Wanting to get good at golf

[victor]

Hi everyone I'm new here... I dont know much about golf... but in the summer i always go to the driving range... I can hit the ball pretty far, but really I know nothing about golf. I have never actually played a round of golf, But i've been to the driving range many times. The only club i really know how to use is the driver.

I want to get good at golf, but i dont want to hire a teacher because its sort of expensive but i dont mind paying for the driving range. Anybody here have any tips on how i can improve? I have friends that play golf and they tell me how to stand and how to swing, but I still have a problem hitting the ball "crisp".

[Fastback]

If you dont want to spend any money, then the internet is a good place to start, there is alot of information on various sites and forums, inculding this one that will get you on your way

But, maybe rather then spending money on say 5 range sessions, use that money for one lesson.. it is much better then beating buckets of balls without a clue

[Augster]

Get a book or two. Much less expensive than lessons.

George Knudson's, "The Natural Golf Swing."

Or better, for a complete beginner as yourself:

Rudy Duran's "In every Kid there lurks a Tiger"

Duran was Tiger's first coach as a kid and most of his teaching is exclusively for beginners (and kids). He makes it quite simple to get good in a hurry if you follow his 5-Step Program.

[BStone]

I agree with the post that a single introductory lesson would be a good first step, no sense ingraining bad habits. Books are a good option, but they can be hard to transfer from reading to doing.

[Sean]

I tried reading a little but it just doesn't work for me like being shown and told where I'm sctrewing up. I had the idea in my head and it felt like I was pulling it off, but I wasn't. I would have never figured it out without a lesson. These guys might laugh at me but I found 'Golf for Dummies" was pretty good, helped me out with understanding the game better but didn't help me with my swing. I think it';s a good first book to read before you move on to books about swing mechanics and stuff.

In my opinion, a single half-hour lesson with a good teacher will be better than a years worth of range sessions trying to parse it out yourself.

Hitting the ball far is nice and might make you a good player but dropping the hammer from 30 feet out or rolling it 20 feet across a green will make you great. Like me

[mont86]

The course is alot different then the range,these guys all have great points and I use books, lessons and the internet to learn, but the best is probably a lesson. That being said if you don't use any of the three, the best advice would be slow and easy swings.....Do as I say not as I do..


Good luck and spend alot of money on equipment.

[artfulgolfer]

I started 2 years ago at 46 years old... I didn't take any lessons, but read books to learn about stance and grip. I found it much more helpful to concentrate more on where I wanted to hit the ball than on "how" to get it there. Our bodies are quite capable of swinging a club and hitting a stationary ball. I've got some helpful links at artfulgolfer.com to help with some of the mental aspects of the game. We all learn differently, so I'd recommend you at least try taking one lesson to get the basics. You can take it from there on your own. By coaching myself, I got down under 4 this year and hope to break 70 for the 1st time soon (shot 73 last week w/ 22 putts on the back nine - argh).

[Poe4soul]

I would suggest taking a group lesson. The are not that expensive and can often be found at the community colleges or city parks and rec's. They will teach you about stance, grip, full swing, chipping and putting. They will also spend some time each week teaching you the rules and etiquette. There are many 4-6 lesson classes for under $100 in my city.

[gwlee7]

There are many local PGA professionals that are quite good golfers that do not charge "an arm and a leg". I believe that it is very important that you get a lesson that shows you the proper stance, grip, alignment, etc. (in other words the fundamentals) so that you are aiming correctly from a good set up. From there, if you really want to get good, work from the green back to the tee by getting a good putting stroke first, then a good chipping stroke, then short pitches, and slowly work your way back to the tee box. Each small step will bulid on the step before and ultimately, you will have a sound golf game from tee to green.

[Bubble Head]

I came back to golf a year ago after being away from the game since 1982. The first time around, I never took a lesson. If you can hit the ball well with the driver, here is what I would do:

1. Watch the pros on TV. It is particularly important to watch them hit the mid irons. That will show you what your basic 5 iron swing should look like.

2. Read Ben Hogan's book on the golf swing. It is a quick read. It is particularly important to read his discussion of grip and set up.

3. I have never seen anyone else recommend this, but I like "Golf for Dummies" by Gary McCord. It's funny and it covers everything. It isn't the best swing book, but it does cover things like etiquette and scoring.

4. Read "The Search fo the Perfect Golf Club" by Tom Wishon. If you don't want to take that time here are some basics.

The guys on this forum, eBay, globalgolf.com and rockbottomgolf.com are good sources of clubs.

- If you are not a good golfer, you should have 10.5*("*" means degree) or greater loft on your driver. If you have a high swing speed, this is too high, but it will be more accurate. Post information on how far you hit your driver and the Shottalkers will coach you on a shaft. You have one of these. You should post what you have and how you hit it to get advice on whether you should use it or get something else.

- Get a basic putter. This is where I would buy a new club. It is all about feel. Go to a golf shop, that someone you tryst recommends, and hit every putter in your price range. Buy what feels good.

- Irons. If you are more athletic than a healthy 50 year old man, use steel shafts. You want extreme game impovement irons. Ask your friends or post on this forum to see if you are getting the right clubs. You do need to find someone who can fit them. Getting length, lie angle and grip size fitted is important.

- Wedges. I am a high handicapper, so I hit wedges that are an extension of a game improvement iron set, not the forged blade wedges that good golfers hit.

- Fairway woods and hybrids. Most high handicappers, and may good golfers, don't use 3 and 4 irons. Most people use hybrids instead. Finding what works here is tough. Get a used one with 3* less loft than your 5 iron. If you can hit it about as well as a 5 iron, you have a winner. Play with it a while before you buy more. Gradually work down towards your driver loft at 3 or 4* increments. When you get to 15*, you may want a 3 wood instead of a hybrid. I hit my driver 220yds and my 16* hybrid 210 so a 3 wood doesn't make sense for me. I am 50, I use steel shafts in my hybrids and I recommend that for most people. Particularly if you are new to golf.

5. Find a golf shop where you see the same people every time you go there. I used to go to Golf Galaxy. I saw different people every time I went. Now I go to a place where it is no one but 2 partners and the son of one of them. They know what is in my bag as well as I do. They let me borrow demo clubs and go play them for a few days before I buy them.

6. If you have a good shop, don't be afraid of buying clones. The resale value is crap. But good quality clones are not a bad way to go if you can test drive them first. I like my Pinemeadow stuff better than some of the name brand stuff I have tried.

7. Take a lesson or 2. It will help.

[Eracer]

There's some great advice here. I'm convinced that there are two reasons I'm not a much better golfer than I am.

1. I didn't take lessons at the start.

2. I started out hitting the longer clubs first. This "burned" bad swing habits (especially over-swinging) into my young, impressionable brain.

I'm convinced that every beginner should get comfortable with a putter and a wedge before they ever touch a longer club.

Start with short shots and work your way out to the longer ones, getting help from a qualified teacher along the way.

[mont86]

Get a book or two. Much less expensive than lessons.

George Knudson's, "The Natural Golf Swing."
.

Book ordered will be in this week.

[Sandy]

I'm a real 'student' of any sport I play, and read every book and magazine I can get my hands on, watch DVDs, TV coverage and coaching shows on The Golf Channel to pick up every tip I can, and spend hours down at the range working on my game and self-analysing what I'm doing.

Then in January I took one 45 minute lesson that I got for an introductory price of $50. That 45 minutes did more good for my game than the whole 18 months of self-analysis that came before it.

As many people here say, even if you only get one, get a Pro to look at what you're doing and set you on the right path as there's NO substitue for it.

[mont86]

I'm a real 'student' of any sport I play, and read every book and magazine I can get my hands on, watch DVDs, TV coverage and coaching shows on The Golf Channel to pick up every tip I can, and spend hours down at the range working on my game and self-analysing what I'm doing.

Then in January I took one 45 minute lesson that I got for an introductory price of $50. That 45 minutes did more good for my game than the whole 18 months of self-analysis that came before it.

As many people here say, even if you only get one, get a Pro to look at what you're doing and set you on the right path as there's NO substitue for it.

Sandy beside the lesson what do you think the best learning tool would be?
I also read and watch the instructional videos..Alot of the GC and internet.

[Sandy]

Watching the Golf Channel programs helped a lot, buying a couple of books (the 'Breaking 100' book especially) and reading a lot that is said on here - although with respect to my fellow posters you sometimes have to pick and choose between what is 'fundamental' advice and what are idiosyncratic 'fixes' that work for one player but might cause more problems than they solve for another.

BUT the absolute key is having a Pro look at what you're doing from time to time to make sure you've not interpreted anything you've seen or read wrongly and are heading down totally the wrong path.

An example with me was a real lack of power and a tendency to hit weak slices with my irons, all because I'd convinced myself that the grip that felt best to me was WAY too strong, and I needed something more neutral. When I went to the pro he instantly told me my grip was way too weak, and moved it back to where I'd originally had it but thought it was wrong! He did similar things with both the width of my stance and the length of my backswing. No matter how much I read or practiced with those things, only having a pro's eye look them over and validate them as being correct allowed me to move on and build from that proper foundation. It can save you months of frustration!