tips for newbie

wheres me jumpa

just got some clubs and plan on playing more and more over the years but im a complete beginner at the moment. iv played on par 3 before and plan to go back to a par 3 to start with.

anyone any tips for me?

wont be able to afford lessons until the summer but if i could just get a few pointers on grip and swing etc.

bigdawg

No one seems to want to help you so I will come to your aid .

Golf, as you will find out soon enough, is a game of numbers.

One of the best approaches to learning and improving is to try and break the 4 magical thresholds in golf 100-90-80-70.

You will be starting on the top 1. I am working on breaking 80 (current PB is 84 on a good track with lots of +4's +5's for 9 holes).

Here is a link to the Golf Digest instruction site which gets you on the road to breaking 100.

http://www.golfdigest.com/instruction/breaking/index.ssf?/instruction/breaking/gd200501breakingintro.html

TheDoc

You are jsut starting, so forget about your scores. If you are only starting golf you wanna get some consitency in your swing, you wanna know that everytime you get up to the ball that you will never duff, or 1/1000, that you will strike a solid shot. When i started i was trying to be the best. You just have to focus on solid striking.

Secondly, work on your short game. If you wanna be any way decent you need a short game. You can hit huge drives and accurate irons and look great and be laughed at cause you ant hit the hole from within 20 feet. Aim to always 2 putt. Try to imagine a dustbin lid around the hole, where if you miss, you have to leave a tap in.

Dont try and look all deadly using wedges around the greens etc, you wont use em properly. Use a 8,7,6 iron and jsut use a putting stroke and roll the ball to the hole.

Dont try and burst the ball. A nice smooth swing can get distane and accuracy, where a burst, will boost distance but lose accuracy.

If i had to say whats most important, id say swing consistency. I know beginers who duff and top all the time. Stay over the ball and dont wait to see it in the air before contact, or it will roll. A nice slow,controlled swing. Then you will grow in conifdence and everytime you step up you can say" Well im not gna duff it anyway"

okden

i agree, golf is what you make of it

to quote one of the best teachers around its about "enjoying a lifelong pursuit of problem solving"

i think the numbers game is a bad route to start and could make you an angry golfer sooner rather than later


if i was learning over from the start this is what id do
but i warn you your going to look like a no hoper idiot for a few hours tapping crooked balls up the range


roughly learn one of the basic grips

hit the driving range with 2 clubs

the direction the ball goes with your 9 IRON is the same as the direction the CLUBHEAD is going at impact

the direction the ball curves towards with your 3 IRON is the way the CLUBFACE is pointing at impact

swing at half your speed and keep changing your grip by small amounts untill the same grip hits both clubs straight but not very far

speedup your swing by small amounts until they start to go crooked again

slow down your swing a notch


you now have everything you need correct swing path, club face, your best tempo and grip, you've educated your hands but more importantly you know how to fix it when it gets all f*cked up

kano476

most important thing to get right first is the grip.

second thing is to keep the leading arm straight as possible when hitting a drive, dont break the wrists until fully back. a nice easy swing is essential to start. if you find you are slicing - bring you stance forward a bit so you make sure you hit through the ball and not hit it on the upswing.

keep you head down and don't look up till the ball is in the air.

when 3-6 irons it might be helpfull to open the club face keep the ball in the middle of your stance for these.

handy shot to learn is when your off the edge of the green - on the fairway or light rough - take out a 5 or 6 iron and play it almost as a putt - a little chip and roll shot. works a treat for me.

finally you gotta have a positive attitude to it. golf has to be the most frustrating game in the world. if you step up to a shot with no confidence then your bound to duff it. also try working on one element of your game at a time.

jobonar

best way to start IMHO is to try some group lessons! then try some individual lessons! get the basics right straight off and that way no bad habits can creep in and you'll end up with a much better and consistant swing!

once you've got the basics(grip, stance, posture, ball position) down and mastered, watch your shots get better and your handicap drop!

angry_fox

Dont forget to be calm on the coure. If you hit a bad shot, dont start thinking about what you should have done, just forget about it and start concentrating on the next shot.

Tar.Aldarion

ignore bad shots and just hit it again and again.....:)
my first round ever i got 7 over and i didnt beat that score for like half a year.So look out for the good days

ziggy

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