Tips for new golfers - from golfers

[MarkT]

Am looking for a bit of help (again) for a piece - we need some advice for new golfers from golfers who have played it for years. It can be quite daunting so we're trying to collate a template for people who are considering giving golf a go

Any advice should be a minimum of around 80 words and can be as long as you like, thanks

 

[Imurg]

A well used phrase - Manage your expectations
Don't get upset when you miss a 15 foot putt
Don't expect to hit the green from 200 yards out
Don't expect to hit every fairway and green.
I've worked on the 10% principle - if you're 200 yards out, be happy to be 20 yards from the pin
If you're 20 yards away, be happy with being 2 yards away.
And outside 10 feet on the putting green..make sure you don't 3 putt.
It's nice when a 15-20 footer drops but most of the time it isn't going to happen
Be happy to get the ball as close to the hole as you can.
Stop the double bogeys.

 

[fundy]

Have fun, enjoy yourself, play with old friends and make new ones, dont take it too seriously. Oh and make sure you have fun!

 

[BiMGuy]

Don’t keep your head down and don’t take swing advice from amateurs.

 

[Orikoru]

Just some basic things I've observed as my wife started playing over the last two years:
1. Don't feel like you need to hit the ball with an upwards motion to get it up, as you'll just fat it or top it. Hit downwards to make the ball go up. (With irons and wedges anyway.)
2. Don't sway back to the right to try and add more power, the power comes from rotation and speed, not lateral movement.
3. Don't be too hard on yourself - golf is hard enough as it is. If you didn't hit it properly but it still went 80 yards forward and straight, just take it as a win and move onto the next one. You are there to enjoy it so forget the bad ones and savour the good ones.
4. Don't forget to practise putting. She'd had days where she struck the ball better than ever but it went to waste because she knocked every putt 5 feet past the hole.
5. Find something you can hit off the tee comfortably with. The old 'drive for show putt for dough' is a myth, it's so important to have a good consistent tee shot for the par 4s and 5s, whether that's driver, a 3 wood or a hybrid. Anything you can decent length and quite consistently.
6. Don't try and hit it too hard. So many times when she duffs a shot, she'll step up to the next one and try and hit it twice as hard/far to make up for it, and duff it even worse. Just concentrate on trying to get a nice strike and the club will do the work for you.

 

[need_my_wedge]

Don't worry about what other people think, we all had to start somewhere, and most of us are still there. Learn the basic etiquette at the start - slow play, walking across lines on the green, ready golf etc. Then just go out and have fun.

 

[Orikoru]

Just some basic things I've observed as my wife started playing over the last two years:
1. Don't feel like you need to hit the ball with an upwards motion to get it up, as you'll just fat it or top it. Hit downwards to make the ball go up. (With irons and wedges anyway.)
2. Don't sway back to the right to try and add more power, the power comes from rotation and speed, not lateral movement.
3. Don't be too hard on yourself - golf is hard enough as it is. If you didn't hit it properly but it still went 80 yards forward and straight, just take it as a win and move onto the next one. You are there to enjoy it so forget the bad ones and savour the good ones.
4. Don't forget to practise putting. She'd had days where she struck the ball better than ever but it went to waste because she knocked every putt 5 feet past the hole.
5. Find something you can hit off the tee comfortably with. The old 'drive for show putt for dough' is a myth, it's so important to have a good consistent tee shot for the par 4s and 5s, whether that's driver, a 3 wood or a hybrid. Anything you can decent length and quite consistently.
6. Don't try and hit it too hard. So many times when she duffs a shot, she'll step up to the next one and try and hit it twice as hard/far to make up for it, and duff it even worse. Just concentrate on trying to get a nice strike and the club will do the work for you.

Another one I forgot but @need_my_wedge just reminded me as it pertains to being worried about other people seeing you hit bad shots. Whenever my wife was worried about that, I told her to sit down on the bench before we tee off and just spend 5 minutes looking around at the other golfers on the course. Invariably in that five minutes you'd definitely see a couple of horrendous shots from other people. Even people who are 'good' at golf are actually crap at golf, we're all in the same boat so don't worry about it.

 

[BiMGuy]

But a 4 hybrid or 5 wood, 7 iron, 9 iron, sand wedge and putter. That’s all you need until you can get round in under 100. Everything else just complicates matters.

 

[YandaB]

Don't worry about what other people think, we all had to start somewhere, and most of us are still there. Learn the basic etiquette at the start - slow play, walking across lines on the green, ready golf etc. Then just go out and have fun.

Maybe phrase that a little better though I'm sure you don't really want to teach people those things.

I'd add a favourite of mine is to remember that the game is measured in Strokes, not whacks, wellies, belt the living daylights out of it (alternative words/phrases can be added)

 

[LincolnShep]

If you're joining a club and worried about playing with strangers, remember that it's more important to be good company than to be a good golfer.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Am looking for a bit of help (again) for a piece - we need some advice for new golfers from golfers who have played it for years. It can be quite daunting so we're trying to collate a template for people who are considering giving golf a go

Any advice should be a minimum of around 80 words and can be as long as you like, thanks

A new golfer came on to this forum, he was somebody I was following on Twitter, and I recognised his avatar. Highly enthusiastic about golf and the enjoyment he had found in the game. Made an introduction into the LIV thread - saying he was enjoying it. He was dismissed as being in the wrong, received the usual quips from the usual people, and buggered off.

So my advice, stick to twitter if you want open mindedness and a welcoming attitude.

(Is that 80 words?) ;-)

Seriously though, start on a short course, one that is welcoming to new players and doesn't have strict dress codes etc. Use social media to gain advice on courses, equipment, or even to shout a game with somebody. Find out when the best times to play are to avoid busy periods when you may feel pressured. Use a driving range to build up to a level where you feel you can venture onto a course, and don't just stand there blatting the driver.

 

[fundy]

A new golfer came on to this forum, he was somebody I was following on Twitter, and I recognised his avatar. Highly enthusiastic about golf and the enjoyment he had found in the game. Made an introduction into the LIV thread - saying he was enjoying it. He was dismissed as being in the wrong, received the usual quips from the usual people, and buggered off.

So my advice, stick to twitter if you want open mindedness and a welcoming attitude.

(Is that 80 words?) ;-)

Seriously though, start on a short course, one that is welcoming to new players and doesn't have strict dress codes etc. Use social media to gain advice on courses, equipment, or even to shout a game with somebody. Find out when the best times to play are to avoid busy periods when you may feel pressured. Use a driving range to build up to a level where you feel you can venture onto a course, and don't just stand there blatting the driver.

Maybe you should take your own advice lol

 

[evemccc]

Not played that long relatively to most on here but I would certainly strongly recommend getting a series of lessons from the outset - having to change an embedded ‘muscle-memory’ is hard enough after 3 years, let alone any more than that

No idea how Faldo, Woods, Speith etc who’ve embarked on swing changes years into being an established pro (and having hit hundreds of thousands of balls) did it

 

[Deleted member 1147]

- it's a hobby
- even the best make mistakes
- only apologise if you did something wrong on purpose
- LIV is rubbish
- building muscle doesn't stop you being flexible
- learn where to stand
- LIV is rubbish
- warm up properly pre-round, including non-static stretching
- get custom fit for clubs if it's available
- it doesn't matter what type of clubs you use
- Tiger is the best ever player
- Jack is over rated
- Mickleson is the games biggest underachiever
- Parkland courses can be good, you don't only have to like Links or Heathlnd
- LIV is rubbish

 

[Deleted member 23270]

Have lessons right from the start. Once you groove in bad habits it's hard to get rid of them. Don't set any expectations, it's a hobby and we do it for fun. If you start to show any natural talent or ability then you can start to take it a bit more seriously.

Above all, relax and enjoy your time on the course making friends.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Maybe you should take your own advice lol

Yeah, my face clearly doesn't fit, and I challenge the general narrative, so bugger off - that's the general vibe I get on here.

Unfortunately I'm a stubborn Yorkshire boy, so you're lumbered with me ;-)

 

[Pin-seeker]

Don’t try & leather the ball.
Swing smooth.
Use your shots.

 

[r0wly86]

If you can hit 150 yards straight and can putt you can be a single figure handicap

a bit glib, but what I mean is don't be worried about distance at the beginning, as a beginner losing balls hurts your score a lot more than being short off the tee.

 

[nickjdavis]

Dont take tips from other golfers. Your body is your own, it is different from others, your problems are therefore unique to you. Well meaning advice from others, who probably aren't great at the game themselves, wont help in the long run. Go and see your local pro to solve your problems and commit to practise what he tells you.

Take time to find a pro who's teaching style matches your learning style...try several in order to find someone who works for you.

Throw away all the magazines, delete all the you tube videos, that tell you how to fix a slice, block, pull, top etc.....they will all give slightly different advice, and the conflicting advice will leave you a confused blubbering wreck lying on the fairway pounding the ground in frustration as another ball disappears into the undergrowth.

 

[Whereditgo]

When learning to swing the club, stay away from YouTube and technical articles, don't try and copy anyone's swing, find a golf pro that you get along with.
The ball doesn't care or know what your swing looks like.
Ignore the golf myths, such as: 'keep your head down/still', 'hit down on the ball to make it go up', 'drive for show putt for dough', 'golf is played with a straight left arm' etc.
On the course, aim away from penalty areas and try to stay out of the tree's and bunkers.
Pick a club to reach the back of the green, your normal shot will not go as far as you think!
When you do get into trouble, get the ball back in play the safest and easiest way - you're not Seve!