First time on a golf course

[Guest]

Personally, I was scared the first time I went to play golf because I was much younger than most of the other individuals playing (I started 5 months ago and am in college, most of the players at the course I went to were 40-50). I automatically assumed that they were all great golfers. After I finished the round, I saw an older gent hitting off the 1st tee. He toed the crap out of it, and would have hit someone if they were standing even with him. It was then I realized that the vast majority of golfers out there really suck, and I felt much better about playing.

[Shindig]

Personally, I was scared the first time I went to play golf because I was much younger than most of the other individuals playing (I started 5 months ago and am in college, most of the players at the course I went to were 40-50). I automatically assumed that they were all great golfers. After I finished the round, I saw an older gent hitting off the 1st tee. He toed the crap out of it, and would have hit someone if they were standing even with him. It was then I realized that the vast majority of golfers out there really suck, and I felt much better about playing.

Mmm... I'm about your age. My first random-pairing guy tried fixing my swing on the first tee, then that of my friends, and then topped his own tee shot. I felt a lot better about not listening to swing advice from random partners, and about playing in general after that.

[knuckleballer71]

know what ya mean bout the nerves,after a couple months at the driving range,i had my first game on sunday(playing with hickory shafts no less) against my step father,my brother(recently former pro),and his best friend(asst pro at the course we were playing).........all and all a great and memorable,high scoring(lol) day

[Boosty16]

Did you just say hickory shafts? Your telling me the assistant pro that you played with couldnt give a rental set that arent circa 1920? That sucks.

[shredfit]

Mmm... I'm about your age. My first random-pairing guy tried fixing my swing on the first tee, then that of my friends, and then topped his own tee shot. I felt a lot better about not listening to swing advice from random partners, and about playing in general after that.

Man I hate that... I've been there too... get put in a group, and you get some self-anointed "pro" telling you what your doing wrong...

Then, you end up beating him by 8-10 strokes.

[ag359]

Hey guys - apologies for the delay in response (contrary to popular assumption, it did not take me a full week to finish the course; rather, my internet connection has been down).

Well - the first round was a lot of fun! A bit of a nightmare scoring-wise, but I think I probably ended up with something around 180 (actually recorded around 140 on the scorecard, but my playing partner was a bit too generous with the mulligans/drops, despite my protests, and there was one hole that I didn't finish (an island green that I didn't manage to hit in five attempts!) so I'm estimating a bit).

Still it was (apparently) a pretty tough course, with a slope rating of 134 and playing from the white tees, so I'm pretty happy.

Highlights - two genuine bogies (no mulligans etc), and hitting the middle of the green with my tee shot on a par three (subsequently three-putted, but never mind...)

Am hooked!

[klaymon]

Congratulations on making it through!

I played my first real round back in September in Hilton Head with my father-in-law. I was a nervous wreck about us being paired up with some elite players and them getting tired of my hacking. Turns out they were good (shot in the 70's) but they were very encouraging to me and told me to stay with it. And the rest is history...

As far as score goes, I found my playing partners at my home course were fudging my numbers a bit and cutting me slack (an 8 would turn into a 6 or 7 for example). I was not at all pleased with this practice and I've started keeping my own score (which I know I should be doing anyway). My score is my only way of knowing how I am progressing. If they fudge it, it is no longer a true representation of my progress.

Now on the same topic of scoring, I've completely lost any respect for what these guys tell me they shoot on a round at this course. They are tremendous fun to play with and I have a good time, but I've seen all 3 of them "fluffing" their lie on nearly every shot. They take one mulligan per 9 holes.

I think what I'm trying to say is have a good time, but take your own game into your own hands. Keep your own score if you're going to pay attention to the numbers, and if you're going to keep score you need to resist the tempation to "make it easier on yourself" (fluffing, mulligans, etc).

[ag359]

Klaymon - it's a good point, and ideally I would rather have my true score. Having said that, I wasn't going to argue about it with the chap i was playing with, so I just tried to keep a tally of my true score as I was going along.

By the way, what do you mean by "fluffing" their lie?

[klaymon]

They will take their club and kind of push the ball up so it sits up on the grass more and they can get a cleaner shot at it. Basically, cheating.

[flash]

Klaymon - it's a good point, and ideally I would rather have my true score. Having said that, I wasn't going to argue about it with the chap i was playing with, so I just tried to keep a tally of my true score as I was going along.

Fluffing a lie means moving the ball from a bad lie so there is some grass under it.

Also means 2 shot penalty

[Shindig]

Highlights - two genuine bogies (no mulligans etc), and hitting the middle of the green with my tee shot on a par three (subsequently three-putted, but never mind...)

We're glad to have you

I'm guessing the two genuine bogeys are smiley faces on your card? In any case, you'll improve; we all do. And you might find a course with a slope rating in the 110-125 range, which you might enjoy more Oooooooh... you got a GIR (Green in Regulation; that is, you get to attempt a putt for birdie) your first time out. That's awesome! GIRs are worth a smiley face regardless of outcome.

Now on the same topic of scoring, I've completely lost any respect for what these guys tell me they shoot on a round at this course. They are tremendous fun to play with and I have a good time, but I've seen all 3 of them "fluffing" their lie on nearly every shot. They take one mulligan per 9 holes.

Just figure it into how many strokes you give or don't. One of my buddies gets 2 strokes a hole from me and 3 mulligans a side. I beat him soundly.

Or just go out and have a good time.

I think what I'm trying to say is have a good time, but take your own game into your own hands. Keep your own score if you're going to pay attention to the numbers, and if you're going to keep score you need to resist the tempation to "make it easier on yourself" (fluffing, mulligans, etc).

Excellent advice; I'd like to second it.

[Boosty16]

I hate that...

[JonnyGolf]

Congrats and welcome to this crazy game!

I would really try to stay away from counting strokes for a couple of months. Count the number of good shots in a row. Count how many shots came of your club the way you expected it. Count the number of natural bogies or pars you make, but don't worry about the score until you're hitting it consistently.

Unless you're running to the ball for each shot, shooting 120+ is going to grow wearisome on your playing partners. Drop your ball in the middle of the fairway at 100yds out if you haven't made it past that point after 3 or 4 strokes. Feel free to pick the ball up and drop it at the edge of the green and play it in from there. Your reward for getting better is playing the whole hole!

BTW, as far as other people giving themselves preferred lies, it doesn't bug me. Fluff their lie is fluffing their handicap, which will just hurt them when we play in a tournament.

[ag359]

With apologies for dredging up a rather old thread, I thought I'd update it rather than start a new one...

Anyway, since that fateful but enjoyable first round of, ahem, ~180, I spent a lot of hours at the range (actually at an indoor simulator, but similar to a range in reality) before going back on the course. I think I've improved a bit, and I'd really like to record my swing and post it for people's views at some point. Anyway, I eventually dared to go back out on the course a couple of weeks ago, and to my pleasant surprise shot 117 and 108 on consecutive days. Nothing to write home about, but a vast improvement, and hopefully not too shameful for my second and third rounds of golf!

One question...as well as tracking my score I tried to keep track of my number of putts. My round of 108 comprised of 45(!) putts and 63 non-putts. To me, this seems like a very high ratio of putts to non-putts, so presumably the putting is the key area for me to focus on. Am i right?

[misterbrister]

With apologies for dredging up a rather old thread, I thought I'd update it rather than start a new one...

45 Putts averages out to 2.5 putts per hole. You're correct in thinking that putting would be a great area to improve. But I would go one further.

It may very well be that your chipping/pitching could be the culprit behind all those putts. Remember that your short game is really any shot inside of say 80 yards. If you can get better on pitches within say 30 yards of the flag, you'll putt substantially less. Remember that your goal on any short shots is to leave the ball in a position to one-putt. Work on pitching and chipping so that you can get up-and-down (pitch/chip and then one-putt) at a much better rate. Dave Pelz's Short-Game Bible is an excellent resource for anyone looking to get better at scoring.

[m11]

At this point, i'd put your main focus on practicing the short game. Chipping, putting, and too some extent wedge play are the 'easiest' swings to preform on the course, yet people struggle with them so much. They spend spend a lot of time pounding away with their irons on the range, and dont focus on the true 'scoring game'.

I'd recommend getting a copy of either Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible or Stan Utley's The Art of the Short Game. I personally use Dave Pelz's advice and it works great for me, however many use Utley's book. Either probably works...but i'd certainly recommend picking one of those up before you start ingraining bad habits.

That said....i believe i saw in your earlier posts that you had gotten some lessons earlier. Following through with those will be the best golf investment you can probably make. I pounded away for years before I got a lesson, and even though I put up some pretty good scores eventually, i wasnt consistent at all....and after my first lesson, i literally dropped 20 strokes on my next round.

so in summary, 1. pickup a short game book. 2. get an instructor to point you in the right direction 3. welcome to the game, its a great one that you'll enjoy forever