Newbie in the deep end

[YorkshireStu]

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to golf and I'm after some fairly straight forward beginner's advice if possible, what couple of things to think about whilst starting off on my golfing journey.

I've played squash for 15 years at city and county level so handeye coordination and reflexes are great so hopefully there will be some transferable skills.

Some background, I'm 26 and keep being invited to work golf days and declining due to a lack of confidence, so I've decided to take the plunge and go for it. Sadly/luckily this has landed me with a work golf trip to Gleneagles in 4 months time. Practice needed!

I've got a good deal on some clearence Taylormade clubs and after some extensive reading bought a 4 and 5 Hybrid from the Cobra FlyXL range to supplement them.
A colleague mentioned it would be a good idea to drop the Taylormade 3 Hybrid for a Cobra FlyXL 3 Hybrid for consistency of hybrid club/swing etc. Thoughts anyone?

My clubs:
Driver - Taylormade Burner 10.5
3 Hybrid - Taylormade Burner 19
4 Hybrid - Cobra FlyXL 22
5 Hybrid - Cobra FlyXL 25
4-9 Irons - Taylormade Burner
PW SW Wedges - Taylormade Burner
Putter - Taylormade Rossa Monza Spider
Ball - Callaway CXR yellow

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

NB- a few lessons with a coach isn't an option at the moment unfortunately

 

[fundy]

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to golf and I'm after some fairly straight forward beginner's advice if possible, what couple of things to think about whilst starting off on my golfing journey.

I've played squash for 15 years at city and county level so handeye coordination and reflexes are great so hopefully there will be some transferable skills.

Some background, I'm 26 and keep being invited to work golf days and declining due to a lack of confidence, so I've decided to take the plunge and go for it. Sadly/luckily this has landed me with a work golf trip to Gleneagles in 4 months time. Practice needed!

I've got a good deal on some clearence Taylormade clubs and after some extensive reading bought a 4 and 5 Hybrid from the Cobra FlyXL range to supplement them.
A colleague mentioned it would be a good idea to drop the Taylormade 3 Hybrid for a Cobra FlyXL 3 Hybrid for consistency of hybrid club/swing etc. Thoughts anyone?

My clubs:
Driver - Taylormade Burner 10.5
3 Hybrid - Taylormade Burner 19
4 Hybrid - Cobra FlyXL 22
5 Hybrid - Cobra FlyXL 25
Irons - Taylormade Burner
Wedges - Taylormade Burner PW SW
Putter - Taylormade Rossa Monza Spider
Ball - Callaway CXR yellow

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

NB- a few lessons with a coach isn't an option at the moment unfortunately

First post on a forum at 4.50 in the morning. I better reply otherwise the first response you'll get will be from Smiffy!!!!

Welcome to the madhouse and the greatest game there is! For a beginner your clubs looks fine to me, wouldnt fuss with changing the hybrid to get them all matching personally.

Shame you cant get a couple of lessons, be worth getting a few when you can just to get the fundamentals taught before you learn too many bad habits (grip, stance, posture, alignment mainly).

Whatever anyone else says, the most important thing is to have fun, theres no point otherwise!!!!

 

[backwoodsman]

Hi - and welcome.

As above, clubs are fine. Stick with them - when you're starting out most clubs are as good as the rest and you don't need them all to match. You say lessons are not an option - but surely you could manage perhaps just one to learn grip and stance? Otherwise just get yourself down to a range and practice. But enjoy.

 

[pbrown7582]

hello welcome and enjoy, nice set of kit to start with as already said a shame you cant squeeze in even just a couple of lessons to set your basics up on the right path.

 

[Hacker Khan]

At the risk of being boring agree with above. Clubs fine and swapping the TM Hydrid for a Cobra will make very little difference at your level from a swing perspective. That is not supposed to be a slight on you but if you are just starting out then you will have all your work cut out just getting the ball airborne with a 3 hybrid, the make of it is mostly irrelevant. I've been playing for many years and I still struggle. The only thing that swapping might help you is a confidence thing. If you can get your 4 and 5 hybrids working sort of working OK then you may feel more confident with the 3 hybrid in the same shape/look. But that will be a mental thing, from a physical perspective it makes no difference. Then again they do say 90% of the game is played between your ears or something like that.

And I'd back up what others have said in that try your hardest to have a couple of lessons. They will help you much more than getting all your hybrids from the same manufacturer. Sounds like you have a great opportunity coming up so it would be a shame to not do as well as you can. I can't stress enough how important it is to have lessons when you start to get your fundamentals right and stop you ingraining any bad habits. No doubt your mates will offer some well intentioned advice, but insight from a trained pro will be invaluable. Trust me, been there, seen it, done it and it is one of my biggest regrets I did not have lessons when I started as it would have saved me a whole heap of hassle and money later on in life.

And welcome to the board, enjoy Gleneagles.

 

[YorkshireStu]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice so far.

The only reason I think lessons might not be an option is becauseI have a 5 month old son so I figured time on the range would be time better spent. I'll have a look at some local lesson options

 

[chrisd]

Hi, and welcome to a great forum

I echo the comments from the others, just two or three lessons would be so good. It's vital to get the basics right and then stick to them, grip, stance, posture, ball position, rhythm etc - get them right day one and then you're halfway there!

I went to Gleneagles a couple of years back - you'll love the place!

 

[Hacker Khan]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice so far.

The only reason I think lessons might not be an option is becauseI have a 5 month old son so I figured time on the range would be time better spent. I'll have a look at some local lesson options

Whilst time on the range is great, you may find that after a lesson you can practice a few things, especially the fundamentals of grip, posture, smooth takeaway etc at home and don't need to go down the range for those.

 

[pbrown7582]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice so far.

The only reason I think lessons might not be an option is becauseI have a 5 month old son so I figured time on the range would be time better spent. I'll have a look at some local lesson options

Can fullly understand the time factors especially with a young son, if you can see your way to a couple of lesson even a month apart and just 1 or 2 hrs at the range I think it would enhance your Gleneagles trip, enjoy!

 

[patricks148]

As Other have said lessons would be the best advice given.

I like you used to get invited to Cricket club golf days and never went though lack of interest. went to one got given a set of old blades and wooden woods in the car park and off i went. had a hoot and loved it and was hooked from that moment on.

my only regret is i didn't have lessons at that time, if i had i would have got to single figures way before the 4 years it took me.

Also important to enjoy it

 

[guest100718]

Go to the range and hit balls and then when you have hit enough...hit some more

 

[TheCaddie]

Get lessons at the range! Agree with everyone else, they are incredibly valuable, and ultimately they are what will make a difference to your game in a few months, not trying to figure it out by yourself. Trust me, I went through 6/7 months trying to do that, and the difference lessons have made in a few short weeks has been phenomenal!

 

[guest100718]

yeah a lesson on the basics wont do any harm, but then self teaching works for a lot as well.

 

[JohnnyDee]

All of the above advice is very sound.

And welcome to this place. 😃

 

[bobmac]

Learn how to stand at the beginning.
Learn how to hold it
Learn how to stand at the end.
Then play as much as you can

 

[Region3]

Welcome.

I'd agree with what's already been said about a lesson. Understand you maybe can't take as many as you'd like, but well worth missing a range session or two to know that grip, posture and alignment are ok.
If they aren't and you don't get a pro to take a look, you might hit 10,000 balls grooving bad fundamentals before you eventually get round to it.

It doesn't even have to be 1 on 1 lessons. Group lessons are a great way to pick up and be taught good habits, meet others starting out on the same journey as you, and considering you usually get range balls thrown in for the price are very economical.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned so far is about your clubs. If you're happy with the hybrids you can leave the 4 and 5 irons at home as they will do the same job as the 4 and 5 hybrids but be harder to hit consistently well.

I would also look out for a fairway wood for the times when your driver is out of control. 3 wood is probably most popular but I'd suggest a 4 wood as they're slightly easier to use.

Regarding the hand eye coordination, it's both a blessing and a curse.
It will allow you to get the club on the ball when your swing goes slightly awry, because your brain will know and make compensations.
It's a curse because while you're making these compensations there might be no indication that anything is wrong. If you had the coordination of Bambi on ice there's no way you'd turn a bad swing into a good shot, and would need to seek help sooner.

 

[Dan2501]

Are there no free beginner group lessons local to you? That's how I got started. Helped me learn the fundamentals, and stopped me developing too many bad habits early on, which can come from being self taught.

 

[patricks148]

Regarding the hand eye coordination, it's both a blessing and a curse.
It will allow you to get the club on the ball when your swing goes slightly awry, because your brain will know and make compensations.
It's a curse because while you're making these compensations there might be no indication that anything is wrong. If you had the coordination of Bambi on ice there's no way you'd turn a bad swing into a good shot, and would need to seek help sooner.

Totally, you will have the golf swing of a squash player without some form of guidance. When i started i have the golf swing of a cricketer and hit some of my finest cover drives on the course Thats right by the way.

Im going to play some 20 over cricket this year as the Airport has entered the local evening league this year. Not sure what a cricketer with golfers swing is going to do shot wise, look out deep long off

 

[jamielaing]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice so far.

The only reason I think lessons might not be an option is becauseI have a 5 month old son so I figured time on the range would be time better spent. I'll have a look at some local lesson options

My local range has PGA pros and a number of them do group lessons for beginners. Think it's normally 2 hours for a block of 6 weeks and comes in at around £60 for the block. That will give you the basics to move on from.

Do you know any good, single figure handicap golfers? Get them to take you to the range also and pick their brain. When you are at the range don't far into just hitting balls into the distance. Pick targets to go for, vary them throughout your practice time. This keeps you trying to aim and see that you are lining up correctly/ helping to understand why you are missing.

Youtube is your friend. Start watching things on there. I don't know of any that cater to beginners but I do like Mark Crossfield and Rick Shiels. Have a look for pointers.

Try to work on your putting too. Don't assume that this is easy and focus all your time on the range.

Also, before you take on Gleneagles, make sure and get some on course time too. Hitting balls at the range is great but playing the course is completely different in my opinion.

Most of all, enjoy yourself. It's the most infuriating, ridiculous game. And that's why we all love it. And I am sure you will get the bug too!

 

[Stuey01]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice so far.

The only reason I think lessons might not be an option is becauseI have a 5 month old son so I figured time on the range would be time better spent. I'll have a look at some local lesson options

Hi mate,

I have a young daughter, a little older than yours, what I found worked for me was finding a pro that works out of a floodlit range, I can nip out for a lesson after the little one has gone to bed without impacting family time or being harsh on the missus. Usually have my lessons about 8pm.