What is something you know now that you wished you knew as a beginner?

[TomM1026]

Hey everyone, 

I've been reflecting on my golf journey and was just curious, what are some of those things you know now that you wished you could have figured out as a beginner? 

For me, it's knowing the importance of getting in front of the camera and having knowledgeable people look at my swing. I also wish I knew how much focused practice I could have done at home without hitting balls, saving time on money on the range/course. 

What would you say? 

Cheers, 

Tom 

[Rainmaker]

I wish I knew how much difference finding the right instructor makes.  I took a series of 10 weekly lessons when I first started really trying to "learn golf".  It didn't work out, I got discouraged and figured I just didn't have the needed natural ability.  I hacked it around for 3 years before I gave lessons another shot. 

[TomM1026]

29 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

I wish I knew how much difference finding the right instructor makes.  

I came from a similar experience except I shunned the idea of taking lessons. I had a chip on my shoulder about teaching myself.  I got better on my own but it's only recently where I feel confident that my efforts are going to turn into tangible improvements. It took me 8 years to realize the value of investing in instruction.

I don't have a face to face instructor, but I do belong to an online community where real instructors provide feedback on swings and everything is accompanied by useful drills and swing instruction.  

So you take lessons now? How has that helped? What makes your teacher now a better fit? 

[Rainmaker]

5 minutes ago, TomM1026 said:

So you take lessons now? How has that helped? What makes your teacher now a better fit? 

Yeah - I'm currently taking lessons since March - around 2 per month.  I started taking lessons with this guy about 3 years ago - I took about 4 and then my youngest was born and I dropped out.  I started back again this March.  

It's made a huge difference.  I wish I could quote you a handicap but I don't have one.  I used to not be able to even come close to breaking 100.  I did that, broke 90 and now and looking to maybe break 80 by the end of this year (we play all year here). 

The difference between the 2 instructors?  The first one gave me 10 "standard golf lessons".  It didn't matter that I had grasped nothing from lesson 1, we were going on to lesson 2.  

The current guy doesn't do that at all.  He doesn't give "standard lessons".  He's really good at looking at my swing and telling me the most important thing to work on - and he won't move on until it's no longer the most important thing to work on. 

He has a very measured and careful way of speaking during the lessons . .like he knows all these things but he's very purposefully only telling me what he thinks I need to hear.  Only the things that he thinks will keep me on track to improving.  I have to infer this, of course, because he really only does tell me these things.  .but I've known him long enough now to know that he knew every single swing fault I had by my 3rd swing - and he's step-by-stepped me to where we are now. 

 

[TomM1026]

Wow, that sounds like a great teacher. I'm a music teacher by day so I know about standard versus tailored instruction and how much more benefit there can be for the student. I especially understand the point of only giving as much information as is necessary to avoid confusion or overwhelm.  Easier said than done from a teacher stand point so you've got a good situation it seems. 

Good luck on your quest to break 80! 

[isukgolf]

Agree ... to take lessons first ... 

I wish I knew about a still head, and rotating around my spine.

I wish I knew that the ball starts where the clubface is pointed, and curves away from the swing path ... 

 

[Piz]

I wish I'd known that a good golf swing was fluid and graceful.  I used to swing at the ball instead of thru it and it took me years to sort the meaning of that phrase.  The "aha!" moment , for me, was when I substituted the word "turn" for the word "swing".  No amount of "swinging thru the ball" accomplishes the same effect as "turning thru the ball" does.  My instructors meant well; but I never interpreted "swing" to mean "turn".  

[Osnola]

I wish I would have taken lessons before I ever bought a set of clubs and would have learned the right way to play....I do ok, shoot in 90's, but learning the proper mechanics would probably have helped me immensely...

[Patch]

Finding the right instructor who could communicate the teaching of golf swing on my level of inderstanding. Finally found the right guy, and my improvement was pretty fast, and even better stayed with me. 

[phillyk]

The importance of creating a repeatable swing vs try to kill it and control it every time.  I was already hitting it 300 yds at 15 yrs old but it wasn't super accurate and the rest of my game wasn't very consistent.  It took me a long time to settle down and try to create a consistent swing.

[arturo28mx]

I wish I had known that the golf swing comes more from the torso than from the arms.

[mvmac]

I wish I had Lowest Score Wins when I was a beginner 

 

[natureboy]

You don't need to 'hit down' with irons, just keep the low point (bush the ground) in front of the ball. The angle of the club loft takes care of the divot. (longer clubs w/ less loft = shallower divots)

My lead wrist would have been saved a beating on the mats the first year or two.

[Lihu]

4 hours ago, TomM1026 said:

Hey everyone, 

I've been reflecting on my golf journey and was just curious, what are some of those things you know now that you wished you could have figured out as a beginner? 

For me, it's knowing the importance of getting in front of the camera and having knowledgeable people look at my swing. I also wish I knew how much focused practice I could have done at home without hitting balls, saving time on money on the range/course. 

What would you say? 

Cheers, 

Tom 

IDK if I'd change anything, but ask me a year and a half ago, and I would have had a laundry list of things I would have liked to do different.

Most of the challenge and fun has been figuring things out once I got past the initial painful learning stage it became fun to try to figure things out. If I ever got to the point when things came easily, I'd probably become bored with it.

[chilepepper]

Ball flight / swing path. 

[longdrive23]

• Use 90% of swing speed.
• Its ok to use game improvement clubs when starting out.
• Body/Hip turn is key and NOT arms.
• Course management key to lower scores.
• You beat the course not by hitting long but by planning and beating Par for each hole.

[Hazsa]

Swing nice and easy. Not only does it go straighter, but I make better contact and have a longer, more consistent length. 

I still till have to tell myself this when I get wound up on the course.

[14ledo81]

Ball flight laws.