A good golf instructor can do for your golf swing what a rodeo clown can do for a tossed cowboy – he keeps too much bull from getting in the way. The chore here is to find a teacher who understands that his instruction isn't meant to constantly rehash how Jack Nicklaus did it. Rather, the instructor's goal should be to assess how your golf swing can be improved within the parameters of your own physical abilities.

The first thing to remember when looking for a good golf instructor is that there are no miracle workers. The golf industry is awash with instructors who advertise how their teaching methods will take you to a single digit handicap almost overnight. That's not going to happen, believe it! Obviously, a good instructor can identify and rectify some glaring errors in your golf swing. But he/she essentially can't do any more than what your physical and mental aspects will allow.

What does a good golf instructor bring to the table? He/she can coach you in a way that assures your swing will be more consistently on line. The instructor's teaching manner is friendly and doesn't belittle your efforts. A good teacher is patient; no matter how many times your golf swing refuses to resemble what he/she advised. A dedicated teacher will invest time and money to improve how his/her methods reflect the best that golf instruction has to offer. That includes using proven swing aids and going to videotape to truly give a student the chance to understand what the instructor has seen but didn't effectively address.

One factor good golf instructors incorporate is that they listen to what their students have to say about the teaching process. No matter how a question is transmitted – email, telephone, personal contact – it is important that a teacher remain as accessible as possible. In some regards, it's almost as if the golf instructor has become a therapist, with patients looking to settle some inner debate about what comes next, fewer slices or more hooks. Unfortunately, many students are too impatient and want their personal golf demons slapped aside immediately – no instructor can deliver on that issue.

One irony of golf instruction is how many teachers – and some quite good – can't break 90 on the golf course. Most students would naturally like to think their instructor could match cards with players on the PGA Tour, but that very rarely happens. Some of the world's finest golf instructors never played competitively, and never professed the desire to do so. Don't be reluctant to ask if a prospective instructor has ever competed at an elevated level. The answer may or may not impress you, but it will help you form a more complete reason about why or why not you chose someone else.

Golf instructors can usually identify really lousy golf swing moves. It's then a sharp decline to those teachers capable of making changes for your benefit.