So I just bought my first set of clubs yesterday.

[golfnewbie]

I haven't had any lessons yet (I'm starting them on Saturday) and I know that I shouldn't play too much before having real instruction because you can form bad habits that can be difficult to break but I wanted to take them out to the driving range so that I could get a feel for them. This is the very first time I've ever gone to the driving range and I've only hit a golf ball two other times in my life. With all that being said I was wondering how well I did.

I shot 100-ish balls and about 20 of them just kind of hobbled away but out of the rest.
I was shooting them anywhere between 100-170 yards with my most consistent distance being about 145. Out of these shots about 75 percent of these sliced to the right(none of them sliced to the left) but not too severely.
Then my ball was here.--->o


If I shot from here . --->o

The rest of them were going straight just like I wanted them to.
So keeping in mind that this was my very first time ever going how well did I do? I don't care if I did poorly or not I just want to know where I am. Is this slice a severe slice? I don't think it is but I'm probably wrong. How could I fix it? Also any other advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Also I'm a 21 year old male

[JackLee]

Sounds typical, and you have some terminology to learn.  You were hitting balls on the range.  The words shoot and shot are used in referring to a score on a hole or a score on a 9 or 18 hole round, or for a tournament.

I think you need a book for beginners.  "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Golf" seems to have the best reviews in that category.

You say you are starting lessons on Saturday.  I really hope you have a good instructor.

[Ctp722]

Sounds good to me, I can't remember my first time at the range. I hope as well that you have a good instructor definitely do more than 1 lesson, I'm not sure what you plans are but I would suggest at least a package of 5.

What kind of clubs did you get a complete beginners set? Hand me down?

No one can gauge the distances without knowing what clubs you hit, did you hit a driver 145 yards or a pitching wedge? Either way you're just starting so it's very difficult to say.

[newtogolf]

Welcome to golf, it's an addicting sport.  I wouldn't worry too much about having someone here assess your first day out.  Without instruction it's not likely to mean anything in how well you play going forward with lessons.   More importantly did you  enjoy your time at the range because you'll be spending a lot of time there if you want to get good at this game.

Don't worry about the slice, but to answer your question, you typically won't slice your irons too severely, the real bad slices are usually reserved for your woods.  Your instructor will teach you the proper grip, way to address the ball, start your backswing, and initiate your downswing and all of that will help you fix your slice.  Be patient, golf doesn't come easy to most of us, and it takes instruction and a lot of practice to hit the ball properly and consistently.  Enjoy