I really want to play....but

[Newbie Collection Agency]

Hi guys; have been lurking on the forum a couple of days and decided to post a few questions.

I have been trying to play golf for a couple of years on and off now and have plenty of desire to play. I think my last hope now is to fork over the money for some lessons but my main fear is that there may just not be enough athlete in me to play at an enjoyable level. I remember my school days where about ten different coaches in 4 or 5 different sports all came to the same conclusion that the best position for me to play was the bench.

Despite many trips to the range, books, videos, hundreds of dollars in equipment and hours on the internet researching the "golf swing" I rarely complete a round of golf, simply unable to keep the ball in play.

I have noticed that the home owners around the neighborhood golf course that I play hurry around lowering there shutters and putting on helmets every time they see me on the tee box. Yes its that bad.

The powers that be seem to have given me all the desire necessary to play but may have forgotten to include the physical capability's to go along with it. The decision I have to make now is fork over 25 to 40 dollars to have a pro stand behind me trying not to laugh or go buy a bowling ball and give those poor home owners a break.

[iacas]

You live in Sarasota, so it's not like you don't have some golf courses around. I imagine it'd be tough to give up the game when you drive past a course every four minutes...

Tom Kite ain't the most athletic lookin' guy in the world. Golf, though a very athletic sport, doesn't require the raw athleticism of some other sports.

If it really is your last ditch effort, give your pro $200, take four or five lessons from him, and see where that gets you. I think you'll be surprised.

Without knowing anything about you, I will offer this piece of advice: swing at 80% or so what you're doing now. You may be amazed at what a difference it makes.

[muskegman]

Ditto on the lessons. Lessons with a good coach are far and away better than books or videos. When you begin, its important to have someone showing you the fundamentals. Later on, with sound fundamentals, books can help you because you aren't making small tweaks to big mistakes, you're making small tweaks to good fundamentals. I'm in the middle of lessons right now and can't tell you how much they've helped me enjoy the game and have confidence when I stand up to the ball.

[rckymtnglfr]

Without knowing anything about you, I will offer this piece of advice: swing at 80% or so what you're doing now. You may be amazed at what a difference it makes.

Have to agree entirely with this statement. If people just ease up a bit, they would control their body more and be more consistent. When you hit your driver, just swing hard enough to hit it 50 yds. Same with all the clubs. Swing hard enough to hit the ball only half your normal distance. You'll be amazed at what it can do for you.

Brett

[shakespeare]

Have reasonable expectations. You can't get "good" if you don't play a lot (and practice or practice play I like to call it). Whether you're a 36 trying to get to a 20 or a 15 trying to get to a 5, you're not going to get there unless you play a lot. With that said, most people can't play that much (I play over 200 rounds a year), and that is ok. You just have to accept that you're not going to light it up playing once every week or two. I play with 20+ handicaps all the time, and they still have a lot of fun and get excited (more than me) when anyone hits a marginal shot. So I say, "What's wrong with being a bad golfer if you can still be happy?" There's more to life than golf (for us amatuers). My daughter doesn't treat me any different after I shoot a 74 than she does when I shoot an 86 like I did yesterday.

[EmilyHambidge]

I also agree with the idea of taking lessons, but I have found that books can help. They aren't the same, and I would never recommend just books to learn a hands-on game, but they are often helpful in answering a quick question.

I listed a few that I have used and liked here:
http://www.hittingthelinks.com/archi...ips/golf-books

[NCGolfer]

Initial lessons are probably a good idea. It will give you and idea on where you stand and start you off on the right foot.

My own word of wisdom is that golf is a very relative sport. Some of the people that most enjoy it are high handicappers...playing with a low handicap doesn't mean you will enjoy golf. Take it for what it is and give it a shot...at least you won't have any regrets later wondering if you should have tried.

[Triple-R]

To the original poster: Dude, I was in the same boat as you about a year ago. I was jumpy, tense and I worried about killing the ball just to compete with the people I was playing with. I took about a year away from the course (To compete more heavily in national level tournament paintball) and when I got tired of wasting all of my time and money on paintball I decided to hang it up and take up golf again. Well, I went to the driving range about a month ago and to some surprise I lost most of my swing flaws... I guess I have calmed down in the past year. Long story short, Just calm down and swing. Dont think about hitting the ball. Swing just as you would with a practice swing and keep your movements fluid and dont stretch too much trying to have a perfect "Tiger-like" swing. You will probably find that you were just trying too hard and thinking about too many things while addressing the ball... hope this helps you, I hate when people give up on things just because they dont go pro within the first couple of weeks.

My best friend went and spent 700 bucks on a brand new competition bow and we went up to the local indoor shooting range yesterday and after shooting ten or twelve shots he puts the bow down and says "Oh well, I guess that was 700 bucks wasted, I cant even hit the bullseye" He honestly wanted to quit shooting and decided that we should leave.

Just keep at it, sooner or later you will get the hang of it.