Introduction from golfindude1

[golfindude1]

Hi everyone,

My name is @golfindude1. I'm from San Jose, CA. I'm currently in university studying for a B.A. in Geography. I played since I was 10 years old. I played on my high school team (2 years on JV, 2 years on Varsity) and through those 4 years, I improved a lot from I believe it was 20+ handicap down to a 15-ish handicap. After I graduated, I don't go out as often as I did partly because I'm in school, the benefits while I'm under 18 expired so I have to pay the full price (more expensive), I don't have that many friends to go out and play, and there's no club golf team in my college.

I hope while using this board (and r/Golf), I can get something out it. Some of the goals I have in mind are.

• Getting to a single handicap no matter how long it's going to take.
• How to read the greens better
• How to properly putt. (The motion, 
• Following drills to commit to.
• How to give golfers, that are developing, advice on their swing
• How to analyze and understand a swing.
• Founding a club golf team at my university

This is a handful, so I'm going to focus on at least 1 or 2 per week and then get better. Right now, I'd just like to know where to start.

Edited May 7, 2020 by golfindude1

[dennyjones]

Welcome to TST.   You've found the best place on the web to talk golf.   

Take some time to search the site.   You'll find information from very qualified people that will help you achieve your goals.    

[billchao]

5 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

My name is @golfindude1.

I’m impressed that your parents knew you would enjoy playing golf when they named you 😜

I’m joking, of course. Welcome to TST!

[klineka]

Welcome to TST! 

First, I would recommend focusing on improving your own swing before you start trying to give other people, even beginners advice.

Being that you are likely a 15+ handicap, I would recommend find a good instructor in your area and take some lessons with them. They should be able to help you make sure your fundamentals are down, things like grip, alignment, posture, etc. and they should also be able to help you develop a proper putting motion.

As far as the green reading, one way you could learn it is to look for and attend an Aimpoint class near you (not sure if they are still actively happening at the moment due to COVID-19) 

As far as drills to commit to, I highly recommend working with an instructor, a good one should give you 1-2 priority pieces to work on plus a couple drills with feedback to reinforce those priority pieces. Once you get those priority pieces down and they are second nature, then you can go back and take another lesson and work on the next priority pieces in your swing. Just keep doing that for like a year while practicing properly and there's a good chance you will improve as a golfer. The instructor route is so much better than just looking up random drills on YouTube that may or may not be addressing something wrong with your specific swing.

If in person lessons are too expensive, there are online platforms where you can do lessons, like Evolvr.com, or for some free advice you can start a "My Swing" thread in the Member Swing section of this forum, just make sure to read the part about proper camera angles before posting videos.

One additional resource that will give a broad spectrum of general drills for all aspects of the game designed to help all golfers can be found in the 30 day practice plan that the owner of this site @iacas put together for the month of April

 

[CarlSpackler]

Welcome to the site @golfindude1!

[golfindude1]

7 hours ago, billchao said:

I’m impressed that your parents knew you would enjoy playing golf when they named you 😜

I’m joking, of course. Welcome to TST!

I decided to call it that because that was my username for World Golf Tour (I don't play that game anymore). 😄

[golfindude1]

14 hours ago, klineka said:

Welcome to TST! 

First, I would recommend focusing on improving your own swing before you start trying to give other people, even beginners advice.

Being that you are likely a 15+ handicap, I would recommend find a good instructor in your area and take some lessons with them. They should be able to help you make sure your fundamentals are down, things like grip, alignment, posture, etc. and they should also be able to help you develop a proper putting motion.

As far as the green reading, one way you could learn it is to look for and attend an Aimpoint class near you (not sure if they are still actively happening at the moment due to COVID-19) 

As far as drills to commit to, I highly recommend working with an instructor, a good one should give you 1-2 priority pieces to work on plus a couple drills with feedback to reinforce those priority pieces. Once you get those priority pieces down and they are second nature, then you can go back and take another lesson and work on the next priority pieces in your swing. Just keep doing that for like a year while practicing properly and there's a good chance you will improve as a golfer. The instructor route is so much better than just looking up random drills on YouTube that may or may not be addressing something wrong with your specific swing.

If in person lessons are too expensive, there are online platforms where you can do lessons, like Evolvr.com, or for some free advice you can start a "My Swing" thread in the Member Swing section of this forum, just make sure to read the part about proper camera angles before posting videos.

One additional resource that will give a broad spectrum of general drills for all aspects of the game designed to help all golfers can be found in the 30 day practice plan that the owner of this site @iacas put together for the month of April

 

I come from a low-income family and I'm the first in my family that can play golf, so I can't afford to pay $50 per lesson to an instructor. I'd rather spend some of that money on playing on the course for example. My school does offer a Beginner and Intermediate Golf Class though, but I've already taken my P.E. credits and don't want to waste any more.

As for the 30-Day Challenge, I can only do putting (and maybe chipping/pitching depending on how much space the drill requires) because my house is significantly smaller than the room that @iacas is in and damage my house any further.

I do have a question though. Is there a resource on this site for golfers on a budget? As I mentioned, it sucks that I'm a golfer and don't have the connections or the money that others seem to have.

[dennyjones]

There are numerous free videos here on site.     Like I mentioned earlier,  this is the best place on the web to talk golf.   This site isn't about $$, it's about helping golfers improve.    Participate, ask questions, be social and you'll be surprised how much you get for free here.

Check here:

TST Instructional Content

You can start a Member's swing where qualified people give you free help with your swing

Member Swing Thread

 

[klineka]

9 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

As for the 30-Day Challenge, I can only do putting (and maybe chipping/pitching depending on how much space the drill requires) because my house is significantly smaller than the room that @iacas is in and damage my house any further.

Do you not have any yard available where you live? Or a public park, empty baseball/soccer field, open field at a school, etc available for you to hit at? Take a couple sheets of paper, make them into a couple balls and go to a field and you can do nearly all of the drills from the 30 day plan. 

Or better yet, invest the money up front into a decent net and mat set up, take it to the field and hit real balls into the net. In the long run that will end up cheaper than a driving range because you won't have to keep paying for another bucket every time you go. There are even ways you can lower the cost of the net/mat via craigslist, FB marketplace, etc.

9 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

I do have a question though. Is there a resource on this site for golfers on a budget? As I mentioned, it sucks that I'm a golfer and don't have the connections or the money that others seem to have.

I'm not meaning for this to sound rude, but did you read my entire post? I already talked about you starting a member swing thread and specifically stated it is a free way for you to get swing advice.

I'm also curious what you mean by "connections that others seem to have" ? From what I can tell from member swing threads and the 30 day challenge, the majority of the golfers make do with that they have, most were just simple net/mat combinations in their yard or in a field, it's not like every golfer on here owns their own indoor studio with high speed cameras and trackman or something.

[iacas]

13 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

As for the 30-Day Challenge, I can only do putting (and maybe chipping/pitching depending on how much space the drill requires) because my house is significantly smaller than the room that @iacas is in and damage my house any further.

You can do them in your yard. Or driveway. Or any open area.

[RoberX]

Welcome to the Sand Trap!

[golfindude1]

On 5/8/2020 at 5:56 AM, klineka said:

Do you not have any yard available where you live? Or a public park, empty baseball/soccer field, open field at a school, etc available for you to hit at? Take a couple sheets of paper, make them into a couple balls and go to a field and you can do nearly all of the drills from the 30 day plan. 

Or better yet, invest the money up front into a decent net and mat set up, take it to the field and hit real balls into the net. In the long run that will end up cheaper than a driving range because you won't have to keep paying for another bucket every time you go. There are even ways you can lower the cost of the net/mat via craigslist, FB marketplace, etc.

I'm not meaning for this to sound rude, but did you read my entire post? I already talked about you starting a member swing thread and specifically stated it is a free way for you to get swing advice.

I'm also curious what you mean by "connections that others seem to have" ? From what I can tell from member swing threads and the 30 day challenge, the majority of the golfers make do with that they have, most were just simple net/mat combinations in their yard or in a field, it's not like every golfer on here owns their own indoor studio with high speed cameras and trackman or something.

I do have a driveway that's at least 9 feet wide, so I can practice on that. Regarding public parks, it's prohibited in the City of San Jose to practice golf there (Park Rules and Guidelines section). My high school does have a.football field and some grassy areas primarily for P.E. purposes, but I suspect that it's also prohibited to practice there.

I actually went to Golf Galaxy and practiced my driving skills using their clubs. You can try them out for free, but I think after using it for 30 minutes, you would need to pay. 

After reading the post, it turns that it is possible to build a Golf Net for yourself. I will definitely consider building one in the near future.

Yes. I'm aware that there's a ton free info that could be useful for me.

Regarding the "golf on a budget", using the driving range and going out to play on the course requires money. Something that I don't have compared to, for example, a rich person or a golfer with a country club membership. On top of that, there's no Return of Investment after you're done (assuming that you're not playing for a high school varsity golf team). One thing I wish I had was source of income so that would entice me to come back for more (that I would love to have) without worrying about spending all my money like my High School Varsity Golf Team who did a tremendous job ensuring that nothing goes wrong financially. Right now, I'm limited to practicing once a week based on the income I have at the moment.

What I mean by "connections that others seem to have" is that finding golfers that live in my area and are around my age can be difficult. I have to admit I'm not the most social person or interesting person around and it is kind of on me, but networking with people isn't easy. It must be easier if golfers were born in a golfing family for example. So, it has nothing to do with the limited resources in my house, it has to do with the people that you interact with.

I know this is late, I'm not trying to dodge the question here. I had finals to finish up, but because I'm done, I don't have the stress to divert my attention away from the finals now and thus I can post with ease. I hope this helps.

Edited May 21, 2020 by golfindude1

[dennyjones]

56 minutes ago, golfindude1 said:

Right now, I'm limited to practicing once a week based on the income I have at the moment.

There are many, many ways to practice w/o spending money.   Have a mirror?   Can you putt the length of a yard stick?  Chip over the driveway?   

[klineka]

16 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

My high school does have a.football field and some grassy areas primarily for P.E. purposes, but I suspect that it's also prohibited to practice there.

If you went out to the grassy area (not the football field) with a dozen balls and a couple wedges and spent 30 minutes hitting some pitch shots in the evening one night I highly doubt someone will say anything to you. And if they do, just say sorry and that you wont do it again. 

16 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

Regarding the "golf on a budget", using the driving range and going out to play on the course requires money. Something that I don't have compared to, for example, a rich person or a golfer with a country club membership. 

You really need to get out of the mindset that you need to be rich to play/practice golf on a regular basis. There are plenty of people on this site, myself included, who have never been a member of a country club. At a lot of public golf courses, you can just walk on and use the practice putting green for free even if you arent playing, just make sure you obey the dress code and walk up and start putting.  

A bucket of 75 balls is $9 at my local driving range, so if you hit 1 bucket per week and went to a practice chipping/putting green 2 more days a week, you could have 3 practice sessions per week at actual golf facilities for $36 per month. 

16 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

On top of that, there's no Return of Investment after you're done (assuming that you're not playing for a high school varsity golf team). 

Very very few hobbies have a positive ROI and if you are looking for one, golf is definitely not that sport.

16 hours ago, golfindude1 said:

One thing I wish I had was source of income

This is going to be very blunt, but it sounds like you need to get a job, or a second part time job if you already have one. Especially since you are in college and likely have the summer off of classes. Even if you are taking summer classes, you likely can make time for a job or a second one. I took a full load of classes, played baseball at a division 2 college, and still worked 20 hours per week on top of that to give myself some extra spending money while in school. So if you aren't playing a sport and just taking classes, it sounds like you should have some time available for a part time job. Apply at golf courses and driving ranges around you, most need summer help, and that would give you access to free golf.

You don't even need to build a net to hit balls at your house, you can hit plastic or foam golf balls into like a blanket or something. Like these which are $7: 

https://www.amazon.com/PrideSports-Practice-Balls-Count-Yellow/dp/B00466W9X0/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=plastic+golf+balls&qid=1590152370&sr=8-7

I also saw a golf mat on amazon for like $22, so for one time costs of $30 you can hit unlimited foam balls at your house (assuming you already have a blanket you can hit into, plus for roughly $40 per month you'll be able to hit balls once a week at the driving range and can do unlimited short game practice at a local course. That is very affordable and you could make a ton of progress just doing that.

Edited May 22, 2020 by klineka