How Did You Start in Golf?

[Groucho Valentine]

My father wasn't really a avid golfer. But my uncle was. He would take me out to Bethpage with him and id wack some balls around or some caddie stuff while he played. I hated it at first because i was just walking around in the woods for 4 hours. He taught me the game and as i got older i got a knack for it. I was beating my uncle regularly by the time i was 16 or so. I was a good player as a teen and would often break 80 when i played full rounds, but i really didnt become a avid golfer until after i graduated college. I wasnt playing baseball anymore and golf just became my competitive outlet. 

[cooke119]

My uncle, who is six years older then I am,  needed to learn for work. He got me started, I was probably around 30, I'm 68 now.

[The Flush]

My father was an every Saturday that the course was open kind of golfer, but didn't play more than that until after he retired.  I had a set of hand-me-down clubs from my grandfather, but I didn't play a whole lot as a kid and only a handful of times in college.  When I moved away for my first real job I joined the company golf league because I didn't know anyone and it was a great way to meet people. I played in leagues for 9 years or so until I took a job at a company that didn't have a league and I also had kids around the same time.  So I didn't play golf much until last year when my son started taking it serious and now we play together, but I am still not an avid golfer. I hope to play more than ever this year and make this one of my hobbies as we approach empty nest status.

[WillieT]

Always had an interest in golf as I recall seeing Trevino, Palmer and Nicklaus on TV growing up.  We had an old iron around the house and a couple of golf balls (I don't even know where they come from) and I would hit them on occasion.  That was the 70's, fast forward to the late 90's and a friend gifted me an old "starter" set of mixed brands of irons (mostly Spalding stuff) and persimmon woods.  I would take the 9 iron and a few balls to an old soft ball field and easily hit 100 yard shots.  I was getting the bug but had no real contacts.  Yes, I had a boss who played but they were many, many levels above me and I was never offered an opportunity to play. Then it happened, in 2009 we had a company meeting that involved a "team-building" superball 9 hole round.  The goal was to teach how we all can contribute as at least once in the round you had to play off each member's ball.  As the "worst" player I remember finally making a shot worth playing from.  At the end of the round, my boss, his corporate counterpart and one of my counterparts wanted to play the front-9.  I was asked to join in and finally felt like I was part of a round.  I had no clue what each club really did, but I was having fun hitting new clubs.  After the 1st two holes and having terrible drives, one of the guys said I could play off his drive or if not that maybe I should use a 3 wood to drive with.  I told him I would try the 3W on the next hole.  Voila! A nice drive that was in the fairway and within range of their drives.  The cart had on-site GPS  so the yardage was always known and my buddy offered advice on what club to select next.  At the end of the round, he told me I had learned more in 9-holes than most do in a life time. I told him I was retiring while I was still ahead.  I came home, looked at the old clubs, and promptly went back to all that I was doing before - raising our sons, being a husband, working in a motorcycle ministry - no time for golf.  Then in late 2017 our church started a once-a-month Thurs 9-hole best ball round followed by a meal at the local pizza joint. My son, who loves golf, wanted to play so I drug out the old mixed bag of irons/woods in the old heavy leather bag.  I picked up a few new balls and some tees.  I remember the guys never saying a word about my "old" clubs but commenting how much they missed the sound of a wood driver or fairway.  I had a blast and was completely hooked.  I have since "updated" to newer irons/metal woods and try to play at least one round a month in the winter (as weather permits) and several during warmer weather.  I have a wonderful grandson (who's pic is my avatar) who loves the game. Nothing is better than hearing him ask if we can play some golf in the backyard or putting around the house (both with foam golf balls).  This game has replaced riding motorcycles (a wreck in '16 caused me to lose all the toes on my left foot and removed the passion for riding), it also has encouraged my wife to get on the course with me (she played some with her parents growing up) and has allowed me to bond greatly with my son and grandson.  I'm 60 now and I really like the thought that I should have many, many more years of this game.   

[bkuehn1952]

It started around January, 1961.  My father joined a 9-hole country club, Riverview, in Appleton, WI.  My mother wanted her kids to be prepared so she dragged my sister and me to the YMCA in January to take lessons in the Y's gym.  We hit whiffle balls off rubber mats. I was 8 (now 67).  

Thanks Mom & Dad!

Edited January 30, 2020 by bkuehn1952

[BC-to-MI]

I started playing my senior year of college (I'm 25 now). No one in my family golfs, but my three best friends, who were also my roommates, all golfed. Not wanted to always be left out, I asked them to let me tag along one day. I think I shot a 135 or something like that on an easy course, but I had a couple shots that got me hooked. We played occasionally that year, then I really picked it up after I graduated and didn't have class, homework, baseball practice, etc., and now the four of us play a couple times each week together.

[NM Golf]

I played my first round of golf at 22 years old, I am 48 now. I played baseball in college and afterwards needed something to do. I had played around and hit balls at the range before, I had even had a lesson as a kids. My father and grandfather were both really good players so I had been around golf quite a bit.

My boss invited me out to play one weekend and I borrowed an old set of the fathers clubs and went out. Shot 100+ the first time out and I was hooked. My dad helped me out a little after that I never shot over 100 again. I was shooting in the 80s within the year. I have always been an athlete, I have been competing at something since I started wresting at 6 years old. The need to compete is what pulled me into golf. The great thing about golf is you can play it your entire life.

[FlyingAce]

Never touched a golf club until 2016. We visit Hawaii every year and thought it must be nice to play by the ocean. So when my husband and I were planning for retirement, we thought maybe we could play golf during retirement if we learn now. I happened to see a Groupon for private lessons so I bought it to try. 

I didn’t have much success at the beginning and my father-in-law, an avid golfer for many years and a single handicapper, commented that I was hopeless in learning, let alone play golf. It kinda pissed me off, so that motivated me to try harder. It gives me satisfaction that I am a better golfer than he is now.

Edited January 31, 2020 by FlyingAce

[snapfade]

A friend of mine had found a 7 iron I think it was and we would sneak into East Lake County Club and hit balls that we found by the fence, no idea what we were doing, but we would do that till somebody caught us. They eventually fixed the fence. Then around senior year in high school for some reason the bug bit. I remember going to K-Mart and I eventually had a 1-SW, 1,3,5,7 wood and a putter all Northwestern in a green and white Northwestern staff bag. Clueless. There was, and still is, a 9 hole golf course near little 5 points in Atlanta that I cut my teeth on. The old dudes would make comments about the bag and number of clubs, poke fun at me, give pointers, how to act, what par meant and so forth. Those were the days.

[RickK]

All of the men (uncles) in my first wife's family played golf.  Seemed like every year at the holidays, they family gathering was held at our home and the guys would go play golf or would sit around watching golf on TV.  Sort of got me interested but still I did not play.  A couple buddies of mine told me they were taking up golf.  I went with them to buy a set of clubs and saw a starter set of clubs.  I thought, crap...I can afford these.  I will buy them an give the game a shot.  I had just given up semi-pro baseball after having played since graduating from high school.  And, I have always been very competitive.  With a golf club in my hand, I remember thinking...I can hit a 95mph fastball...crap, I can hit a curve ball and yet I can't hit this stupid white ball sitting dead still.  Golf suddenly became a challenge, a passion, an obsession.  After only playing 3 times, I took a week vacation from work and hit balls every day and played 3 times that week.  Yes, I sucked but I was improving.  The guys I started out with really didn't like playing with other people.  I wanted to play with people who were way better than me so I could watch them an learn.  I wanted to get to where I thought I was good enough to play with the men in my wife's family.  When I say golf became an obsession...even that might be an understatement.  I was seriously hooked and played every chance I got.  There was a field a couple blocks from my house and it was almost 200 yards long.  I would go over there and hit 25 balls from one end to the other, go pick them up and hit them back in the other direction.  I could do this almost every afternoon after work for about an hour or so.  Start out first of week with 6 iron, next day 7, next day 8 and so on hitting 100 balls each time.  

I finally did get the chance to play with my wife's uncles.  First 3 times I played with them, I got waxed.  4th time, I beat all but one and I tied him.  I felt like I finally had earned my spot with the men at the family gatherings.  Golf is not quite the obsession it once was for me but I do truly love the game and the competition.  

Edited January 31, 2020 by RickK

[Piz]

Every adult male in my orbit played golf.  It was a rite of passage; you were not an actual guy until you could strike a golf ball decently.

[1puttpete]

I didnt take up golf until I was 40. I just had given up tennis & softball due to injuries. 

I started off slow & player par 3 courses for 3 yrs. I was taught by a good friend ALWAYS PLAY READY GOLF.

[Bucki1968]

Played in high school during the summers because I got a job working at a golf course. I used to manually water the course in the evening. Had to move the sprinkler heads every 40 minutes (four times). I figured if I was going to be there anyway.....

[Buckeyebowman]

I got started in golf because my Dad did. He did so in his late 30's. This was because of my maternal Uncles, who were golfers, and the next door neighbor. They got him into it, and some old clubs and balls started showing up around the place. I would grab them and chip balls in the back yard. I dug a hole to knock the ball into! 

The real boost came when I began to wonder what would happen it I hit a ball with a full swing! I decided to find out in my own little back yard. I fired a mid-iron or mid-mashie through the back yard neighbor's garage window! I got caught, of course, and while I was cleaning up and doing other work for "Mr. Ross", I heard him say to my Dad, "It seems the boy wants to play. Maybe we should take him out."

[DamienHarrison]

My father played golf and I hated it ((However, when I finished school I noticed that I started watching golf on TV instead of baseball)) Then there were newsletters from https://golfclubguru.net And then I found a girl who loved golf and dragged me along every time) Are these genes or fate?

[1puttpete]

I didnt start to take up the game until 40. I had played in tennis leagues / softball leagues & had some injuries. 

A friend fr work was very encouraging.  The first 2-3 years all I did was practice & play par 3's. I almost gave up.

But then it clicked & I could keep up w the others in the groups I played with. I've been hooked ever since . I took a 4 yr hiatus due to 3 back surgeries.  

[phan52]

My Dad played and he cut down a couple of old wedges for my brother and me when we were very young. Our back yard was big enough where we could hit a full wedge back and forth and we did it pretty regularly. My brother really got into it and, when he was old enough, he went to the pro at my Dad's club for lessons. It prepared him well for a life of golf and he is still very competitive in the Philly area as a Senior player. Me, I didn't take it as seriously as I was more interested in other sports. I became a decent tennis player as a teenager and liked to play basketball as well. Most of the golf I played as a teenager was on Mondays with the other caddies at the course where I caddied. I didn't take lessons, hence I had no real base to start with and was never very good at it. I pretty much completely quit playing when I went to college and got summer jobs away from the caddie shack. I tore my rotator cuff when I was 26 and had almost a year of rehab and got away from playing tennis and basketball. My Dad belonged to a pretty good club that had very good deals for junior legacies (under 30) and he encouraged me to join, pointing out that it was a game I could play well into my later years. I thought it a waste of time, but the deal was ridiculously inexpensive for me to join a very good club and I was just starting in sales so I thought it would be a good enticement to my customers (that was correct, BTW). When I took it up again I was atrocious and couldn't break 100. My finishing course handicap my first full season I played was 28. I figured that, if I didn't want to embarrass myself, that I needed to take some lessons. I hooked up with a young assistant pro and he asked me how much time I was going to put into it because I required a complete reconstruction of my swing. I admitted that I wouldn't put enough time in for that so he suggested that he teach me how to play from 100 yards in. We started with putting and worked our way out to a full wedge. We had regular 9 hole playing lessons and he showed me where to hit my approach shots to stay out of trouble where I could take high scores out of play and try to make pars. By the end of my second year, my course handicap was 17 and I never looked back.