Golf lesson intake questions: a copy-and-paste template

A message arrives while you are collecting alignment sticks: “Hi, do you give lessons?” It is a perfectly reasonable question and almost no help at all.

You say yes. Then the slow rally begins. Who is the lesson for? What are they working on? Are they brand-new or merely on speaking terms with the game? When can they come? Six messages later, you have most of an inquiry and neither of you has become younger.

A short lesson-intake form solves that problem when it does one thing well: gives you enough context to write a useful first reply. It is not a swing diagnosis, a commitment test, or a mortgage application with a seven-iron attached.

Ask only what changes your reply

The golfer is also deciding whether the lesson makes sense. PGA of America guidance on choosing a coach separates goals and compatibility from practical questions such as price, location, experience, and follow-up. A good intake carries that decision forward. It helps you understand the golfer while making the next step clearer for them.

Every field creates work. Keep a question only if the answer changes the lesson you suggest, the place you propose, the timing you offer, or the way you reply. Five questions usually cover the ground.

1. Who is the lesson for?

Ask for the golfer’s name and whether the lesson is for an adult or junior. If a parent or guardian is arranging a junior lesson, collect the guardian’s contact details—not a miniature dossier on the child. You need to know whom you are teaching and whom you should reply to.

2. What would make the lesson useful?

Use the golfer’s language: “What would you like help with?” or “What would make this lesson useful?” Leave room for an answer such as “stop losing the driver right” or “feel less lost around the green.” That is enough to begin. The lesson is where observation and diagnosis belong.

A short “Why now?” prompt can add useful context—a golf trip, a return to the game, a junior trying out for a team—but make it optional unless the answer genuinely changes how you handle the request.

3. How much golf have they played?

Offer plain-language choices: new to golf, occasional player, regular player, or competitive player. A handicap can help with some coaching decisions, but it should not be the price of admission. Plenty of golfers who need a lesson do not keep one, and some who do can recite it to the decimal before you have said hello.

4. Which lesson and setting do they have in mind?

Show the lesson options you actually offer and the places you can actually teach: range, course, indoor studio, online, or another approved setting. If prices are standard, put them beside the options. If they vary, explain how you will confirm the amount. The form should not make a golfer choose from services you no longer run or invent a location you cannot use.

5. When can they attend?

Ask for two or three preferred windows, or let the golfer say they are flexible. Call them preferences unless the time is genuinely being reserved. A request and a confirmed booking are different things; saying so prevents a small scheduling nuisance from becoming a first-impression problem.

Copy and paste this lesson-intake form

Adapt the choices to your real offer, then delete anything you do not use. The bracketed notes are for you, not the golfer.

Use the short version for texts and DMs

You do not need to send a form link every time someone asks from the parking lot or Instagram. Save one reply that gathers the same essentials without sounding as though the golfer has entered a government portal.

Change the last sentence to match what you can reliably do. If you normally reply within two business days, say that. If you need a short call before quoting a program, say that instead. An intake works because it makes the handoff honest, not because the button is clever.

What should wait until later?

Do not ask for a home address, full medical history, equipment inventory, or a complete account of every swing thought before you know whether the lesson will happen. If a safety, accessibility, or guardian detail matters for a specific lesson, ask when it becomes relevant and explain why you need it. Collecting less also leaves you with less sensitive information to protect.

There is a tradeoff. A shorter form may leave one question for your reply. That is usually fine. The goal is not to eliminate conversation; it is to make the first conversation worth having.

Put the form through your own front door

1. Send yourself a test inquiry from your phone. Use a believable golfer, not “Testy McTestface,” so the awkward spots have somewhere to hide.
2. Read it as the coach. Delete any question whose answer would not change your response, recommendation, timing, or safety preparation.
3. Read it again as the golfer. Check that lesson options, pricing, request versus booking, reply method, and the next step are all clear.

BirdieYard’s Smart Lesson Request follows the same principle: useful context up front—goals, experience, lesson choice, setting, timing, and contact details—followed by a coach reply or proposed time. The coach still decides what fits and confirms what happens next.

A good intake earns a useful reply

You do not need to know a golfer’s life story before the first lesson. You need enough to avoid answering a vague inquiry with five more vague inquiries. Ask the few questions that change your reply, tell the golfer what happens next, and leave the swing work for the lesson tee. There will be plenty to discuss once both of you get there.

Before you add the form, make sure the page around it answers what golfers need to see before they contact a golf coach. A clean intake cannot rescue an offer the golfer still does not understand.