From absolute beginner - how long did it take you to improve?

[RJN12]

Just curious on others' journey. I never held a golf club until 2-3 months ago, but started taking lessons and practice 9 holes twice a week and some chipping/putting practice. (I get injuries if I overdo it - especially driving range, and live quite far from the nearest club, sl that is my limit). At 45 I have no intention of being great, but progress is really slow, so trying to manage expectations. I am still using roughly 10 strokes for each hole (I count everything), which is really frustrating. I do see others doing much worse than me on the course after much longer, which just makes me worried that it will take years to get to a level which is adequate to play with my high handicap friends. I'd really like to hear from others who started late and their stories on progress. 

[Lihu]

A long time for me, as I have no natural talent for this game. . .

Generally, if your swing is naturally good, it might take you a couple years. If you're like me, it will take a lot of good instruction and something like 3-4 years to get reasonable.

The problem with golf, is you have to maximize/optimize your swing speed before you can really start playing better than "bump the ball 100 yards at a time". There are contact issues as well, which require that you setup correctly and have a reasonable consistent "bottom of the swing".

Then your short game has to be consistent, and you need to be able to learn and relearn and feel the distances your pitch shots will make.

Then there's putting. You have to practice enough to develop a nice and consistent pendulum swing.

That's pretty much just to get to bogey golf. If you happen to hit far enough, then you'd be somewhat better than bogey.

Mid to low single digit players can put a ton of spin on the greens to hold them. There's a world of difference from the way they play than my playing even at a 10-ish.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Lihu

[RJN12]

Thanks for the straight-talk @Lihu. It's good to get a sense of pace I should expect. Loving your avatar!!

[MacDutch]

I think I am a bit gifted with talent. Started late at 52. Took me 3 months to get to hcp 36. A year later I was in the low 20. After 5 years 9.7, now after 8 years still improving and at 7.0.

[NM Golf]

I am not a typical case by any means. I went out to the course with my father a tiny bit growing up. I hit balls a handful of times as a kid, but I was a baseball player so I spent little time on the course and never had a set of clubs. Fast forward, I finish a 4 year college baseball career and I am looking for something else to do and my dad gave me an old set of irons. I played my first round of golf at the age of 22 and shot 102. I have never shot over 100 since. I broke 90 in 6 months and had a 15 handicap within a year. I reached a Single digit handicap within a couple years and was scratch within 6. Mind you I put in a lot of work to improve at such a pace. 20+ years ago I would hit balls 7 days a week. I was single and worked at a golf course. A typical day would be hit 200 balls in the morning, play 18 holes, chip, putt, hit 200 more balls, play a late 9. I was a golf fanatic.

[PaddyMac]

Hi I started last year for the first time and down to 22HC at the moment, unfortunately everyone is different so what takes some a year can take someone else 2 or 3, but there are some things you can do to give yourself the best chance of making it. Get a couple of lessons. Focus on stance/grip and 75 % swings. Learn drills for the swing. The most important part of the swing happens before you even hit the ball. Remember at this stage you shouldn’t have ingrained many bad habits, it is easier to learn a good swing now at the beginning than try unlearn/change from a bad swing later on.

Practice as much as you can on quiet times on the course (where allowed) and work from putting backwards so start chipping and using the small clubs 9/PW/SW. When you do have a swing that’s fairly consistent and hitting most greens within 100 yards see what distance your hitting each of your longer mid clubs and build an idea of what club to use from 120/130/140/150 yards etc.

Enjoy your new found sport, it will be a rollercoaster for you with both ups and downs as you progress but that's all part of the game.

[Patch]

Due to serious injuries, I basically had to start over from scratch. Not from a scratch handicap, (I was a 6) but from not having any game what so ever. Like I never played the game before. 

Due to physical limitations, and rehab, I started over with the easy stuff first. The fact that some medical folks told me I would never play golf again was not something I accepted. 

I started learning the game again backwards. I started out putting. Once I could putt out from any where on a green and average less than 3 putts, I moved on to chipping. Once I could chip out in under 3 strokes, I moved to pitches. From pitches I moved to longer approach shots. Eventually I worked my way back to the tee box. As I learned to  do the shorter shots, I found that those shorter shots complimented the longer shots, making them easier to learn. 

For me it took about 14-18 months of regular practice and play to break 80 consistently, and get back down to a single digit handicap. 

Now I know I am in minority with my learning the game backwards opinion, but for some new golfers, it is another avenue of learning that might work better for them. I don't think that learning the game from green to tee will get you on a tour some where, but I have seen too many examples of folks breaking 90 consistently in short period of time using this learning scenario.  

[Lihu]

2 hours ago, RJN12 said:

Thanks for the straight-talk @Lihu. It's good to get a sense of pace I should expect. Loving your avatar!!

Sure, that's only my experience. Thanks for the Avatar complement, but it, unfortunately, is what my clubs say to each other as I pull out the driver.

 

1 hour ago, NM Golf said:

I am not a typical case by any means. I went out to the course with my father a tiny bit growing up. I hit balls a handful of times as a kid, but I was a baseball player so I spent little time on the course and never had a set of clubs. Fast forward, I finish a 4 year college baseball career and I am looking for something else to do and my dad gave me an old set of irons. I played my first round of golf at the age of 22 and shot 102. I have never shot over 100 since. I broke 90 in 6 months and had a 15 handicap within a year. I reached a Single digit handicap within a couple years and was scratch within 6. Mind you I put in a lot of work to improve at such a pace. 20+ years ago I would hit balls 7 days a week. I was single and worked at a golf course. A typical day would be hit 200 balls in the morning, play 18 holes, chip, putt, hit 200 more balls, play a late 9. I was a golf fanatic.

@RJN12, note that @NM Golf is a +1.3 and was a college baseball player. Yes, he was able to hit 200 balls a day with his build from baseball at that young an age. For older folks who haven't use our arms for something like baseball that much, that might be possibly damaging to our bodies. . .

[NM Golf]

8 minutes ago, Lihu said:

 

@RJN12, note that @NM Golf is a +1.3 and was a college baseball player. Yes, he was able to hit 200 balls a day with his build from baseball at that young an age. For older folks who haven't use our arms for something like baseball that much, that might be possibly damaging to our bodies. . .

I couldn't hit 400 balls and play 27 holes now even if time allowed for it (which it doesn't) I walk 18 in the morning and then its nap time. I have been lucky that I remain pretty injury free sans a few nagging bouts with tendonitis in the wrist and elbow.  That being said there's just no substitute for playing and hitting balls if you are trying to improve. There is no magic move you are going to find in the pages of Golf Digest. Lessons are great but there is no teacher out there that can make you a scratch player without practicing. If your body cannot hold up to regular practice sessions and play, then you are just going to have to be happy with your game as it currently is. Just remember golf and sex are two things you don't necessarily have to be good at to still enjoy doing.

[Lihu]

3 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

I couldn't hit 400 balls and play 27 holes now even if time allowed for it (which it doesn't) I walk 18 in the morning and then its nap time. I have been lucky that I remain pretty injury free sans a few nagging bouts with tendonitis in the wrist and elbow.  That being said there's just no substitute for playing and hitting balls if you are trying to improve. There is no magic move you are going to find in the pages of Golf Digest. Lessons are great but there is no teacher out there that can make you a scratch player without practicing. If your body cannot hold up to regular practice sessions and play, then you are just going to have to be happy with your game as it currently is. Just remember golf and sex are two things you don't necessarily have to be good at to still enjoy doing.

Yeah, so true, but fortunately, not everyone needs to be a +1.3 to enjoy the game.

[Dipshlappers]

Ok so I'm actually right in your ballpark with regard to length of time played, with no prior experience.  I had not picked up a golf club prior to about 6 months ago.  (I do have what I would consider good hand eye coordination and am very active...would say those are important factors) Since then, I have become absolutely obsessed.  I practice or play at least 4 days a week, sometimes 5.  I found it best to stick with the range (for the most part) at your particular point.  I would get frustrated on the course then as well (as well as now and probably forever).  Although I preferred to be on the course, it felt like a waste when I knew I needed the repetition and time only the range could provide with so many mishits*...like I'd have a good shot every now and then, but in the back of my mind I knew I was wasting time spending 10 minutes tracking down shanked mishits.  

You have study a proper swing one way or another, most ideally an instructor (for most people at least).  At some point, you will start to feel a significant change in your swing, or in the result of your swing.  The ball flies off the club head with a lot less effort.  It's not all of the sudden easy, but a light bulb went off for me about 4 months in.  I started catching some balls pretty well and saying 'ooohh so this is how it's supposed to feel.'  Honestly, most of that was finally having the proper grip and swinging with my body and not my arms.  Even if you learn proper grip, stance, swing components at the beginning, actually putting it together to the point of having some success takesq time.  On a side note, make sure to do some research on your instructor.  You will want to establish some goals, which should be easy as a novice...grip, stance, etc.  I only mention this because I had a buddy fork out 150/session twice a week for 3 months with a "pro" and they never even got past backswing mechanics.  That may be a great program for someone looking to go scratch, or a kid learning the ins and outs of a game he or she will play for a lifetime.  It's not the best for someone who simply wants to become proficient enough to play the game with embarrassing themselves.  

About 4 months in, I'd say about 1 in every 3 sessions at the range I was hitting well over the half the balls (usually 150-250 in total) significantly better.  With how often I practice or play, that turned into 2 of every 3 times up til now where my last range outing I had maybe 10 significantly bad *mishits.  On the course success has followed.  My handicap is around mid 20s... but I have days where I will par, or have a chance to par 5+ holes in a row and finish off in the 80s...as opposed to maybe one in every 9 plus holes was a par, or chance for par, and the goal was to break 110. Still, the bad days are there as evidenced by my handicap.  I would say that you're probably nearing the cusp where you see that being better is possible.  From there it's a battle to become more consistent.  Ultimately, that's probably golfer's battle.  For a novice, the game is alot more promising when you taste success just a little.  Those little glimmers of hope are what keep you coming back...and the reason to return grows with the more time you put in.

*When I say mishit, I refer to a novice mishit.  Not like an off center shot that's still decent, but when you pretty much totally 'miss,' but somehow something 'hits' somewhere, and the ball trinkles 15 yards, or blasts off totally sideways.

On a side note, I have found the impact snap to be massively helpful.  It's the only tool I've found that provides you with a hands on objective measure of where your hands and wrists should be at impact.

 

[RJN12]

Thanks all. These trajectories are helpful to assesswhat I (and others in a similar position) can aspire to, depending on how much effort I am able to put into it. I would love to do more, but as I am clearly prone to injury, I'll just have to do as much as possible. I like the idea of working backwards as I think I could knock off at least 3 strokes per hole with more accurate chipping and putting, and I lose a god-awful amount on mulligans on the fairway, Good lessons is a no-brainer for me. I am not a natural, and probably a bit timid on the full swing, so need the push on a regular basis (plus it stops me getting confused when all the well-meaning blokes on the course are giving me "helpful" tips). And winter is coming (!), so I reckon I'll have a lot of quiet time to work by myself which seems to help me a lot!

[Dipshlappers]

@RJN12

what types of injuries are you experiencing?  I had major issues with rib/lat injuries at first but turned out to be my incorrect swing that was doing it.

that timeline I gave isn't 100% accurate. About a year ago I tried to start but stopped after about a month or 2 of repeatedly injuring my ribs/lateral back muscles. Like it felt like I was fracturing my ribs. I'll go into more detail if yours is the same.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Dipshlappers

[RJN12]

4 hours ago, Dipshlappers said:

@RJN12

what types of injuries are you experiencing?  I had major issues with rib/lat injuries at first but turned out to be my incorrect swing that was doing it.

that timeline I gave isn't 100% accurate. About a year ago I tried to start but stopped after about a month or 2 of repeatedly injuring my ribs/lateral back muscles. Like it felt like I was fracturing my ribs. I'll go into more detail if yours is the same.

Ouch - sounds bad. Mine are different - wrists, fingers and elbow - basically over-use/tendonitis. I am in very good shape, but my forearms/wrists are probably weaker than I thought. I've been slowing down now for a few weeks, and it's def getting better. Funny - I've always thought of golf as a bit of a weakling game, but I stand corrected - everyone seems to go through severe injuries at some point,,,,

[Vinsk]

8 hours ago, NM Golf said:

I am not a typical case by any means. I went out to the course with my father a tiny bit growing up. I hit balls a handful of times as a kid, but I was a baseball player so I spent little time on the course and never had a set of clubs. Fast forward, I finish a 4 year college baseball career and I am looking for something else to do and my dad gave me an old set of irons. I played my first round of golf at the age of 22 and shot 102. I have never shot over 100 since. I broke 90 in 6 months and had a 15 handicap within a year. I reached a Single digit handicap within a couple years and was scratch within 6. Mind you I put in a lot of work to improve at such a pace. 20+ years ago I would hit balls 7 days a week. I was single and worked at a golf course. A typical day would be hit 200 balls in the morning, play 18 holes, chip, putt, hit 200 more balls, play a late 9. I was a golf fanatic.

Great. I still do that and I suck.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Vinsk

[Kalnoky]

It took me 2-1/2 seasons to get to consistent bogey golf (87-93 or roughly thereabouts). I made things much harder on myself than they needed to be by waiting a full year before taking lessons.

The biggest obstacle for me is just not enough time to play/practice regularly. If you have enough time to devote to the game you are already ahead of the curve.

 

[Denny Bang Bang]

2 hours ago, RJN12 said:

Ouch - sounds bad. Mine are different - wrists, fingers and elbow - basically over-use/tendonitis. I am in very good shape, but my forearms/wrists are probably weaker than I thought. I've been slowing down now for a few weeks, and it's def getting better. Funny - I've always thought of golf as a bit of a weakling game, but I stand corrected - everyone seems to go through severe injuries at some point,,,,

The game will be no fun if you're always injured, so maybe take it easy on the full swing (which it seems like you're doing more recently).  Good idea to put a little more of your time into the pitching, chipping and putting, it will help you take strokes off your score in the meantime.

Of course, the full swing is very important to being a good player, so still practice it, without overdoing it.  Question... do you hit of a mat, or grass?  Grass is typically a little less stressful on the wrists and hands.

As for your original question, I seem to remember my scores were down into the mid-low 90s pretty quickly, but it has taken years to get to where I am now from that point.  It's a tough game to become really good at!

[RJN12]

7 hours ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

The game will be no fun if you're always injured, so maybe take it easy on the full swing (which it seems like you're doing more recently).  Good idea to put a little more of your time into the pitching, chipping and putting, it will help you take strokes off your score in the meantime.

Of course, the full swing is very important to being a good player, so still practice it, without overdoing it.  Question... do you hit of a mat, or grass?  Grass is typically a little less stressful on the wrists and hands.

As for your original question, I seem to remember my scores were down into the mid-low 90s pretty quickly, but it has taken years to get to where I am now from that point.  It's a tough game to become really good at!

I only have access to mats, not grass, here in London. I used to also use one with a fixed, hard tee, and suspect this caused much of my injuries, as banging into a fixed object can't be good. Once I recover properly, I will try a more gradual approach to swing practice to build up strength in my wrists. 

I am not that ambitious for now - just want to get to a point where I don't feel that I hold up a game - so bogey/double-bogey would be ok (my etiquette and pace of play is pretty good). Once I get there I'll hopefully have another 30 years to improve :-)