What do You Think Is More Important? And Why?

[ks8829]

learn to make solid contact with your wedges and each time you can test your swing with the mid to low irons and work your way up to hybrids,fairway woods and finally to the driver to test your swing.

90% practicing
wedges
chipping
putting

focus on making solid contact and develop your swing

1) play 9 holes short par 3 to start off
2) work your way up to longer 9 holes
3) play 18 holes

[beisenhauer]

Golf is about getting the ball in the hole. You get the ball in the hole with wedges and your putter. If I was introducing someone to the game, I'd start with putting, then chipping and pitching. These are also the least physically demanding swings. Then work back through the clubs, or towards the tee, however you want to think of it.

[TommyD69]

With beginners and especially kids, start at the hole and work your way back to the tee. That means the putter first...

When my kids were 5, 6, 7 years old, we would all go to the practice chipping green with cut off 7 irons and cut off putters.

You put the ball on the fringe, chip it on the green with the 7 iron, and then putt them ALL out into the hole!

Start there, and work your way back to the tee a little at a time.

The LAST club you should start to use is a driver, and NOT until AFTER you are a bogie golfer IMHO.

[Eeryck]

I think it is important to do what makes you enjoy the game more with one word of caution my mistake:

I thought striking the ball well off the tees and with my irons would lower my score.

Last round I had 50% fairways hit with 4 GIR and a short chip for another 8 greens. I scored a 121 with 18 chips and 55 putts.

So even though my drives and irons made me feel good for a while now my only practice focus is chipping and on the greens.

If I would have the chance to do it over again I would have started from the pin out, so that when my long ball started to get sorted out I could really start to see improvement. Plus I think that chipping and pitching practice recently is teaching me a lot more about the impact position without a lot of other full swing movements or thoughts.

At least the entire learning process has been a huge ammount of fun for me.

[Jay-Bird]

PUTTING then putting, putting, putting and putting. Then chiping and pitching, then 7 iron, 5 iron, driver.

[JCDot33]

I learned the game green to tee ... I will teach the game to my kids this way too ... think about this (and if I have duplicated, I am sorry ... I didn't readevery post)

In a "normal" round of 72 strokes:
36 shots are putts
22 shots are iron shots (of varing length)
14 shots are Drives

Short game is key ... you can mis-hit a drive and recover well, but what good is it if you then 3 putt (on a par 4) ...

Just my thoughts

[Vino707]

I am learning to play the game right now and have been learning short game first. I started out doing chipping then moved to a half swing then on to a full swing.

I just want to learn how to get the ball in the air and straight then I'll move on to driving ball as far as I can.

[Big_M]

Last round I had 50% fairways hit with 4 GIR and a short chip for another 8 greens.

I'm really not trying to be offensive, but how in the world can you take 55 putts or an average of slightly more than 3 putts per hole? It just seems to me that becoming a mediocre putter (36 per round or so) should not take too much practice... maybe a day or two or even just knocking some putts around with a propper stroke before you play for 10-20 minutes the first few times you play. getting to be mediocre at other parts of the game is much more difficult... I would think. bottom line... I just don't undrstand spending time practicing putting at first... hitting the ball in the air and being able to chip a ball onto a green facilitate actually playing a "round of golf" far more than taking 35 putts or 40 putts. At first it isn't so much score that is important as it is 1) being able to hit a tee shot out there somewhere near the FW or in the FW 2) being able to hit an approach shot in the air up near the green 3) being able to chip on if green is missed. WHO FRICKEN CARES if you two putt after you sliced 7 balls OB and duffed four more in the FW and chipped over the green 3 times. Practicing putting first seems stupid to me... unless you have tons of time or are too young or some such thing. -just my 2 cents

[ks8829]

I would have a beginner start with pitching from 20,30, 40 50 yards while practicing on the putting for distance control. I believe the wedges help you built the foundation for your golf swing.

70% wedges
10% putting
10% chipping

work your way up to mid irons, hybids, fairway wood and eventualy the driver.

Play 9 holes at first to built confidence with the mid irons,pitching, chipping and putting

slowly move up to hybrid fairway woods and driver