Veterans, can I (a newcomer) have some expert advice?

Hey guys/gals. I'm a newcomer looking for some advice. I'll try to make this short and sweet.

I'm 25 and just started playing. I'm very athletic, so I think that should be a big plus for me (in terms of my learning curve). I've played 3 times in the past year with friends...and needless to say...they get annoyed because of how bad I am.

I've been to the range 10-15 times. I'll hit good balls occasionally...but not often. I'm MUCH more consistent with my irons. With that said:

Do I get lessons? I've had people tell me both things. Some have said just play until you get better, some have suggested books, and some have suggested a pro. What's your take?

I really enjoy this game...and I'm sure I would more if I was a better player. Aside from my question about lessons, I'm just looking for some basic advice from you vets out there for a guy starting out (mistakes you made, etc.)

Thanks a bunch.

Take lesson and enjoy the game. Watch as many instructional video being offered online and practice and practice.

I strongly believe in learning to hit the wedge solid consistently so that when you make contact you will hear the click sound.

The other practice I would recommend is with the putter, distance control and solid contact.

helpful hints:

Wedges
1) keep your feet together and slightly open to the target
2) 60% of the weight on your front foot
3) judge distance with how far you take the club back and the equal distance forward
4) use only your shoulder and arms and club in one piece and not your hands
5) drop your rear shoulder so that it is lower than your front

Putter
1) try the putting grip where both hands are together like you are praying
2) putt with your shoulder, hand and putter in one piece and do not break your wrist
3) 60% of the weight on your front foot
4) judge distance by how far you take the club back and the equal distance forward.

I have been playing for about 23 years and these are tips that I have learned to make your game easier. The set up is key to a successful golf game. Don't be afraid to try something new with your golf swing.

Personally I would pick up Ben Hogan's Five Lessons, it helped me immensely. Focus on your P.G.A. (posture, grip, and address). Don't worry about hitting driver until you can hit your irons well.

Good luck, I'm sure you will definitely see some improvement if you work at it.

First thing- BEWARE of someone giving you too much advice especially in list form. They might not have a clue about what they are talking about.

The only way to make sure you are getting quality golf instruction is to go to a PGA teaching professional and take a couple of lessons to make sure your basic setup, grip, etc are correct. After that decide yourself if you want to continue taking lessons or not.

Remember you will have to practice to be good, but not to have fun.

If you're really very coordinated and athletic, then just one or two lessons to get you doing the right thing in terms of body positioning and swing mechanics, and then a bunch of hours practicing until you can strike the ball consistently using your new mechanically sound fundamentals, should be enough to give you an enormous leg up. I'd do it in that order; your practice will be tons more productive if you gain the background early on in what makes a good golf swing good, and what fundamentals you're trying to achieve.

-Andrew

I would say that even if you are athletic, this is one of teh hardest sports that you will try to learn. I played BB in HS, and this is *much* harder than BB.

Follow the advice above:
Take at least one lesson (so you have good habits to start)
Watch all the instructional stuff you can get your hands on (to start, anyway)

Then when you play with your friends:
If you get three or four strokes over on a hole, pick it up. Don't slow done the pace of your friends, or you won't be getting the calls to play very often.
Don't take it WAY too seriously to start; Just get out there and enjoy it, and it will come.....

Welcome to the most addictive sport in the world!

All of the advice here is great. I would just like to add that the most important thing is to have fun. You may want to read the book YOUR 15TH CLUB by DR. BOB ROTELLA. It is an awesome read about the mental part of the game. Golf is 90% mental and 10% mechanics. welcome to the greatest game ever.

It sounds like you have an inclination toward practice - a good thing. I would suggest that you spend at least half of your "full swing" practice time learning to make smooth and controlled "half swings" at the ball (with all your clubs including driver). Things happen really quickly in the full swing and tend to be out of your direct control. That is much less true with partial swings. So if you do a lot of partial swings they will almost inevitably be "more correct" than what you are doing in your full swings and this will be helpful in avoiding the inevitable bad habits that you will form.

And getting a couple of lessons early from a good instructor can be absolutely invaluable.

Good luck.

dave

Find a "swing guru" who you can trust 100% in and never look back. If he/she is local or close to you then it is better.

Cheers and have fun!

I strongly suggest you work on your mental game. There's hardly anything as frustrating as going out and hacking your way to a 130. However, with a straight head, as long as you can a ball up in the air, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to manage your game to sub-100. From there, frustration levels (all around) become much lower, and the progress on your physical swing can actually benefit you.

Said another way, if you think you're going to "swing" your way to learning this game, you'll only prolong the learning process. Learn to plan your way around a course, and manage your score, based on whatever game/swing you have at the time. Then adjust that as your swing improves.

Hey, man. I'm 25 as well and I started playing golf in May of this year, so we're in a very similar boat. I've gone from shooting in the 150s to now the mid 90s in five months. I too have an atheltic build and a solid appreciation for this game. Here's what I did to get to where I am today:

1. I took six lessons from this old guy I met at a golf range. I payed him $60 per 30 minute lesson. He was a total prick and in the end I realized that he just wanted my money. He actually was teaching me the wrong things about weight transfer and never told me that I needed to turn my hands over at impact. After six lessons, I decided to never take another lesson again. The first time I ever got lessons was when I was 13 years old, and my golf instructor (a PGA proffesional) was a racist prick and hated me because I wasn't white (true story) so I never played golf again until I was 25. Yes, you can officially conclude that I've had awful luck with lessons. You will never see me get another golf lesson ever again.

2. I bought the Golf Digest Book "Breaking 100, 90, 80" and read it about 20 times, cover to cover. I watched a ton of Golf Channel, like the show "Playing Lessons with the Pros" and that has helped a lot. I read this forum for tips, I read other websites, and talk to knowledgable friends and try to put all this information into practice.

3. People have suggested you buy Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons" and they're defintely right that it's a great book. It has all the swing fundementals you'll need to create the perfect golf swing. However, I wasn't able to understand its concepts until i was already consistently in the low 100s. That said, the sooner you understand what Hogan is talking about the sooner you will become nasty at golf.

4. You gotta play A LOT. There are no short cuts in this game. I literally went the range and the par 3 course every day after work. I was going so much, the people at the golf clinic would let me play for free sometimes (They are good people at the par3 course). The only way you get better at this game is by playing, playing, playing. But in order to actually improve from playing A LOT, you have to play CORRECTLY. If you ingrain the wrong things into your golf swing, you are literally committing long term golf suicide. YOU MUST BE WILLING TO GET WORSE IN ORDER TO GET BETTER. Practice, practice, practice. It will take me a whole year to actually practice all the stuff I've read in the past few months.

5. The Par3 course is the perfect transition from the golf range to the actual course. It takes driver completely out of it and you can just focus on irons and the short game. Put in a lot of sessions at the par3 course before you go to the big time course. I can't stress enough how helpful par3 courses were to me as I was struggling to just make consistent contact with the ball off the tee with my irons.

This game is hardcore. It will take your soul, pummel it, wash it clean and then give it back to you, if you're lucky. My last round, which was last weeked, I had a 38 through 8 holes and was on pace to not only break 90, but to shatter it. I chipped in for birdie on the seventh hole, had rattled off a couple pars and bogies, and was starring a potential 84-89 in the face (my best score is a 94). I of course collapsed on the back 9 due to a lack of mental focus and mental experience and ended up with a disappointing 97. I feel like my problems that day were purely mental (and the stupid fact that slow play at public courses KILLS RHYTHM, especially when there are two-three groups waiting at the same tee box ALL DAY....but I digress).

I feel like at the rate I'm going, I'm going to be good at golf one day. When that day comes is anyone's guess. My buddy who shoots in the mid-70s all the time has never gotten a lesson in his life. He just played golf all day, every day when he was a kid and had the right ear for good information. Actually, come to think of it, I've learned a good amount just from my friends while on the course in those early days. After I had figured a good amount out though, I don't feel compelled to ask my buddies for advice as much; however, this can't really hurt you if your friends are good. I like differing opinions and theories in this game.

There are no short cuts in this game. Anyone who tells you that there are is a con-artist. Trust me, I've met my fair share of them in this game. For me, golf purity came from within and from books.

And remember, don't give up. As I read in another thread recently, it takes longer to master golf than it does to become a brain surgeon.

Sorry, misprint, my buddy has never PAID for a lesson, but obviously he's gotten proper instruction. Re-reading my post, I sound very much against golf lessons. Not the case. A lesson from a legit golfer can benefit anyone; however, what I was attempting to illustrate was that to truly become a good golfer, one must be able to diagnose his own swing problems and then fix them himself. That comes from studying the game and acquiring the knowledge and experience to know how to execute a variety of shots that will lower your scores. You can find this knowledge in books in any Borders or Barnes and Noble.

I also liked Tiger's book "Golf My Way." It's a big picture book like "Breaking 100, 90, 80" and only cost $20 I believe, though there is a lot of fluff in it. Ben Hogan's book is soft cover, cheaper, and worth every penny.

I would tell every player, if they think they might spend the rest of their life playing golf, to spend $1,000 on lessons. In fact, I wouldn't hit a ball during your formative period without having a coach (PGA pro) provide feedback.

I'm an index of 8, but I could have gotten way better, way sooner, if I had taken lesson early. Reminder: 200 buckets of balls equals the insight gained in 1 lesson. It isn't an intuitive game, so the self learning curve is unbelievably steep.

I highly recommend ANNIKA SORENSTAMS book GOLF ANNIKA'S WAY. I know she is a chick, but the book is awesome. It teaches you alot of mental techniques " HER VISION 54 IS AWESOME " as well as the mechanics and course management. I figure that if TIGER texts her for tips, she is worth listening to. I also think that she is the greatest golfer ever.

OK. If you are athletic like you say I'm assuming you have some good hand/eye coordination. That would be the best scenario. My suggestion is to keep it simple. Find an instructor who uses video and does not get overly technical with his directions. The golf world is full of waaaay too many videos, tips, gadgets, etc. to try and perfect the golf swing. With a little instruction and some effort on your part in ingraining some proper technique, you should be able to develop enough game to go out and play with most of the average golf world. This will give you the most results in the shortest period of time. Simply going to the range and mindlessly beating balls and listening to every golf tip going down the pike will not get it done.