clearly improving, but the new move feels so foreign that contact gets worse before it gets better.

From a coach’s perspective, both can be productive lessons.

What’s interesting is that golfers don’t always react the way you’d expect. Sometimes the student who struggled leaves excited because they can feel they’re on the right track. Other times, the student who improved immediately acts like that was just standard.

So I’m curious: when you take a lesson, do you expect it to be a process, or do you expect obvious results that day?

How do you decide whether a lesson was successful?

(Longer version ahead with examples)

For example, I had two lessons yesterday that were polar opposites. Both students have been playing for a number of years and shoot mid 90's. Both of them had the same main issue -- the classic over-the-top swing.

Student A really struggled to make good contact the entire lesson, but man the swing looked better. He was thrilled that when he did make good contact, he was hitting a baby draw for the first time of his life. He was so excited to finally see his club shallow and come down in the slot on plane, and fix the nasty chicken wing. He left me a tip, booked more lessons, and is now referring me to friends. Awesome.

Student B was one of the rare instances where the gains were immediate. We fixed his over-the-top move instantly, and he started flushing draws with a crazy increase in distance/height/spin. He came in hitting his 8 iron about 130 carry with a ton of slice spin, and at the end of the lesson was carrying it 165 with a draw. Just a different human being. But, student B left with a "meh" vibe and told me he wanted to try out a different coach for his next lesson.

One would think that student A was more likely to be "meh" about the lesson, and student B should be thrilled. But, obviously each of them had different expectations, so that is why I am here asking.