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Posted

Hi there,

I've recently fancied giving golfing a go.  I live in an area with a number of clubs.  Problem is, I've never played properly before, and my experience extends to a few pitch and putt greens...!  I was wondering whether you could advise me on what steps I should take.  I have found a course with a driving range and practice putting green - should I go there and give things a try?  I am a student and so, funds are fairly limited, but I'm very keen to get started - will my limited funds be a barrier?

Secondly, I obviously don't own any clubs.  Is there a bare minimum amount I could purchase before going along to the range (assuming this is a good step to take) to practice?  I.e. 3 wood and putter perhaps?

Apologies that my circumstances are fairly limiting, but I would like to give this a go.  There is no guarantee that I would end up pursuing it very seriously in the long term, and so I think it's important that I don't splurge too much.

Any advice welcomed :)


Posted

I am not sure what level you are in your schooling but if it is on the university level you may want to talk to someone in the athletic department. Every school that I have attended had classes or semi-organized clubs that would introduce you to many new opportunities without having to spend much money if any. Students, by and large, are all on limited budgets so maybe inquire with the school first.

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Posted

My advice? Look for garage sales. You can probably find a decent beginner set in its entirety for $50.

Then just start hitting the range until you're comfortable hitting a ball consistently. The obvious suggestion would be lessons, but they're pricey...so I'd recommend just watching instructional videos and seeing what works for you.

Ryan M
 
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IAD = ( [ADD] * .96 + [EPS] * [1/.12] ) / (1.15)
 
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Posted
Originally Posted by Slice of Life

My advice? Look for garage sales. You can probably find a decent beginner set in its entirety for $50.

Then just start hitting the range until you're comfortable hitting a ball consistently. The obvious suggestion would be lessons, but they're pricey...so I'd recommend just watching instructional videos and seeing what works for you.

Yes, garage sales or craigslist are great for a cheap beginner set to see if you like it.


Posted
I would also say Craigslist. I've always recommended them to beginners looking to spend less than $200

Posted
Play twilight and super twilights. Especially in summer. I play once a week , usually Sunday nights after 6. 15 bucks cart and gps.

Posted

THanks for all your replies!  I went to play a par 3 course yesterday and borrowed some clubs - it was fun, but I REALLY need to work on my swing!!  I was thinking of going again but buying 2 clubs to take with me.  Obviously I'll need a putter, but what else would kind of iron would you recommend that would be versatile enough to use on the fairway and rough?  Please excuse me if that is a daft question!


Posted

I'm not sure if you've tried this, but call the courses near your area and see if they offer a student discount.  I golf a par 3 course and it's $6 after 6 Monday-Friday, perfect for my budget.


Note: This thread is 4555 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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  • Posts

    • In driving a car you have all sorts of random or variable parts, though. Different speeds, corners, conditions, size of turns… even different cars and sizes, different traffic and laws (lights, signs, etc.). I don't think I've seen anyone doing "block practice" to practice the same exact turn 100 times, then trying it in the real world.
    • IMHO, block practice is good. Any new motor pattern or a 'move' has to be committed to muscle memory and be reproducable at command without conscious thought as the final goal. I don't see how this is that much different than learning how to drive a car, or let's say how to handle the steering for example. One must do it enough times and then also do it in different situations to commit to all layers of brain - judgment of demand, decision making, judgment of response and finally execution. Unless each layer is familiar of each of their role in the specific motor move, it is not truly learned and you will simply fall back to the original pattern. I think the random practice is simply committing the learned pattern to different scenarios or intervals of time to replicate in the real world (actual rounds). It breeds further familiarity learned from block practice. Steer the car a hundred times to learn the move (block) and then drive the car all over town to make it real world (random) to a level of maturity. I don't see how block and random have to be in conflict with each other.  
    • Yea, I think the first thing is to define block, variable, and random practice with regards to golf.  The easiest one might be in practicing distance control for putting. Block practice would be just hitting 50 putts from 5 feet, then 50 putts from 10 ft then 50 putts from 15 ft. While random practice would having a different distance putt for every putt.  In terms of learning a new motor pattern, like let's say you want to make sure the clubhead goes outside the hands in the backswing. I am not sure how to structure random practice. Maybe block practice is just making the same 100 movements over and over again. I don't get how a random practice is structured for something like learning a new motor pattern for the golf swing.  Like, if a NFL QB needs to work on their throw. They want to get the ball higher above the shoulder. How would random practice be structured? Would they just need someone there to say, yes or no for feedback? That way the QB can go through an assortment of passing drills and throws trying to get the wright throwing motion?  For me, how do you structure the feedback and be time effective. Let's say you want to work on the club path in the backswing. You go out to the course to get some random practice. Do you need to set up the camera at each spot, check after each shot to make it random?  I know that feedback is also a HUGE part of learning. I could say, I went to the golf course and worked on my swing. If I made 40 golf swings on the course, what if none of them were good reps because I couldn't get any feedback? What if I regressed? 
    • I found it odd that both Drs. (Raymond Prior and Greg Rose) in their separate videos gave the same exact math problem (23 x 12), and both made the point of comparing block practice to solving the same exact math problem (23 x 12) over and over again. But I've made the point that when you are learning your multiplication tables… you do a bunch of similar multiplications over and over again. You do 7 x 8, then 9 x 4, then 3 x 5, then 2 x 6, and so on. So, I think when golf instructors talk about block practice, they're really not understanding what it actually is, and they're assuming that someone trying to kinda do the same thing is block practice, but when Dr. Raymond Prior said on my podcast that what I was describing was variable practice… then… well, that changes things. It changes the results of everything you've heard about how "block" practice is bad (or ineffective).
    • Day 121 12-11 Practice session this morning. Slowing the swing down. 3/4 swings, Getting to lead side better, trying to feel more in sync with swing. Hit foam balls. Good session overall. 
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