Handicap/ improver tips

[ThomasSE]

Evening all,

Firstly, a brief intro - as a frequent browser & someone who has enjoyed many a thread learning a few things, or being influenced to spend more than I’d like to admit on various golf things… figured it was time to start a thread myself.

I’ve recently bought a house in a new area of South London and now I’m settling in, becoming a regular golf player and actually getting a handicap and improving is a key focus of mine after a few years dabbling here and there. (I’m currently reading the various threads on courses/ memberships in the area!)

So to the thread - what would be your one key tip/ piece of advice/ amusing anecdote to someone who wants to improve at any point, get the most out of the game of golf, or just an excuse to play with some new toys!

My first one would be - spend the money on a lesson rather than waste hours on YouTube self diagnosing/ on the range working on the wrong things. Guess who had a lesson recently…

 

[Region3]

Yeah, stick with the lessons if you can, but set some time aside for working on what you’ve been told. Just doing it on the course is not the way.

The biggest other thing for me I wish I’d been able to do from the start of my golf is be nice to yourself. Now when I get frustrated I imagine a caddy saying to his player what I’m saying to myself and it seems very stupid.

Good luck ?

 

[Newtonuti]

Evening all,

Firstly, a brief intro - as a frequent browser & someone who has enjoyed many a thread learning a few things, or being influenced to spend more than I’d like to admit on various golf things… figured it was time to start a thread myself.

I’ve recently bought a house in a new area of South London and now I’m settling in, becoming a regular golf player and actually getting a handicap and improving is a key focus of mine after a few years dabbling here and there. (I’m currently reading the various threads on courses/ memberships in the area!)

So to the thread - what would be your one key tip/ piece of advice/ amusing anecdote to someone who wants to improve at any point, get the most out of the game of golf, or just an excuse to play with some new toys!

My first one would be - spend the money on a lesson rather than waste hours on YouTube self diagnosing/ on the range working on the wrong things. Guess who had a lesson recently…

If you hit a bad shot, have a chuckle about it and then forget it. Even prime Tiger hit the odd horror shot, it's all about the next shot.

 

[Deleted member 23270]

Lessons are key. Get the fundamentals correct from the start otherwise you think you are practicing but all you're doing is grooving bad habits. Don't forget to enjoy it, we play this game for fun it is not our livelihood.

Don't overcomplicate things though. Each time you hit a shot just remember to get your grip, stance, alignment and posture correct then don't sway make sure you turn. Keep your grip light, your eye on the ball, your elbow tucked in, flex in your knees, full shoulder turn, sternum over the ball, feel your weight on the inside of your rear foot, swing in to out, release the hands through impact and rotate through to a nice high finish without thrashing at the ball.

It's a simple game really, we just over think it

 

[Maninblack4612]

There are three areas where, in theory, we can be as good as the pros:

1. At address. The number of amateurs addressing the ball incorrectly is huge. If you're not in a position to start the swing properly you can't hit the ball correctly without some "mid course corrections". Study yourself in a mirror with an instruction book beside you.

2. Grip. A reasonably orthodox grip is essential. It may need to be strong if you have a tendency to leave the face open or weak, if vice versa but, again, you see a lot of amateurs who look as if they're about to chop down a tree, not hit a golf ball.

3. Putting. Putting requires no strength or athletic ability. The more you practise the better you'll get & good putting can really reduce your score.

 

[Albo]

100% get a lesson stick to the basics of what you learn there and avoid YT.
I spent many a year buying new clubs all the gear and spending hours watching YT without progress. It got to the point, honestly, where I was watching YT videos on course during solo rounds and trying to implement swing changes real time. It didnt work.
Had a few lessons and now my handicap is at its lowest.

You Tube is great! As long as you dont use it for swing mechanics

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

10: Lessons
20: Practice
30: Practice
40: Practice
50: GOTO 10

 

[ThomasSE]

Enjoyed reading these this morning. As DaveR said, such a simple game ?.

I think practise is the right one - something I’ve been guilty of not doing in previous years.

To join in with the be nice/ chuckle advice I’d add another one that works for me - stay involved in the group. I know if I get annoyed with myself/ my swing/ And then focus just on me rather than talking to the others, encouraging them, laughing, being sociable etc it makes it worse. Enjoy being out!

 

[patricks148]

Get lessons from a decent pro and practice what he teaches you as required.

Putting is worth spending plenty of time on, will save you plenty of shots on the course if you improved that.

 

[Orikoru]

My advice is forget lessons, they're boring, just get out on the course as much as possible and have a laugh.

 

[BiMGuy]

Hit it further off the tee whilst avoiding penalty shots.

 

[evemccc]

There are three areas where, in theory, we can be as good as the pros:

1. At address. The number of amateurs addressing the ball incorrectly is huge. If you're not in a position to start the swing properly you can't hit the ball correctly without some "mid course corrections". Study yourself in a mirror with an instruction book beside you.

2. Grip. A reasonably orthodox grip is essential. It may need to be strong if you have a tendency to leave the face open or weak, if vice versa but, again, you see a lot of amateurs who look as if they're about to chop down a tree, not hit a golf ball.

3. Putting. Putting requires no strength or athletic ability. The more you practise the better you'll get & good putting can really reduce your score.

I think this a good post

But with regards your point 3, though I agree putting is vitally important to good scoring, I think there isn’t any athletic or strength pre-requisite to be good at full-swing shots as well as in putting…Corey Pavin, Hale Irwin, Woosnam, 59 yr old Tom Watson, and sixty-something Langer attest to that

 

[Foxholer]

Find a Pro you can relate to and try to take their advice.
Enjoy every round - even those that frustrate you. A round of golf can provide a pretty good reflection of life situations, so use it to improve both.

 

[sweaty sock]

Get your grip, alighnment, and ball position correct.

Then whenever it all goes wrong, you can come back to that.

It always goes wrong, so you always need something to come back to...

 

[PNWokingham]

Have some lessons as they will help bad habbits forming while you are newish to the game. Other thna this, best thing to do is totally forget about your handicap, just have fun playing. Handicap is a number, golf is a social sport so treat it as such

 

[phillarrow]

Have realistic expectations and leave your ego in the car park!

Every golfer hits bod shots. Every golfer gets outdriven by someone, somewhere. Every golfer sees others pitch it closer, escape from bunkers better, putt it from further away. Don't let any of these things bother you. The most frustrating thing about golf is not that we can't hit great shots, it's that we can...but we rarely hit enough of them in the same round.

Start with realistic expectations and observe the different parts of your game as they slowly improve, without letting your expectations run away with you. That will, hopefully, help you enjoy the good bits whilst not allowing the bad shots/rounds/months(!) to cause you too much frustration.

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

I don't do it as don't really have time to practice, plus I know this is going to be debated as he appears a bit marmite but I quite like Mark Crossfields approach on you tube currently.

Effectively, try different things in practice so you've got more ability on the course. Tee heights and how it impacts flight, trying to hit low shots, high shots, draws and fades. Same around the practice green with different shots. I reckon if you committed to that you'd get to improve and have fun at the same time.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Lessons
Practice
Membership

The first two are obvious but once you get into a club, you'll meet players of all abilities, can find regular playing partners and you get a handicap that you can then try to improve in competitions

 

[ThomasSE]

Some recurring themes, thank you all for your input so far and keep it coming!

I think the realistic expectations one is so so key for a beginner. You watch golf on the TV and see these pro's making it look relatively easy and highlight reels on social media and have unrealistic expectations of what golf should be like, and then you compare yourself to that on the course and get frustrated. I'm trying to find some good stats/ sayings to back this up but one lesson I had with a pro he shared how many good shots to bad he has on a round and it is eye opening.

Another good one is comparison - many a time I've lost my swing trying to hit it harder to keep up with a friend, or try the phil mickelsonesque shot with another friend who's a wizard with the wedges.


Re membership... Watch this space. Dulwich & Sydenham is my local course, and am reading the many threads on South London courses to identify which others to look into and potentially try out.

 

[jim8flog]

10: Lessons
20: Practice
30: Practice
40: Practice
50: GOTO 10

What never go out and actually play the game!!