I just started playing golf and needed some fundamentals in order to get my swings right. I got the Groupon for an 1hr swing lesson, sent an email to Bob, he set up an account for me, and I was signed up with Cinchai "Cheech" Chuvichien at The Lakes at El Segundo for a week later. Cheech's station is at the top left of the driving range, and he was all set up and ready to go when I arrived. Because I was new and didn't have my own clubs, he actually got a couple of women's clubs from the clubhouse so I can practice with those. Cheech used the video analysis on my stance, swings, and everything else, and I was able to see how I was lined up vs how I should be lined up, my swing movements, and my club placement. It was an hour but I was still getting so tired at the end from swinging, haha. I had a lot of fun and was able to consistently get a good ball contact and shot over half of my shots, so I was happy. I didn't sign up for any additional lessons because they are way to expensive for me, and I think I just need to keep on practicing and playing on my own and making sure that I'm hitting the ball correctly 90% of the time before I need further and more advanced instructions. read more

I bought a Groupon for this - 3 lessons ($99). I managed to get my first lesson no problem. Then the issue came with trying to book my next lesson. I was instructed to email Bob. I sent him several messages and he failed to respond. All I got was a sales email back asking if I wanted to sign up for a lesson plan at really high prices (I think about $140 per hour). He was obviously overwhelmed with the Groupons. He should have set a limit. Also I expected some kind of communication back, whether it was a message saying he was busy and to contact him again in a couple of weeks. As I had started my lesson plan I at least expected some kind of preferential treatment over those who had not started yet. Anyhow Groupon refunded me when I explained the issue to them. Lesson wise, he started about 20 minutes late, but we still worked on and did the full hour and probably some more. The tips and pics taken were useful. However I did not like his instruction. I found him very cantankerous and flippant. He asked me questions and when I tried to answer, gave me smart ass responses. I certainly will not be going back again. There are so many other good (and cheaper) choices in the area - especially Zack Allen in Burbank. read more

Worst "instructor" ever. I hope you're reading this Bob, because you need to understand why you're getting so many negative reviews. About 2 years ago I decided to try out golf and I booked a swing evaluation with Bob using a Groupon deal. I was super excited about learning how to play the game but in the words of Gob Bluth, "I made a terrible mistake." For the next hour, he proceeded to yell at me (yes, like the other reviewers, while spitting in my face), literally grabbing my head and yanking it in position whenever I moved it during my swing, and just berating my swing, saying I wasn't doing anything right. Keep in mind this was my first month playing! What he did was take videos of my swing, which I thought were pretty cool, until he showed me side by side with a professional golfer's video and criticized my swing using golf terms that were completely foreign to me. He started rambling about how he used to play baseball with Ted Williams and some other garbage, like the new ball flight rules and spent 20 minutes talking about club face angles vs swing planes (what beginner would know what any of this means?). I don't know why I didn't just walk out, except i was trying to keep an open mind. By the way, after he criticized me for everything, he didn't even tell me how to fix anything and just said it would be really hard for me to fix my swing flaws. By the way, the advice he did manage to give me was terrible and actually hurt my golf game in the long run. He yelled at me several times to NOT bend my knees and basically said I should be turning on my backswing further than anyone really should. Of course I didn't know better at the time. Other than that, I have no problems with Bob Grisset. read more

I bought a Groupon for 3 lessons with the Golf Academy, and was thoroughly disappointed. First, Bob was very quick to point out that I had not purchased lessons, but rather 3 swing analysis session. This involved him pointing out flaws that he would like he would fix later and flew into a sales pitch for lessons (at $140 hour!). Groupon is to give consumers an experience with your service at a discount in the hopes that they will like it and come back for more, not to insult them while they pay you for a sales pitch. Other reviews mentioned referred to Bob as "cantankerous". I would say rude, condescending, demeaning, and definitely not someone I would like for an instructor. Needless to say, I did not return for the final two "lessons". read more

I purchased the 3 lesson deal off Groupon for $99 and was sadily disappointed when I met Bob Grissett. Within the first ten minutes of lessons 1 he told me I needed more training which would cost $140 and hr. He then went on to correct we while spit talking in my face, and telling me how I need to work on my fundamentals. At the end of lesson one he offered me the chance to cash in my two remaining lessons for one real training for an additional $90. My second lesson was no different than the first except for this time he cut it short he was 10 mins late with starting my lesson and finished 5 mins early. I didn't even want to come back for a third lesson but since I paid for it I was going to get my money worth of Bob's rude swing Analysis. Now this took the cake when the third lesson came time Bob was mysterious sick and didn't answer any of my calls , missed the appointment and called me a month later to apologize. ***DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY*** read more

Received a Groupon as part of my bday gift and let me tell you... Okay, so, I've only had one lesson so far; but (!!) a lot can be judged from that one hour, haha! Cheech (instructor's nickname) is an AMAZING instructor!! Very thorough on body position and excellent at describing each step of the swing. He adjusts accordingly from observing--very attentive and patient! Cheech has been teaching for 12 yrs and been playing golf for 23 yrs... so, he has some experience :P Before today's lesson, I've never hit a golf ball other than mini golf -_- haha! So, yes, Cheech is undoubtedly patient. And he made sure that he answered all my questions thoroughly. From this experience, I cannot wait till the next lesson and will be doing my homework because I am determined to excel at this sport!! I used to think that it was boring; but it's actually very active and engaging! I'm only getting two 1-hour lessons from the Groupon voucher, but I will definitely be signing up for more w/ Cheech! I believe that the teacher has such a huge impact on the experience... so, with that being said... THANK YOU, Cheech, for a great and wonderful first real golf experience!! read more

I purchased a lesson via Groupon and met with Bob at Calabasas Country Club. In all honesty I was really concerned that all I was going to get out of this was a sales pitch to buy more lessons but that was not the case. After a few swings he took some video of me and then used the video to compare my with a swing of a pro to point out what I was doing wrong. I have long known that I had a problem with an outside-in swing but wasn't really sure how to fix it. Bob gave used the video to point out the mistakes then gave me a very easy drill to practice to fix my swing plane. After some practice he had me hit a ball but warned me that the results might not be pretty but that I should stick with it. My first shot was a perfect draw, something I have never been able to do. I was shocked to say the least. Since I took my lesson a few weeks ago I have dropped my handicap from a 17 down to a 13 only using what I learned from that one lesson. read more

Greatest golf instruction ever. I have a better knowledge of the game. Beautiful facility.

Had my first Session with Bob from the Golf Academy LA and it was fantastic. I learned more about my golf swing in that one hour then I did with all the books I read and lessons I took. He was precise in letting me know exactly what I needed to fix and had me swinging like the pros. he was very knowledgeable about golf but did not use all his knowledge to confuse me. I wish I had seen him sooner so I wouldn't have wasted all my time and money practicing my incorrect swing. Yay! to golf Academy LA. Money well spent. Now time to win my money back on the course. read more

these guys know their stuff, undoubtedly. But, they do not run the office well. They've moved around, and are hard to get a hold of to schedule. They are willing to discount packaages, but then are pretty aggressive on scheduling new sessions and counting every minute they are with you. read more

I purchased a Living Social deal for a one-hour swing analysis and didn't realize it was going to be so difficult to use. I called the number on the voucher and a day later received a text with instructions on how to sign up for a lesson, which I followed signing up for a lesson on a Saturday morning where I was advised my instructor would be Cheech. I went to the lesson at The Lakes at El Segundo, a half hour drive from my house, where it was difficult to locate the instructor so I called the number on the voucher and this is where my experience with this business took a turn for the worst. The individual on the phone with me was very rude and very quick to push the blame on me for not signing up correctly. When I mentioned that I understand there can be glitches and they didn't have my appointment in the system he continued to say push blame away. All I wanted was to figure out a solution and he apparently didn't care about my experience. I wasn't asking for anything to be given to me but simply figuring out a mutual agreement in which I could reschedule in a timely manner where the individual again said well this isn't our fault. After reading the other comments on this company I should've avoided them altogether. I will be attempting to get a refund from Living Social as I don't want a company that doesn't respect their patrons to have any of my money and I would never recommend them to anybody. read more