How Did You Get Into Playing Golf? Your First Game.

[Nave]

My story:

At first I decided to start playing golf because of work. What a cliché.
However, until today, I have not played a round of "business golf".

Motivated by viewing videos of Bubba Watson hitting it around 400 yards, I decided to buy a new set of clubs from Dunlop for around $100.
At the driving range my first swing ever was with the driver - I missed the ball three times in a row, followed by the worst impact rolling the ball a few steps in front of me.

My first game:
A few months later I played my first round - it was with my father-in-law and his golf buddies (who tried to teach me "the way" all at the same time).
We paid the caddy an extra tip because of how bad I played; I hit fat shots and we eventually gave up searching for my golf balls after I lost my third.

After my first round, my wrist and back hurt badly for a few weeks
I learned to respect the game and it motivated me to eventually take lessons and get better.

I love golf, even though I gave up hitting it 400 yards 🙂

What's your story?

[MacDutch]

Many years ago I did a golf clinic because I was invited. They gave me the prize for ‘most promising non golfer’. 10 years later I bought a second home near Orlando (was living in the Netherlands). During my discovery of the surroundings I bumped into some golfcourses and decided to learn playing golf. That was 11 years ago. Two years ago I retired, sold everything and moved to Spain/Andalusia. I’m 15 minutes from the costa del sol, also known as the costa del golf. Living and playing at the golfcourse Alhaurin.

[boogielicious]

I think my first time playing on a course was in college with my friends 1981 or 2. I bought my first clubs from a friend I was working with in Cincinnati in '83. I played occasionally (2-3 times a years) for a while. Then in 2008, I joined a work league and it took off from there.

[Club Rat]

Growing up I love to watch golf on TV as a kid. My uncle had a set of club (hickory sticks) which I would hit shots out into the corn field.
Then a few years later, I used to go to a driving range. I like golf but never played until I finished playing baseball/softball.
When I decided to play, I took a few lessons from a golf pro, practiced with a borrowed set of clubs, then later on purchased a new set of
Pin Seekers. I was single and had plenty of spare time to practice and play and started a life long journey which has been incredible.

Needless to say, I love the game, I played often, practiced almost daily for many years as I still do now. 

[saevel25]

My dad introduce me to the game of golf as a way to hang out together when I was a kid. It just became something him and I would go do. Then I just got hooked on the game. I think I was about 13 or 14 years old.

[bkuehn1952]

Late In 1960 a business colleague of my father talked about how my father should join a small country club in Appleton, WI (9 hole, Riverview Country Club).  My father had no intention of joining but he was too polite to just say, "No".  A week later he was told that he had an appointment with the membership committee and an application arrived in the mail.  He was too embarrassed to back out and with my mother's urging, signed up our family.  March, 1961, my mother enrolled herself, me and my sister in a beginner golf class at the YMCA.  We hit whiffle balls off rubber mats in the gym once a week for a month or so.  A kids set of H & B clubs was purchased and away we went!

[Yukari]

My dad tried to get me to play golf for years.  I told him it's an old man's sport and that I will consider it when I am much older.

One day, my parents came to visit when I was working at my first job in Collegeville, PA (near King of Prussia).  After all the usual tourists visits and sight seeing, my parents suggested we play a round of golf since there were many courses nearby.  So, I went with them to play a round.  I have never touched a golf club before, but I am usually pretty good at picking things up.  I did a pretty decent job at getting around the course.  Of course my short game was a mess as I had no idea how hard to hit for short distances.

On the 8th hole, a par 3 (210 yds down hill), I didn't know what club to hit.  My dad said to take a 5 wood.  I hit that one solid.  It went straight as an arrow and flew about 220 yds. Even though it was way over the green, that one shot got me hooked.  I've been playing ever since.

[GolfLug]

53 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

My dad introduce me to the game of golf as a way to hang out together when I was a kid. It just became something him and I would go do. Then I just got hooked on the game. I think I was about 13 or 14 years old.

I'm envious. My dad had no interest in sports, we never had any bonding activities. So I try to do everything with my kids including golf. 

Anyway, my neighbor back in 2000 showed up with a bag of 25 diff assorted clubs he picked up from Cash Converters and dragged me to a local range. I remember being extremely mad I couldn't make contact more than once out of 3-4 swings and came away with some skinned ripped off my palms and fingers..😊.

Anyway, couple of years later another hack buddy at work took me to the course and then slowly got into playing more. I was a high handicap until about 4 years ago till I got some help here.

Edited March 8, 2019 by GolfLug

[Cantankerish]

You know...I can't even remember. I have several vague memories as a child, but I can't sequence them.  At any rate, none of it hooked me until this past summer when a cousin insisted on breaking his sobriety in grand fashion at a golf course in Tennessee.  I had not touched my clubs for years, but I did not want to look a fool, so I practiced as much as I could over the next few weeks.  I shot well enough to save face, but I found myself still wanting to improve after that vacation.

I play lots of sports. But golf has been the hardest, most tedious, humbling, frustrating, and intimidating of any activity I have ever undertaken.  And it is prohibitively expensive.  And it ruins my weekends. Annoys my wife too.

God, I love this game.

[Lihu]

My wife and her friends signed up all our children for first Tee because they thought it was a great price and a great way to spend some weekends together. I was into archery and other shooting sports at the time, and my wife doesn’t really like guns even though her dad was an officer in the HK police force. So, they signed up, and instead of shooting, I had to sit around a golf course 4 hours a day on the weekends.

They coerced me into playing golf, so I did.

First round with my wife’s friend from HK coming to visit us, we got kicked off the course. The Marshall came and told us they’d refund all our fees if we left. And the really bad playing was from me... 🤪

So, they forced me to take lessons. I signed up and spent $$$$ that year on lessons equipment for all of us. Still played terrible until my son and I switched to playing lefty. Started blogging on this site to try to learn something about this game, and got to a pretty decent playing level playing 9 to 36 holes per day. Stopped for several months due to golf overloading. Now, I’m just enjoying improving my swing just because it feels good doing that. Don’t play as well as at one time, but my life is balanced a heck of a lot better and I still knock in birdies now and then. 😊

[mcanadiens]

A buddy of my brother's had gotten into the game because his boss insisted. Then his work situation changed and he found himself without anyone to play with. 

We were at a cookout and he started talking golf. I told him I'd always wanted to give it a try, but figured I'd be so bad they'd kick me off the course. He smiled at that and said, "I know just the place."

A few days later, we went to an executive course called Rolandia. The property also featured batting cages and an arcade known as The Magic Castle. The course was maybe halfway between a sold par-3 course and a pitch-and-putt, but it was just what I needed.

Even hitting slices and worm-burners most of the time, I was getting the ball toward the green within a reasonable number of strokes. We let a few better players go through, but kept up ok. It took until the back nine, but I hit a couple of good ones and that's all I needed to want more.

Sadly, my brother's friend quickly raised the difficulty level of the courses on me after that. We played places I had no business on, but I went anyway which served his purpose. 

[Fourputt]

I just played a few 9 hole rounds at my parent's country club the summer after I graduated from High School using a $35 starter half set.  I mostly played because my mother asked me to come and keep her company.  I knew nothing about it, but I still hit the ball better than she did.  🏌️‍♂️ 

I didn't really play any more after that summer for  almost 10 years.  After moving to Colorado in early 1973 I met a new friend who played, and I gradually grew into an enjoyment of the game, but never really made a decision to "begin" playing golf.  No idea what my first ever 18 hole round was like... too long ago (1973) and there was nothing about it to make it memorable.

[klineka]

My grandma watched golf so that was the first time I saw it. I was probably in 7th or 8th grade. She had a set of right handed clubs so I just went out to the backyard and started pitching and chipping with those even though I do everything else in life left-handed. Pretty soon I was hitting 80-100 yard shots in the field across the street.

Then when I was in high school my parents bought me a boxed set of clubs. The rest is history.

I always thought my story was a little unique because it seems like a lot of people were taught or introduced to the game by their dad. My dad has never been into golf and has only golfed a handful of times (though some of my best memories on the golf course are golfing with him) 

[Benit0]

During high school I remember watching golf at the tv and saying it was boring!! Was into hockey and baseball so I didn't really had the time or desire to play golf. I was wacking balls with a driver at the range with friends from time to time but that's it. Until I participate at a best ball tournament at work about 8 years ago, I never set foot on a golf course. The best ball format was perfect to introduce me to the game, and after chipping it in the hole for a birdie at the second hole (lucky shoot but at that time it didn't matter) I was hooked. I love the challenge to try to improve my swing as years go by. I still play hockey but at 35, I don't think my body will keep up for another 20 years of hockey so golf is slowly taking over for my sports interest!!

[RayG]

I was 11 when I hit my first 7 Iron at the driving range after a bit of tutelage about grip and swing from my Dad. I was off a short tee just to make it easier. Buttered it to about 140 straight and true- Even the pro who was giving a lesson said- "kid's a natural". I think I caught the bug right then. I became a Range Rat all that summer. My Dad would play on Saturday AM and I would beat balls until they were finished and we'd go home. then I would hit those plastic balls in the backyard all day. (On a side note, I made friends with the squirrel in the backyard who eventually would fetch the balls and bring them back to me... kind of. Might get them to within 10-20 feet away and I would toss a peanut or something) No "real" lessons, just the odd tip or two from that Pro. Following summer same thing until just after my 13th B'day (for which I got those immortal Chi-Chi Rodriguez Northwestern Blades), my dad decided I was ready to go out and play on a real course. Started off with a HUGE slice and took an 8 on the opening Par 5. After that, a steady 98. Beat my Dad by 8 and never shot over 100, and my Dad never did beat me over the next 45 years until he finally had to give up the game. I may have mentioned that after he stopped playing and he came out to ride along when we played World Woods, he said he was pretty annoyed but at the same time very proud of that first day. Even now, 45 years later, I wish I had that "natural" swing back- over the years all those stupid swing thoughts really screw you up.

Edited March 8, 2019 by RayG

[IowaGreg]

Technically, I started in Jr High.  I would tie the 3 wheel cart to the back of by 10 speed and ride my dad's spare set of clubs to the local 9 hold course and play.  That only last about a year and didn't get back into playing until I move back to Iowa.  Work had a Team Building Golf Outing about 5 years ago.  From that, I started playing.  Spending time with my Father and his Amvet group that went out playing all the different courses in the area.  Getting a few lessons, practice range and playing as much as I could. 

[nevets88]

During a golf school, first time I picked up clubs, stupid friends put me on a 6000+ yard course, should not have been there and an ex-governor was playing behind us. 

[billchao]

There were a few times in my youth where people tried to introduce me to golf. In high school, a friend asked me to join the team. They weren't very good and just needed a warm body to play. I declined because I was too cool for school.

Some time after graduating, I lived with my uncle in Houston who tried to get me to play. He didn't really show me much, but they had a net set up in their backyard I hit into a few times. First time on the range, I shanked a ball so badly I almost hit someone in another bay. Yea, done with that activity.

I finally took up the game when I was 23 or 24. My future mother-in-law's boyfriend at the time was really into golf and he kept trying to convince me to play. Finally one day I said I'd try it. They bought me a set of old irons they found at a garage sale and we went to the range. I hit the ball like crap, but I managed to get lucky and catch a PW flush right on the 125 flag. I've been chasing that perfect contact feeling ever since.

For my first round of golf I shot 120 with no driver on a ridiculously easy course. Highlight of the round was being the only one of the foursome to hit the green on one of the par 3s. It was uphill, about 150, and you have to hit over a ravine. I actually stuck it to 3'. Then I four-putted.