“Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots – but you have to play the ball where it lies.” -Bobby Jones
Ask any veteran player, and he will argue that golf is the greatest game of all.
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Unfortunately, the sport has a reputation for being unwelcoming for new players. Reasons are many as to why golf shares such a reputation.
The first impression that beginners have of the game is that it is really hard.
Every game is challenging at first, but golf is even more so. New players always struggle to get a hold of the game for some time before making any progress.
Another reason why most players never even try is unlike other sports, getting started in golf is expensive. New clubs, balls, shoes, a bag, and paying the first greens fee cost you a small fortune.
Difficulty meeting other players and finding a good place to play are additional hurdles to be faced.
Still, if you are ready to play considering all these problems, the good news is that golf is not as hard to play as most people make it appear. Of course, you need to learn the ropes of the game, but you will find that it is worth the effort.
Now how exactly can you learn to play golf quickly?
This comprehensive guide on playing golf will help beginners to learn the game quickly. We have tried to pick the advice from some of the best sources and put them into sections so that you can easily identify them and put to use.
Feel free to skip sections that you think won’t be of help. We are sure though that after putting the given tips into action, you will be playing decent golf before you know it.
Let’s get started.
1. Get started before preparing
It is easier to put off your plans just because you are too busy or have job commitments, but you have to make it happen.
Instead of delaying golf this time, just let it happen.
Just get in your car, drive to the nearest driving range and get started. Do not think of buying a new set of clubs or some flashy accessories. That all will come later; just make your first swing at a local driving range.
You will have no idea what you are doing.
But it doesn’t matter. Your objective, for now, is to hit some balls. Some prominent golfers started the same, and soon the game became a lifelong pursuit. Also, you are not going to become a golfer without swinging a club.
Just start by borrowing clubs from friends. Assuming that you have a friend or two who are already playing golf, see if they are willing to lend you their clubs.
You can always count on the clubs at the range. Many practice ranges have a policy of offering free rentals when you purchase a bucket of balls. The clubs at the practice range are not going to be the best, but that is not important right now.
Once you have had a few swings at the balls, and finally you are ready to give it a serious try, you can buy two or three clubs. At this point, you do not need to purchase the whole set. We recommend you to buy a driver and a sand wedge. Do not buy any club in the range from three iron to pitching wedge, as those will be included in the set if you buy one later on.
This is the first step, so your priority must be to have fun. Just relax, laugh and enjoy your first few struggles with the ball and clubs.
2. Acquire the golf gear
Now before you go on to buy the gear for the sport, you need to take at least four to five trips to the driving range to understand how exactly golf works. The goal is to ensure that you like the game before spending money on equipment and accessories. You have to accept the fact that golf is not for everyone, which is why you need to make most of the trial period.
Once you are confident that you like the sport, its time to invest in full quality sets of clubs and other accessories that will usually include:
- A full set of clubs including a driver, iron set, fairway woods, wedges, and putter
- Golf balls
- Golf shoes
- Golf-appropriate apparel
- Golf bag
- Accessories like ball markers, tees and a divot tool
You can always shop for these accessories online, but we recommend that you are better off visiting a local store. However, when you visit the store make a point not to tell the sales representative that you are a new golfer as he might recommend the most expensive set of clubs.
3. Learn from a pro instructor, not YouTube or your buddies
Reading a bunch of articles or watching videos on YouTube is not going to make you learn golf faster; instead, it’s only going to confuse you.
Unless you have friends, who are scratch golfers or pros, do not learn from them. You might be getting advice from your hobbyist golfer friend on what’s right and wrong, but most probably they don’t have a clue themselves.
Keep in mind that golf videos and articles are good for improving your game but not for learning it from scratch.
The right thing to do is to get at least three lessons from a certified instructor.
The difference here is, you will get at the spot feedback from the instructor on what you are doing right or wrong. This is not possible when you put the theory you have learnt to practice on your own. You have swing clubs to get a taste of it, but no you have to be serious about learning the sport.
When you are at the range swinging the club, there will be a lot of things that you will not be aware of. A lot of things happen with the body posture that you might have learned in theory but have no idea if you are maintaining the right posture or not.
Ask your local driving range for recommended instructors as you will not fall for the bad ones.
4. Practice at the range, not at the course
You might make the signature mistake of trying to learn the golf at the course instead of practising at the range.
You are absolutely wrong.
We are not trying to be harsh, but after smacking some balls, you might feel it is pretty easy to hit that little ball lying on the grass like a pro. Believe us; you are not going to perform like Bobby Jones or Tiger Woods; instead, if you try to bring your golfing skills directly to the course, you will most probably end up embarrassing yourself.
If you don’t practice enough, early frustration or embarrassment can easily creep in.
Besides, you need to learn something called golf etiquettes and conduct yourself at the course so that you are not affecting the schedule and rhythm of other golfers.
How to know you are ready to play golf on the course?
Practice at least 5-8 times after your first lesson, until you have accomplished to:
- Lift the ball in the air at the first strike
- Make ball go at least 100 yards with any club in your set on each shot
- You have to have the confidence that you can make three decent shots out of every five
- You will want to make sure you feel comfortable and secure enough to make three decent shots out of every five
5. Focus on a few things at once when practising
When you put your hands on a club for the first time, the testosterone level in your body will feel the rush, and you might want to accomplish in one day.
It is humanly impossible to focus on more than 2 or 3 things at once, which is why you need to practice one drill at a time. Try to remember 2 or 3 things about the drill you are practising and once you get good enough to execute the drill without thinking, it’s time to move to the next drill.
Remember if you try to do a lot in a single day, you will end up with cramped muscles that will get tired faster.
During golf lessons, you might learn about things such as keep your chin up, flex your knees, drop your arms, transfer the weight, cock your wrists and a lot more.
Golf is a lot more than just hitting the ball. Drills are extremely important, which is why you need to practice them.
6. Hone your swing technique from a neutral position
If you are reading stuff about golf online or watching videos, you might come across so-called strong positions.
Do not fall prey for these tricks instead focus on improving your swing to the point that you play fairways with at least 80% of the shots. You must practice to improve your skills and avoid golf information overload.
You will hear a lot about ‘power positions’ or holding your grip one way or the other. Ignore all such tips and focus only on what your golf instructor has to tell. Follow your golf training system for 3 to 6 months.
The best thing to do is to learn the Neutral Position and practice it to the point that you can play fairway with most of the swings. Then you can move on to learn to control and shape your shots.
7. Control your thoughts and play a mental game
“Golf is 80% mental, 10% ability, 10% luck.”– Jack Nicklaus
Probably one of the best phrases that one of the greatest golfers of all time has given. There is no scientific proof as to how much mental strength you need to put it in the game, but we do believe that mind power is real in golf.
If you do not learn to control your thoughts and emotions, they will affect your game.
The king of the range, slave of the course, is a real thing. You might play like a pro at the range, but it’s a freak show as soon as you step in an actual golf course. Why is that?
It’s your mind that is not prepared. Both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are known to vision their shots before swinging their clubs. You have to train your brain to feel the motion of the swing on the pre-swing routine.
8. learn to speak to the ball
Unless you are playing on a rainy or windy day or if the golf ball is severely damaged, the ball itself can give you the answer to what went wrong with a shot.
To quickly learn golf, invest time in understanding ball flight and trajectory. When the ball is not going the way you want it to go or taking unpredictable turns, you don’t have to blame the day or jinxed game but the swings.
Accept that ball follows the laws of physics and responds to the way you swing it.
9. Use home practice nets or golf projectors to complement, not substitute the range
If you have a backyard and you also have a golf net, then why waste time at a range?
You can’t be more wrong.
Unless you have a driving range in your backyard or you are a pro golfer who needs to perfect his shots, then you might count on practice devices such as golf projectors and sporting nets as a substitute for the range.
But let’s be honest, you are reading this article, so you are most probably a novice struggling to learn golf. You need a driving range for fixing your errant shots. Only on a range other than the actual course, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your shots.
10. Have fun or quit
No matter how much you read about the official code of playing golf, at the end of the day, it’s a sport. You must have fun playing it.
We understand it takes quite some time to get out of that phase where you are embarrassed about your performance. But remember you started playing golf to have a great time and to relax.
Make it a point to learn and have fun while playing the awesome game and never let your emotions turn you into a grumpy whiner.
There you have it- the guidelines to learn golf quickly without falling into the common pitfalls.
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Thanks for reading
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