Help for a new (ready to be serious) golfer

[cazzy]

Hi guys,

I've played baseball all my life and have toyed with golf over the last 7 years.  I only have about 5 full rounds under my belt but I think i'm hooked and am ready to take things a little more serious.

About 3-4 years ago, my friend who worked at GolfTec helped me with my swing and fixed a lot of errors.  Every time I play, I rethink those lessons and do okay.  I just played yesterday and I had a fabulous time and got significantly better throughout the round.  I don't own a driver because someone told me that I need to learn how to hit irons first.  Well, i've been learning how to hit irons since i started playing golf. lol My 6 iron usually serves as my driver as it's my comfort club and I hit it about 200 yards on average.  I was hitting good and even got to a par 5 in 4 shots using my 6 iron on one hole.

I never had much success using longer irons, but my buddy convinced me to use my 3 iron.  My 1st attempt, I hit 250 yards middle fairway, actually surpassing his driver with my 3 iron.  A few holes later, I hit it again for 260 yards middle fairway.  My confidence kept climbing and climbing and my best shot of the day came at 17.  195 par 3 and I told my buddy, "ok this is the test to see of I can really hit my 6 200 yards".  I ended up 8-10 feet from the pin hole high.

What next? I know golf isn't easy and I have a ton to learn.  I'm ready to put in the work so I can use more than instinct in regards to what clubs to use.  I've been looking at pro golfers swings and I'm no where near as flexible as they are and don't have the amount of shoulder turn.  My flexibility isn't great and that's mainly because i'm heavily into weight lifting.  My short game is okay at best but I do make some decent shots from time to time and actually ended up with 2 pars on saturday.

Should I go get lessons or should I just keep playing to get shot experience?  Or both?  My buddy told me that he's serious when he says that its not normal to hit further than someone using a driver w/ a 3 iron.  I guess I was kind of excited about hearing that and wanted some advice from people who play the game regularly.

I'm ready to get some drivers and I'm so lost about what shaft flex to get or what degree.  I currently use mizuno irons 3-pw and a 56 degree.

My long term goal is just to understand the game better and be a respectable player.  Thanks in advance for your tips and/or advice!

[TyWebbb]

A 250 yard 3i is hardly common.  Good for you man!

[mtsalmela80]

Just starting out? 200 yard 6 iron?

250 3 iron??

I look forward to seeing you on the PGA Tour

[JuicePGA]

To answer your driver question... Right now almost every major brand out there has an excellent product but price is everything. I play the Cobra s2 would live and die by it. The only thing is i had to replace the shaft in it i bought it on close out for 150 new shaft was 70 so all together i looked at 220. Still is a deal. Now if you got money to burn i tried the Titleist 910d i ripped the cover off the ball it was unreal but it was also 400 bucks. Like i said if money is not a complete concern, i have heard awesome things about the  taylormade R11 (which would be on close out),the new R11-S, and the Rocketballz series. Now on to the shaft question i would honest go get your swing speed checked. I swing at 109 MPH so i use a very high stiff almost extra stiff and we have about the same distance except i hit my 3 iron 260. None the less my advice from my cobra experience don't be cheap with the shaft....in golf you get what you pay for. I would suggest looking at ether cobra,titleist,or taylormade for your driver/ fairway wood desires. and with the degree it really depends on your ball flight if you have a naturally high ball flight i would get lower degree driver like a 9 but since you are just starting to use a driver i might suggest a 10 degree its a little easier to hit and would really help you get an idea of what your next purchase might need to be

Hope this helped

[cazzy]

Just starting out? 200 yard 6 iron?

250 3 iron??

I look forward to seeing you on the PGA Tour

Lol...not going to happen. I think I read there is more to golf than hitting the ball far. Short game is where it's at. I just want to get more consistent and get more flexible with my swing. I've never really dedicated myself to golf other than the month I worked with my buddy at GolfTec. I'd like to see where I'm at after months of practice and playing. The round on Saturday was promising so I'm eager to see what I'm capable of.

[inthehole]

just remember alot of people can hit it long ... very few can hit it truly long and keep it on the fairway consistently

[JuicePGA]

Originally Posted by inthehole

just remember alot of people can hit it long ... very few can hit it truly long and keep it on the fairway consistently

Originally Posted by cazzy

Lol...not going to happen. I think I read there is more to golf than hitting the ball far. Short game is where it's at. I just want to get more consistent and get more flexible with my swing. I've never really dedicated myself to golf other than the month I worked with my buddy at GolfTec. I'd like to see where I'm at after months of practice and playing. The round on Saturday was promising so I'm eager to see what I'm capable of.

I agree with both of you i mean a long game is awesome but only if you have an equally as good short game and build on every round. take all the positives and the negatives and work on them thats the key to this game

[Gresh24]

You should play in the Waterbury Open...

[dak4n6]

If you hit a 200yd 6 iron, I think you should be giving me tips.

So...how do you hit your irons so far, esp with a restricted shoulder turn?

[cazzy]

@PGAJuice thanks! I think that's where I need to start...get my swing speed checked and go from there. Most golf retail stores should have that, right? I have a tendency to go extreme so I'm kind of thinking a entry level driver might be best until I learn how to hit a driver. The benefit of using only irons for the past 7 years is that I have pretty good iron play. Lol. I was looking at the Mizuno JPX 800 driver and 3W. Don't know if I need a hybrid but I guess I'll figure that our when I know what's what.

[cazzy]

just remember alot of people can hit it long ... very few can hit it truly long and keep it on the fairway consistently

The first few holes, I lost a couple balls because I was nervous that starter was watching me tee off with a 6 iron. The 2nd hole, the Marshall was chilling in his cart, so I again got nervous. After that I settled down and starting hitting pretty consistent. I actually hit quite a bit of fairways and had several shots where I landed on the green from 140+ out. At this point, I'm pretty lost and am just winging it. I don't know what club to use so maybe my entire round was lucky. Before you ask, my score was high and we stopped keeping track after the front 9. I did have a blast tho and never got frustrated...only encouraged.

[cazzy]

You should play in the Waterbury Open...

Lol...you got jokes I see. I want to get better, not compete. I'll be happy to just be a decent to good weekend hacker.

[cazzy]

If you hit a 200yd 6 iron, I think you should be giving me tips.

So...how do you hit your irons so far, esp with a restricted shoulder turn?

I just stood up and I guess I rotate more than I think, but I do feel very stiff. When I play softball or baseball, it's a natural movement and I just dont think about anything. The mechanics are instilled in me. A golf swing is foreign to me and I just think about where my hands need to be and I'm pretty much thinking until get to the end of my back swing. I don't know, I'd assume I have decent swing speed. I'm pretty strong, but I'm not sure that matters in golf. The best thing for me to do is get my swing speed checked and eventually get a video uploaded so y'all can evaluate me.

[mtsalmela80]

I don't think I could hit a 200 yard 6 iron if I muscled every last bit of strength I had to save my sons life.

[Precis1on]

Originally Posted by dak4n6

If you hit a 200yd 6 iron, I think you should be giving me tips.

So...how do you hit your irons so far, esp with a restricted shoulder turn?

I'm guessing he has some very strong forearms and hands.

For you, you definitely have the distance (which most amateurs lack), so I would work on consistent ballstriking and your short game. Get some lessons with someone who can work with your strengths.

[JuicePGA]

Originally Posted by cazzy

@PGAJuice thanks! I think that's where I need to start...get my swing speed checked and go from there. Most golf retail stores should have that, right?

I have a tendency to go extreme so I'm kind of thinking a entry level driver might be best until I learn how to hit a driver. The benefit of using only irons for the past 7 years is that I have pretty good iron play. Lol. I was looking at the Mizuno JPX 800 driver and 3W. Don't know if I need a hybrid but I guess I'll figure that our when I know what's what.

Yea most golf retail stores have them well serious ones and they might charge you a fee but if you tell them your interested in a driver ( which will get them more money) but you don't know what shaft you should get and ask about measuring it they SHOULD bypass the fee...welll if they would rather make say 250-400 or 30 bucks its really up to them and yea like i said with you just getting woods and a driver i think you should look at one with a 10 or a 10.5 degree loft its more forgiving then say a 9 or a 8.5 like i play and after you get comfortable hitting the "big stick" you will see the pros and cons to the higher loft and will make a decision for the next one. Honestly i wouldn't sacrifice quality for wanting to get an entry level driver. I would go to a shop where they have used clubs and or look on TGW.com for close outs on last years models like i said got my cobra for 150 and go that route if you don't wanna shell out the money for the latest and greatest which for a person never with a driver in their hands before you probably shouldn't go out and get the brand new in my opinion. For your hybrid idea... man if you're hitting a 3 iron unless you hit a mega slice i wouldn't waste your money on a hybrid...yea could you get 10 more yards and maybe a little more forgiveness possibly. But if you are piping a 3 iron 250 i wouldn't worry about a hybrid unless it will fix a confidence issue which you don't seem to have right now

[cazzy]

I'm guessing he has some very strong forearms and hands.

For you, you definitely have the distance (which most amateurs lack), so I would work on consistent ballstriking and your short game. Get some lessons with someone who can work with your strengths.

Sounds like good advice to me! Is there a fool proof way to find reputable coach? For instance, some type of compilation of some sorts. When I first started playing way back when, some guy at a driving range gave me lessons. He didn't care what my swing looked like and just focused on getting me hit straight. He let me get a lot of bad habits and my swing was disgusting before my friend fixed it.

[cazzy]

@PGAJuice. Thanks again bro! Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable hitting the 3 iron...I guess. Saturday was prolly about the 10th time I hit it and was the first time I had consistent success with it. I mean it when I say that the lowest club I've used for years was my 6 iron. Lol. I will definitely go with your approach about not getting the bare minimum and a 10 loft. Especially since I don't have any where near the confidence I do with irons. I hit a few with my friends driver at the range before the round. It was horrible. After I built my confidence, I tried it again and was making good contact, just had zero control and was slicing it. Still fun though! ;)