[XinordiX]

Word of mouth is probably the best source of reviews for any instructor. But I was in a similar boat last year. I knew a pro I liked (and had known on a personal level for several years). I'd taken one lesson from him, but he's 2 hours away. Not exactly a short trip. The closest teaching pro to me is 40 minutes away. Very nice person, so I just took a gamble with it and bought a series of 3 lessons.

I've learned two things that may help in your search. First, you have to be comfortable talking to the instructor. If you're not comfortable talking casually with the instructor, my fear has always been that I'll just listen during the lesson, and not speak up about concerns or issues I have with whatever swing change he's made.

Second, and maybe the biggest tip I can offer, after watching a dozen swings or so, my instructor last year simply asked "Do you want me to make your current swing better, or do you want to tear apart and rebuild your swing?" I wanted him to tear apart and rebuild my swing because of the benefits in doing so. But a lot of times, people have a swing that works pretty well, but maybe they're slicing, or hitting behind the ball or whatever, and they just want a tweak to their swing without having to spend a month rebuilding a swing. They want a quick fix instead of a complete overhaul.

So depending on what you're after, you might ask your instructors if they are willing to rebuild your swing, or simply tweak your current swing to work better.

Either way, you won't regret your lessons. Good luck!

~Rock