One of the best investments towards your golf game would be to get a lesson with a qualified instructor.

Reading magazines and watching footage for the latest tips will definitely help, but the hard part actually comes in knowing how to actually make your body move so that your swing looks like the ones in the pictures.

And then once you get that worked out, it's even harder to tell whether you are actually doing it correctly without being able to see yourself in video.

That's why no matter how low or high your scores, having a qualified instructor looking at your swing can really help solve a range of problems. But there is a difference between a good instructor and a great instructor, so here's a little checklist of things to make sure you are investing your money with the best possible person.

Firstly, they must be a great player.

I know it's obvious, but too often people will take advice from their fellow golfing buddies. You need to be absolutely sure that the instructor knows what he is talking about, and isn't going to give you the same textbook advice your friends give you for free.

Secondly, they must work 'with' your swing.

Many instructors just try to teach people the 'perfect golf swing', when in actual life no two people's swing is the same. The instructor you choose must work to correct any faults that are inhibiting your own swing, rather than trying to change everything to make it into the 'perfect golf swing'.

And thirdly, they must be a great person.

If you are going to be paying for a one hour lesson, or even a few lessons, you want to make sure that you will enjoy yourself. So have a talk with the instructor before just booking a lesson, get to know what his coaching style is like and see whether you think you will get the most out of the lesson.

Take these things into account when organizing your next golf lesson and you can be sure that you will improve your game and your money won't be going to waste.