15 Best Online Golf Lessons & YouTube Golf Instructors 2023

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The best online golf lessons bring expert tips and solutions to your swing anywhere in the world. In this post, I break down the top online courses and explain what they consist of, who they are for, and whether they are effective.

Besides online golf lessons, I will take you through the world of YouTube golf channels. Although not tailored as structured courses, you can learn a wealth of information to improve your game from tee to green in your own time.

*Please note pricing on all courses is subject to change. Please verify current prices with the golf lesson online company website provided.

⛳️ Related: Simple Tips to Gain a More Consistent Golf Swing

Best Online Golf Lessons

Here are the 9 best online golf lessons or courses with a breakdown of what’s included, skill level, and cost.

1. Swingman Golf | Best Swing Speed Training Online Courses

Swingman Golf is tailored to help amateurs increase clubhead speed for greater long-game distance. The course is designed by Long Drive competitor and swing speed training expert Jacob Bowden.

Seniors will appreciate the material that revolves around the swing mechanics of Mike Austin. Austin is credited with the longest drive in a professional seniors event. He sent his ball 515 yards off the tee on the 5th at Winterwood Golf Course during the 1974 U.S. National Seniors Open.

Bowden reckons he can transform your swing speed by 12 to 15 mph in only a month, translating into 30 to 40 yards extra. I have not found anyone who has reached those levels, typically due to a weak smash factor. However, it has delivered more distance on average. 

What Is Included

  • Swing speed training videos
  • Golf mental game training audio
  • Mike Austin video library

Who Is The Course For?

In my experience, the Swingman golf coaching plans suit moderate and slow swing speed amateurs. It works to accelerate clubhead speed to encourage a powerful strike and maximum distance.

Cost? $49

2. Rotary Swing | Most Complete Online Golf Coaching Plans

I find Rotary Swing lessons offer the most complete package, focusing on every aspect of your swing mechanics. It simplified my understanding of body movement, clubface control, and club path. It also provides several tutorials with drills to work on each aspect of your mechanics.

Master golf instructor Chuck Quinton concocted the program hand in hand with a biomechanist, an orthopedic surgeon, and two neurosurgeons. Their research helped develop a program that promotes a consistent posture, takeaway, club path, and tempo for optimal ball striking.

I feel senior golfers will benefit from the added compression it promotes, lowering spin and accelerating ball speed. This will help you gain a few extra yards off the tee and on approach shots. 

What Is Included

  • Video tutorials covering consistency, control, speed, and confidence
  • Webinars
  • Rotary Swing Academy

Who Is The Course For?

The Rotary Swing course suits mid and high handicap golfers struggling for consistency. It encourages better ball striking for optimal compression, rapid speed, and low spin.

Cost? $47 per month

3. Rebellion Golf | Best Golf Lessons Online

Next on our list of best online golf coaches is Rebellion Golf. It boasts an impressive selection of videos, online golf lessons, and Remote Live classes. In my experience, their sessions separate them from competitors because you will receive instructions from a top-ranked certified PGA golf professional.

Rebellion offers two choices of lessons, although I find the Remote Live lessons the most valuable. It allows you to ask questions in the spur of the moment and immediately resolve hiccups in your swing mechanics.

Alternatively, the best online golf instruction offers the perfect solution to training in your own time. Record a video of your golf swing, upload it to the portal, and await feedback. Once Rebellion Golf has analyzed your swing, they send you a link to a lesson that helps you fix challenges to find your perfect swing.

What Is Included

  • Online video lessons
  • Remote Live lessons
  • Drill tutorials

Who Is The Course For?

Rebellion Golf Course suits mid handicappers who grasp the game but would like to tweak specific aspects of the swing.

Cost? $125 (per lesson)

4. Wisdom Golf By Shawn Clement | Best Basic Swing Techniques Lessons

At first glance, the Wisdom Golf Academy looks similar to its peers of online golf coaches. However, it is the simple swing analysis that sets them apart. After submitting a video of my swing and giving Shawn background on my game, he responded with an audio highlighting the factors to focus on for an improved swing.

I appreciated the audio explanation as it provided context to his methodology and explained why I do what I do. Wisdom Golf competitors may send through a video, but they do not discuss which aspects I should specifically focus on.

Besides analyzing your swing, Wisdom Golf offers lessons with Shawn Clement, or you can add on specialized fitness and speed training courses. These are crafted by their resident Kinesiologist, Munashe. However, they cost a fortune, and I am not convinced of their value to the average golfer. 

What Is Included

  • Online Skype lessons
  • Basic swing analysis
  • Fitness Coaching

Who Is The Course For?

I feel Wisdom Golf caters best to mid and low handicappers seeking to improve their swing consistency and fitness through online golf coaches.

Cost? $59.95 (Basic swing analysis)

5. Me And My Golf | Best Online Short Game Golf Instruction

If you watch golf YouTube videos, you have likely encountered the matching shirt team of Andy and Piers with Me and My Golf. Their Premium membership gives you access to 18 coaching plans that enhance your swing and putting stroke. While I found value in all the online lessons, I was most impressed with the putting and chipping plan.

High handicappers will benefit from the knowledge of how to navigate different lies and produce a variety of chip shots. I also thought it simplified green reading, putter alignment, and backstroke length.

Golfers on a budget have the more affordable yet less structured option of following Andy and Piers on YouTube.

What Is Included

  • Unlimited access to all coaching plans
  • Arccos shot tracking sensors
  • Me And My Golf video analysis
  • Video Library

Who Is The Course For?

The Me And My Golf Premium membership best works for mid and high handicappers.

Cost? $199 per year

6. Top Speed Golf | Best Affordable Online Golf Coach

Clay Ballard from Top Speed Golf has designed a robust package to promote clubface control and consistent contact. This translates to straighter shots and optimal long-game yardage. I was surprised at the affordability of these features, making Top Speed Golf the best online golf instructor for a budget.

The variety of courses available in the annual membership is staggering. I found chipping, putting, golf fitness, and the mental element of the game. I also feel high handicappers will benefit from the wealth of content dedicated to prevent chunking, slicing, hooks, and early extension.

If you are not ready to pull the trigger on an annual subscription, you can test the waters first. Ballard posts weekly videos on his YouTube channel dedicated to improving the long, mid, and short game of casual golfers.

Top Speed Golf even includes golf lessons for seniors in the annual membership titled “Your Best Golf After 50.” This course is $200 individually, but since the membership is $149 per year, it makes sense to get the complete package.

What Is Included

  • Chipping mastery course
  • Putting system course
  • Never Hook Again course
  • Stop Chunking and Topping course
  • Your best golf after 50

Who Is The Course For?

The Top Speed Golf All Access membership works for mid and high-handicappers looking to strike the ball cleaner with online golf coaches.

Cost? $149 per year

7. George Gankas | Best Premium Online Lessons

George Gankas and his team deliver premium online golf coaching, individually tailored to enhance your game. They encourage a minimum commitment of 1 year to help you see the results.

A 12-month membership gives you access to a range of courses to improve your knowledge of the intricacies of the golf swing. Their technology also impressed me with its ability to rapidly identify solutions to my swing problems.

Gankas’ assistant golf coaches are on hand to answer your questions and guide you toward a consistent swing and strike. My final standout feature was the mental course, which is uncommon in amateur golfer circles. You learn unique ways to control your ego and emotions on the course to post more consistent rounds.

What Is Included

  • Short game course
  • Practice guidelines
  • Mental course
  • On-course training

Who Is The Course For?

The George Gankas course suits serious low or mid-handicappers who can justify the premium spend.

Cost? $588 per year 

8. The Art Of Simple Golf | The Easiest Swing Techniques To Understand

The internet is jam-packed with tips to improve your golf game. Many of these online golf instruction courses are challenging for the average golfer to understand and are lost in translation. The Art of Simple Golf breaks through this barrier.

Alex Fortey has concocted tailor-made programs to help novice, intermediate and advanced players reach elusive milestones. If you are a novice golfer, they will set you on the path to breaking 100. Intermediate golfers are set on a journey to break 90 and 80, while advanced golfers are assisted in their mission to break 70.

I like the diverse areas covered in their lessons ranging from driver distance and irons ball striking to chipping, putting, and fitness. I also appreciate the raft of free online golf lessons created by Fortey on The Art of Simple Golf on YouTube.

What Is Included

  • Distance tips
  • Irons striking drills
  • Short game course
  • Fitness drills

Who Is The Course For?

The Art of Simple Golf is crafted for low, mid, and high handicappers. Courses are tailored to the needs of different skill levels.

Cost? $37

9. Scratch Golf Academy | Best Online Golf Videos To Fix Common Mistakes

I found an impressive selection of online training videos on the Scratch Golf Academy, crafted by PGA golf professional Adam Bazalgette. The videos dedicated to fixing common golf swing flaws stood out the most as I feel it offers value to a broader audience.

Twenty-nine videos are dedicated to fixing slices, hooks, tops, and shank shots, which plague mid and high-handicappers. Bazalgette delivers a simple explanation for the flaws and offers tips to work on eradicating these bad habits from your game.

Besides rectifying disaster shots, the Scratch Golf Academy stores tutorials on swing fundamentals, short game wizardry, and golf IQ. I also find their off-season training regimen handy to keep in shape over the winter. Unlocking all these features sets you back $199.99 per year or $24.99 monthly.

What Is Included

  • 25 courses
  • Personalized swing feedback
  • Live training sessions

Who Is The Course For?

I find the Scratch Golf Academy delivers the best benefits to mid and high handicap golfers searching to play consistent golf with online golf coaches.

Cost? $199.99

Best YouTube Golf Instructors 

These days, you can find about everything on YouTube! Here are some of the best YouTube golf lessons you should check out next.

1. Rick Shiels Golf

Rick Shiels is arguably the biggest name in the golf sphere of YouTube, carrying a whopping 2.6 million subscribers. The Englishman covers a diverse variety of topics in his videos, ranging from game improvement tips for the average golfer to honest product reviews.

Unlike other instructors who try to make you swing like Rory McIlroy, Shiels helps you be the best amateur you can be.

2. Danny Maude

Danny Maude offers casual golfers a wealth of swing and setup tips to help them strike the ball more consistently. Maude has also built his channel to over 1 million subscribers who benefit from his simple swing tips.

Senior golfers should start with his signature lesson on eradicating a slice to increase yardage off the tee.

3. Saguto Golf

Saguto Golf is an ideal channel to dive into the deeper technicalities of your golf swing. I find his online golf swing lessons helpful for optimizing my setup, controlling the clubface, and enhancing rotation. Besides helping me identify problems, he offers an array of drills to help me fix my swing challenges.

Intermediate to experienced golfers will benefit from Saguto’s material because it does require a basic understanding of swing mechanics. Beginners may get lost in translation with all the golf lingo and technicalities of swing mechanics.

4. Eric Cogorno

Eric Cogorno offers an abundance of tips and drills on his YouTube golf channel, designed to help amateurs strike the ball consistently. He also manages to simplify the explanations surrounding the complexities of the setup, swing, and ball striking.

Cogorno’s tips typically resonate with mid-handicappers who have a solid understanding of golf but lack consistency on the course. He also provides an impressive array of drills that help you master your takeaway, club path, and speed into impact.

5. Padraig Harrington

Obviously, Padraig Harrington is not a full-time golf instructor. However, he offers a wealth of handy tips on his YouTube channel. Although he is a professional, it is great to have a PGA TOUR Champions leader sharing his knowledge on the video platform.

Paddy posts frequent content helping the average golfer strike the ball cleaner, control the clubface and optimize rotation.

⛳️ Related: What Golf Clubs Does Padraig Harrington Play With?

6. Chris Ryan

Chris Ryan is the YouTube golf instructor I watch the most because of the detail of his videos. His online golf training tips are simple for the average mid-handicapper to understand, and I like that he promotes playing sensible golf.

In my experience, Ryan’s tips are valuable to mid and high handicappers searching for control of the clubface from tee to green.

Choosing the Best Online Golf Coaches & Lessons for You

showing a lady senior golfer and the best online golf lessons on a golf simulator.

Online Coaching

Online coaching is my preferred learning style in the virtual universe because a coach tailors the program to your needs. During a session, the coach watches your shots and provides instant fixes to steer you on the right path.

This route costs more, but I find it more effective than following a series of videos.

Online Golf Swing Lessons

Online courses are available in video format, where a coach talks you through improving different aspects of your game. Most golf coaches cover long, mid, and short game tips to help you become a well-rounded player.

The beauty of online courses is their affordability compared to coaching, and golfers can complete them in their own time. I find that online programs do not always address the specific challenges related to my swing mechanics or setup, leading to minor improvements.

This prompts me to schedule an online coaching session to identify and rectify errors from address through impact. In my experience, low and mid handicappers are better equipped for online courses. Experienced golfers have a broad knowledge of the game and find it easier to follow the instructions.

I have not encountered any free online coaching because the time of the golf coach is not free. In saying this, multiple coaches offer free golf tips via weekly newsletters or their YouTube golf channels. Clay Ballard, Me And My Golf, and Scratch Golf Academy provide a healthy selection of game improvement tips for amateur golfers.

Skill Level

Before deciding on an online golf lesson, think about your objectives. Are you a high handicapper who needs maximum assistance to combat slices and hit straighter shots? Or, are you a mid-handicapper looking for a guide to help you improve select aspects of your game?

If you are a high handicapper, I suggest investing in online coaching to have a trusted hand guide you to consistency. At this stage of your career, an online series may make little sense to you due to your lack of knowledge of swing mechanics and golf lingo.

Tips for Improve Your Game Beyond Golf Online Classes 

senior golfer getting putting lessons from a golf pro showing golf equipment - putters, and golf cart in the background

Drills

The knowledge you acquire from online golf lessons is ineffective without implementing the changes. After a training session, conduct drills at the range provided to you by the instructor, and transfer your learnings to the golf course.

Golf Simulator

A golf simulator is a worthwhile investment if you are serious about improving your game. It allows you to work on your swing whenever you have the time. It saves you the hassle of traveling to the driving range to implement the lessons learned during your course.

⛳️ Related: Best Golf Simulators for Outdoor Home Use

Hitting Mat and Net

Given the premium price of a simulator, not every amateur has the budget for one. Alternatively, I suggest searching for a hitting mat and a net to practice in your garden. You do not receive the data and insight from a launch monitor, but you can still practice in your own time.

In my experience, the GoSports Hitting Mat has proved a reliable yet affordable choice. In addition, the GoSports Golf Practice Hitting Net is a wide and affordable option for trapping your shots and preventing broken windows on your property.

Golf Launch Monitor

A golf launch monitor is insightful technology that measures distance, spin, club head, and ball speed. Advanced products like Trackman and Foresight launch monitors dive deeper into each shot to assess apex, club path, and descent angle.

The FlightScope Mevo personal launch monitor is the most accurate entry-level launch monitor on the market. It still is not cheap. However, it is more accessible for the average golfer at under $500.

Chipping Net

If you are blessed with a backyard area, you should take advantage of the space and set up a chipping net. Growing up, I would position a chipping net 20 yards away and hit 50 chips at a time, working on flops and pitch shots. 

The consistent practice did wonders for wedge distance control, and chipping and pitching became the finest part of my game. I find the Callaway Chip-Shot net simple, durable, and affordable to help you boost your aim and distance control with the short clubs.

Putting Mat

Putting mats have their limitations regarding size and their ability to replicate the true roll on a green. Despite the challenges, they are ideal for promoting a consistent stroke and amplifying our alignment.

I personally prefer the Perfect Practice putting mat for indoor use as the surface is smooth, the alignment lines helpful, and the automatic ball return is convenient.

⛳️ Related: WellPutt Putting Mat for Home Use Review

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best online golf courses available for beginners?

The Art Of Simple Golf is the best online golf course available for beginners as they are the easiest to understand. You do not need to be an experienced golfer to follow and understand the contents of the course.

What are the benefits of taking an online golf course over in-person lessons?

The benefits of taking an online golf course are the affordability and self-paced nature of the programs. Many of the best golf instruction websites cost less than a single in-person lesson, and you can log in and undertake the lessons at your own speed.

How do the best online golf courses compare in terms of pricing?

The majority of best online golf courses are priced below $200 per year, giving you access to an array of video content and engagements with golf coaches. The most expensive online golf courses I encountered were George Gankas and Rotary Swing. They push $600 per year.

How can I learn a golf swing at home?

You can learn to swing a golf club at home by acquiring the services of an online golf coach or following an online golf course. If you do not have the budget for an online course, there is a trove of YouTube golf instructors like Rick Shiels, Chris Ryan, and Eric Cogorno.

Final Thoughts on Best Online Golf Lessons

The best online golf lessons signal golf’s transition into a virtual era. It allows us to practice from anywhere in the world, saving time and enhancing convenience. Although some instructors let you acquire individual courses, I find an annual subscription is typically more affordable per course.

I found Rotary Swing the best overall online golf course for its robust course that covers everything from tee to green. However, Rotary Swing is pricey on an annual basis, making Top Speed Golf an attractive, affordable alternative.

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AUTHOR

Matt Callcott-Stevens has lived and breathed golf since he was four. As a junior, he played competitively, until he discovered his talents were better suited to writing about the game. Matt holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing through the Johan Cruyff Institute in Barcelona and has provided golf game improvement tips to seniors and the average golfer for seven years.

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