Where to begin

[PabloMoorzio]

Happy new year folks

I got myself a set of (half decent) clubs about three month ago to learn with after receiving an absolutely terrible set a couple of year ago as a gift(I know that sounds ungrateful but these hurt my poor little hands when I tried them on a range, skanky Dunlop 65i's ?). Anyway now am obsessed with learning how to play well, not great as I am well late to the game, (mid 40's so not about to give up reasonable IT career for a shot at the tour!!!!) but wanted to get a solid grasp of fundamentals to ensure if I carry on the obsession I can do so without fear of humiliation. Have taken a few lessons from pro at local course and am enjoying immensely. 

My question is fairly broad, where does one start? I am hitting a range up to 5 times a week and feel am getting better at recognising a decent hit of a ball and the awful shots are ever so slightly becoming fewer and fewer but this is on a range with a target as wide as a small village to go at, no trees in the way obviously. 

Went to a local 18 holer, all par 3 bar 1 par 4 and the difference a) on grass as opposed to mats b) with pesky things in the way was a real eye opener. Lost balls a plenty, birds disturbed in their natural habitat was the norm, virtually no decent shots at all. Is this the norm for someone coming from 12-14 weeks of learning to grip/present/swing/hit on range to jumping into where the fun is?

Also, how does one decide what is a good course/club to become a member of? There are a few round my way with varying costs from £450 for a 9 hole "normal" course with another 18 hole par 3's to £900 for a course which is a full 18 hole course. What should a newbie be identifying as must haves at a potential club/course? Some have driving ranges, some don't. Some are more closed in, like the 18 hole par 3's I played for instance, not much forgiveness for someone who isn't yet the straightest hitter consistently, some are more open targets due to being built on more space. This is North Manchester, England, and it has been known to rain occasionally, some look like swimming pools when a downpour occurs, some seem to drain the wet stuff away. 

I'm really struggling to identify what would help me get the most pleasure/enjoyment and help develop a game that I'm, at some point, not afraid to start registering scores to understand my personal handicap and maybe even to enter a local competition in future maybe?,(Which I also had a question surrounding, at what point does a beginner golfer become confident enough to enter a local competition, how much of the rules does one need to know off by heart, what are the musts and must nots of local comp play, do you need to be a certain level to enter etc...)?

Any advice is gratefully received ladies and gents. 

Cheers

Paul. 

[Hatchman]

Enjoyed the read.  Welcome.  A lot of good things said.  And its never too late to learn things.  I might try and narrow your priorities down to maybe practice, lessons, or a club membership like you mention.  Might lay off of competition for a while until you can stay in you own habitat more often :).  Enjoy your journey.

[PabloMoorzio]

11 minutes ago, Hatchman said:

Enjoyed the read.  Welcome.  A lot of good things said.  And its never too late to learn things.  I might try and narrow your priorities down to maybe practice, lessons, or a club membership like you mention.  Might lay off of competition for a while until you can stay in you own habitat more often :).  Enjoy your journey.

Cheers fella, am enjoying big time, even here in wet and windy NW England?. This is just one of them games that folk who can play make it look like ANYONE can play to the same standard. Unbelievable how it's not as simple as it looks, same as snooker and darts in my opinion. Looks simple but when playing for real such a different story. 

Am enjoying learning the fundamentals first to hopefully give a solid base to learn on as can see it becoming very difficult to "unlearn" bad habits if I wasn't starting off from the ground/with lessons first rather than a couple of years playing courses and engraining incorrect techniques etc...

out of interest, what would you prioritise for a learner with regards to practice, playing on courses(badly for a while) or hitting the range as often as possible?

[Hatchman]

10 minutes ago, PabloMoorzio said:

Out of interest, what would you prioritise for a learner with regards to practice, playing on courses(badly for a while) or hitting the range as often as possible?

Well there is a lot of info here on this.  Some will better state it than I.   But for me as a learner, I like to practice and hit the course.  Man there's nothing like that well struck ball on the course to go along with those poorly hit ones!  

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, PabloMoorzio said:

Happy new year folks

I got myself a set of (half decent) clubs about three month ago to learn with after receiving an absolutely terrible set a couple of year ago as a gift(I know that sounds ungrateful but these hurt my poor little hands when I tried them on a range, skanky Dunlop 65i's ?). Anyway now am obsessed with learning how to play well, not great as I am well late to the game, (mid 40's so not about to give up reasonable IT career for a shot at the tour!!!!) but wanted to get a solid grasp of fundamentals to ensure if I carry on the obsession I can do so without fear of humiliation. Have taken a few lessons from pro at local course and am enjoying immensely. 

My question is fairly broad, where does one start? I am hitting a range up to 5 times a week and feel am getting better at recognising a decent hit of a ball and the awful shots are ever so slightly becoming fewer and fewer but this is on a range with a target as wide as a small village to go at, no trees in the way obviously. 

Went to a local 18 holer, all par 3 bar 1 par 4 and the difference a) on grass as opposed to mats b) with pesky things in the way was a real eye opener. Lost balls a plenty, birds disturbed in their natural habitat was the norm, virtually no decent shots at all. Is this the norm for someone coming from 12-14 weeks of learning to grip/present/swing/hit on range to jumping into where the fun is?

Also, how does one decide what is a good course/club to become a member of? There are a few round my way with varying costs from £450 for a 9 hole "normal" course with another 18 hole par 3's to £900 for a course which is a full 18 hole course. What should a newbie be identifying as must haves at a potential club/course? Some have driving ranges, some don't. Some are more closed in, like the 18 hole par 3's I played for instance, not much forgiveness for someone who isn't yet the straightest hitter consistently, some are more open targets due to being built on more space. This is North Manchester, England, and it has been known to rain occasionally, some look like swimming pools when a downpour occurs, some seem to drain the wet stuff away. 

I'm really struggling to identify what would help me get the most pleasure/enjoyment and help develop a game that I'm, at some point, not afraid to start registering scores to understand my personal handicap and maybe even to enter a local competition in future maybe?,(Which I also had a question surrounding, at what point does a beginner golfer become confident enough to enter a local competition, how much of the rules does one need to know off by heart, what are the musts and must nots of local comp play, do you need to be a certain level to enter etc...)?

Any advice is gratefully received ladies and gents. 

Cheers

Paul. 

Welcome to The Sand Trap. It is never too late to start. I really started at age 48 after only playing once every 5 years or so. Good news is you have come to the right place. Lots of folks here willing and able to help you learn.

We have a Member Swings section where members post video of there swings. This can really help and not just for full swings but also with pitches, chips, sand shots and putting. Most of the advice will reference information from the section below. We will also recommend a few books to read, which can really be helpful. But first and foremost, show us your current swing and do not be bashful.

Lastly, be patient. Some changes are simple and can be fixed quickly. Others may require months of good practice. You obviously are eager to learn and like to play. But you can also fall into the trap off information overload, which then can get you to move onto the next tip or fix. It is good to know the information, but focused practice is the fasted was to improve.

Again, welcome!

[PabloMoorzio]

27 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Welcome to The Sand Trap. It is never too late to start. I really started at age 48 after only playing once every 5 years or so. Good news is you have come to the right place. Lots of folks here willing and able to help you learn.

We have a Member Swings section where members post video of there swings. This can really help and not just for full swings but also with pitches, chips, sand shots and putting. Most of the advice will reference information from the section below. We will also recommend a few books to read, which can really be helpful. But first and foremost, show us your current swing and do not be bashful.

Lastly, be patient. Some changes are simple and can be fixed quickly. Others may require months of good practice. You obviously are eager to learn and like to play. But you can also fall into the trap off information overload, which then can get you to move onto the next tip or fix. It is good to know the information, but focused practice is the fasted was to improve.

Again, welcome!

Thanks muchly Boogilicious? Have posted first vids of my swing over there and been pointed towards movement of hips(swaying back and forth during swing) initially. Tried on range to swing with hips remaining more static to much disappointment. Felt unnatural (which I know doesn't mean it's wrong btw) and shots went awry large percentage and those that didn't remained low and not much distance but will persevere. 

 

Take a a look and let me know chief, I'll take advice on board as much as possible. 

[Blackjack Don]

When I meet someone who is patient with golf, it will be the unicorn. Not saying you aren't patient or not being patient, but cautioning all of us to make being patient a top priority. It's easy to become frustrated and try to do too much, which leads to much slower progress. You (us, we) will make progress, but take many steps backwards, too, which leads to frustration, which causes more impatience, frustration. Many ultimately quit. It's sad, and not inevitable.

I don't know how many times I've heard "practice one thing per session." This is great advice! Really! Nobody does it, but is sure is good advice. Who's patient enough? Someone who has done it, made a habit of it, seen success and progress, maybe. 

KISS--Keep It Simple and Specific. And don't forget to breathe.

Good luck, man. You can do it. Just don't stop smiling.

Peace.

[shanksalot]

Welcome, You posted a lot of information with a lot of questions. I would like to add some answers if I may. In my opinion this is what I would do. First go see a teaching pro and have him go through your swing. Once he has given you feedback and has you set up to hit a ball and a few other helpful ideas. I would start practicing what he has shown you. if after a 3-4 week trial things are still not good I would go back and have him critique how you are progressing. 

If he gets you back on the right track and you want to start playing a course. I would pick the one that is the most wide open. If that course is the 9 hole course I would give it a go for a year. Now comes the hard part. Taking your game from the driving range to the course. This can be a long frustrating process that may be very frustrating. But with practice and play and perhaps a trip or two back to the pro for additional help you could be on your way to playing up to your expectations. Just remember golf is not an easy game to play. It is trial and error and for some they never do pick it up well enough to keep playing. What ever you do come back and let us know how things are going for you and what you are experiencing during your journey to succeed. 

[PabloMoorzio]

Patience is a good shout, but if everyone was simply patient there'd never be any advancement, you need targets to hit and aim for to refine everything in life, either in work or play so as much as I agree that we need to be patient, I believe we also require a bit of impatience to push us to train and improve, just my thoughts and as I say in the main I agree with the sentiment which is probably the main reason I started off with lessons before running off to the course to throw myself in at the mega deep end.

Very much appreciate the advice offered regarding selecting an "open" (not Royal Birkdale open but less tree"y" open ?) course as this is definitely feeling like a preferred option which will offer chance to get used to playing and understanding on course rules and etiquette etc... and mean I'll be refining accuracy/nitty gritty aspects of the game as I get better and increase in confidence. 

Visited local range this afternoon and whacked 150 balls alone and really focussed on each shot with fairly decent results. Taking batches ten and progressing up from PW up to woods trying to get good contact and staying straight in an arbitrary width, to sort of mimic hitting a fairway each shot. Obviously a few went askew but in each batch of ten balls I'd say average of 70-80% were doing as I intended which is a massive improvement from just arriving at range, tipping out balls and one after the other just hitting and then asking did it go straight/far after the hit. Actually setting out to hit each ball with a "target" of how I wanted it to go was a great step forward for me.

Edited January 2, 2017 by PabloMoorzio