I need to learn golf.. FAST.

[RedRun411]

Yes. You could say I'm desperate. Well, I'm new anyway. I'm Anneliese, 14, trying out for my High School's Golf team. My dad is pro, but I don't feel like asking him, because out of the odds, I won't understand him, and he and my brother would most likely make fun of me, haha. I would love to impress my dad too, just like "knowing" this on my own when I go to the driving range with him this weekend. Tryouts are on Monday, and I need help quick. Well, anyway, could you please explain the game, I don't get the whole "birdie, par, handicap" and things like that?
PLEASE EXPLAIN.

Muchas Gracias.

[jeffgladchun]

It really seems like you might want to ask your dad about all this stuff. He can help you a lot more than anyone can over the internet. Also, there's no such thing as learning golf fast... but you can see a lot of improvement quickly with some dedication.

Par: Each hole has a set number of strokes (between 3 and 5) that the player is expected to hole out in.

Birdie: Finishing a hole in one less stroke than par. (example: 3 strokes on a par-4 hole)

Handicap: I'll let your dad handle that one, its a bit more confusing.

Go ask him!

[sioutdoors]

first off learn to hit balls of the grass with shorter irons(7,8,9,) as those are the clubs you will use the most. Second if you want to get the coaches eyes at try outs learn to bomb it off the tee with your Driver(1 wood) they will teach you the rest

[jeffgladchun]

first off learn to hit balls of the grass with shorter irons(7,8,9,) as those are the clubs you will use the most. Second if you want to get the coaches eyes at try outs learn to bomb it off the tee with your Driver(1 wood) they will teach you the rest

Learning to bomb it off the tee is probably the last thing you want to worry about right now. Any coach worth their salary will pay more attention to the scoring clubs: short irons, wedges, and the putter.

Focus on those first.

[LarryK]

I have some bad news, Anneliese. I seriously doubt you are going to learn how to play golf well enough in the next four days to make your high school team. You wouldn't expect to be able to do that in basketball or field hockey, would you?

But you can learn about golf. And the basic idea here is to hit your golf ball with as few swings as possible into 18 different holes that are about the size of your favorite compact disc. These holes are bored into 18 individual putting greens -- areas of very short smooth grass over which the ball rolls much like on a billiard table. Each putting green lies at the end of a stretch of slightly longer but still closely mown grass called a "fairway". The fairways connect the putting greens with your starting point -- a grassy area known as the tee box.

Each of the 18 tee box, fairway and putting green combos are also referred to as "holes", as in first hole, second hole, third hole, etc. Each of these vary in length from just over 100 yards to well over 500 yards. The entire 18-hole layout makes up a cross-country course that typically measures 5,000 to 7,000 yards.

"Par" is a somewhat arbitrary average number of strokes it should take you to actually put the ball into the hole on the green from your starting point on the tee box. So there you are. Standing on the tee box 384 yards away from the hole on the green. And you notice that a nearby sign says this hole is a "Par 4". Someone thinks you should be able to -- standing from right where you are -- hit the ball three times and then on your fourth stroke, actually put the ball directly into that CD-sized hole.

Still think you can do that by Monday? Let us know how it goes on the driving range.

PS -- "Birdie" would be if you got it in the hole in one less stroke under par. An "eagle" would be if you got it in in TWO strokes under par. More than likely you will become more familiar with "boagies" "double boagies" and even "triple boagies" -- the number of strokes OVER par that it took you to hole the ball. Good luck!

[RedRun411]

Thank you all. =]

Well, here's the thing LarryK, I didn't really make clear. I know how to play golf, I know what a fairway, etc are. I just don't really know what all those mumbo jumbo words are like "par, eagle, boagie" now I do. You know those three types of grips, beginer, baseball, and I can't remember the other grip, but do you think the coaches would consider me less if I used the beginer grip? It's more comfterable for me, and I swing much better like that rather than using those other grips.

Also, what are some ways to have more "power" I know I'm not totally going to be focusing on that right now, but in the future, what are some ways? Do weights work? I'm only 5'1, 85 pounds, so that's kindof the reason I want to build up my strength in my swing.

Thanks!

[The Undaunted Duffer]

Also, what are some ways to have more "power" I know I'm not totally going to be focusing on that right now, but in the future, what are some ways?

People spend years trying to get more power. Bigger heads on the driver, adding muscle mass making sacrifices to the golf gods. You name it, people have tried it.

In any event, good luck and don't give up. It's a game of constant tweaking and re-adjustment sometimes. Just have fun. Finally, ask your dad for help! If he's a professional, why not? I'm sure he'd love to teach you.

[iacas]

I second all the advice you've received thus far, and I have something else to say: go see your dad. If he were to make fun of you, he'd be a terrible dad and a terrible teaching professional, too. Since I seriously doubt that either of those are anywhere near the truth, I don't think you should expect to be made fun of.

[sioutdoors]

as for geeting more power, hitting the sweetspot on the driver will give you more distance than if you swung really fast and hit of center. So make good contact and the distance will come with that

[RedRun411]

Ok, thank you all for the advice. Greatly appreciated.

I have another question (I will most likely be asking a ton of questions =])
Well, anyway, how do you know which iron to use? If you're far away from the hole, which iron would you use? If you're close, which one do you use?

Thanks =]

[muskegman]

You want to find out how far you hit each iron and then pick the iron based on how far out you are. For example: You may hit your pitching wedge 115 yards, a 9-iron 125, an 80-iron 135, etc... The next time you're 125 yards away you know to grab the 9-iron.

As you practice and play, note how far you hit each club and then use those numbers to determine which one to pick from whatever distance.

[RedRun411]

Ok, thanks, good to know.

[cmarkmyers]

In 4 days you can easily read something like Golf for Dummies, Idiots Guide to Golf, or K-I-S-S Guide to Golf. Any of those will help you with things such as golf terms, basic course management, shot types, golf history, etc.

[RedRun411]

Haha, I totally forgot about those books. I'll have to pick one up this weekend.

Thanks =]

[iacas]

Haha, I totally forgot about those books. I'll have to pick one up this weekend.

The most important lesson, yet surprisingly one a lot of those books don't cover, is simply this: have fun. It's a game. Don't get too wound up. If you're kind of a beginner, look at this as a learning experience and then if it's something you think you'll really enjoy, you can put a lot of effort into it this year and do really well on the team come next year (regardless of whether you make the team this year or not).

So, have fun.

[sioutdoors]

remember that you want to figure out how far an iron will carry (which means how far it goes not counting the roll) that will help you hit more greens. I think nowing how far they carry is more importent than how far they go total. Yeah the green is 200 yrds but that bunker is 180. You know you can hit a certain iron 200 yrds but will it carry a bunker? Just my 0.2 $ dont know if i explained it properly