Can I learn to swim (better) by swimming or do I need training?

[4_Legs_Good]

I can swim, like the kinda swimming you learn when you're a kid, but I've never improved it and am not really good at it. It's enough to keep me from drowning in a pool or lake and maybe give me a few more seconds in a river (never swim with shoes on - reminder), buuuuut, I'm certainly no "swimmer"

That said, I'm thinking of starting a bit-o-swimming as exercise, but I'm wondering how much I know is good enough to start and get some exercise (just swimming back and forth in my HOA pool) or would I need to really take swimming classes or something (which I won't do). Ultimately I'd like to get "good" enough that I could do laps at the community pool and kinda feel like I know what I'm doing.

Thoughts?

david