Golf Help!

[Daseal]

Hey Guys,

Well, on Friday I'm playing golf, for my first time. I've wanted to learn for a while now -- but I'm fairly petrified of destroying the course. I need as many hints as you can throw towards me! Gman gave me some great advice.

-Dont try to hit the ball hard at first.
-Stay loose
-Etc

[BDBohnzie]

If you have time, go hit a bucket today and tomorrow to hone down your swing, so at least you know where it's going to go when you hit the course on Friday.

The other thing to focus on is keeping your head down. For me, I usually pick a spot on the ground behind where the ball is teed up. During your backswing and foreswing, do not take your eye off that spot. Once you're done your follow through, bring your head up to see where the ball went. I tend to bring my head up way too early, so this helps me stay focused on keeping my head down. Again, if you can go hit today and/or tomorrow, that will help you get a feel for your swing.

Just have fun. It's your first time. Keep score, but don't worry about the outcome. You are not going to be Tiger Woods coming out of the shoot. If you can break 120 for 18 (60 for 9), you'll be doing just fine.

[Daseal]

Yeah, apparently they're all bad and they're okay with my just picking up my ball if Im holding up the group behind us.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Hey Guys,

Well, on Friday I'm playing golf, for my first time. I've wanted to learn for a while now -- but I'm fairly petrified of destroying the course. I need as many hints as you can throw towards me! Gman gave me some great advice.

-Dont try to hit the ball hard at first.
-Stay loose
-Etc

First of all good luck...you are going to need it. You are going to be so worried about the rest of the stuff going on that you would forget any Golf tips that can be provided to you right now. In all honesty you will probably slow down play considerably and will focus all your attention on trying to speed up so that you are not hindering others. This may include rushing shots and even running across the course to pick up your one of the 7 balls that you just shanked off of the tee.

The most important thing that you can understand right now is courtesy. Take any necessary steps that you can so that you are still having a good time but not killing the day for the rest of the golfers out there. Some examples are as follow.

Don't hit anything more than 1 provisional shot off of the tee and only do it if it is absolutely necessary. If you can’t get a good shot off after two attempts the just drop with one of your buddies.

When you do drop, drop it in the fairway so that you are giving yourself a chance to hit a decent shot. There is nothing more frustrating than watching a newbie hack away in the trees for 3 minutes.

Do not rush in front of the guys that you are playing with to find your ball. I know that it helps speed up the game but some guys are anal about that sort of thing because it distracts them while they are hitting.

Never spend more than 3 min looking for a ball. Buy lots of balls, you will need them.

Taking your time while hitting will save you time in the long run. Concentrate more on your shot and less time trying to speed up.

Don't worry about keeping an accurate score...you aren't good enough for that yet. Picking up as soon as you realize that you can do no better than a tripple bogie helps save time and frustration.

Finally, as far as the bolded statement goes. You are paying for green fees, so essentially you are paying to destroy the course. Just do your best to fix and fill divots and rake the sand pits.

[Schneed10]

The biggest fundamental in all of golf is to keep your head still. Through the backswing and the downswing, your head should never move. Imagine your head is fixed on a stake, and your shoulders hips and arms all rotate around it.

If your head moves your eyes move, and that makes it appear like the ball is moving. Hard to hit a moving target. Keep that head still and it's half the battle.

[firstdown]

The first thing you should do is GO TAKE GOLF LESSONS. Sure you can learn to hit the ball OK on your own but to play consitent golf you need to learn a proper swing. Why do the pros have a coach that follows them to every event and watches them warm up before each round? I play golf with a bunch of guys who have played golf a long time but they have never really had any lessons so I take their money 99.99% of the time and they never get any better even with all the golf they play. Sure you can hit buckets of balls but if you do not have a decent swing you are just waisting your time and learning bad habits. Take those lessons and hit some balls then take some more lessons and then take a few leasons every year. This will make playing golf alot more fun and I'll bet you anything you will be beating you buddies who play golf and never had a lesson in a short time. Ther are things you will learn by just getting out on the course that you cannot learn from a lesson but those lessons will help you with that learning curve. This will not help you this Friday but it will help you for years to come and that the real goal here. Others say just keep your head down but if you do not have a good swing that does not help very much.

[Daseal]

FD -- I definitely plan on taking lessons, but this outing is a bit last minute. Im just trying to get some basics. I will certainly take that advice though. My friend worked at a golf club and played a ton and gave me some pointers a while ago, but I was still pretty bad... Before I go much further, I will get lessons, definitely.

Angry, if I'm one thing, it's courteous. I know that's hard to believe here on TWP, but I'm often over concerned with trying to be polite and fair with others. So I have no issues picking up my ball and taking a 0. I think they've put a few of us on a team expected to do awful -- so we wont mess up any of the more competitive players. I don't mind picking up my ball and taking a 500, or whatever the absolute worst you can have.

Thanks for the advice, Ive been reading that keeping your head still and your body relaxed is important. I think Gman's advice about not trying to really drive the ball is important. I don't think Ill use my driver at all.

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

The biggest fundamental in all of golf is to keep your head still. Through the backswing and the downswing, your head should never move. Imagine your head is fixed on a stake, and your shoulders hips and arms all rotate around it.

If your head moves your eyes move, and that makes it appear like the ball is moving. Hard to hit a moving target. Keep that head still and it's half the battle.

Why was this the third tip?

Moving your head is probably the cause of 85+% of bad shots hit on a golf course. If you're moving your head, most of your body is moving and that destroys your swing.

Keep your head down, looking at the ball and watch yourself make contact. If you can do that, everything else will be much easier in the future.

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by Daseal

FD -- I definitely plan on taking lessons, but this outing is a bit last minute. Im just trying to get some basics. I will certainly take that advice though. My friend worked at a golf club and played a ton and gave me some pointers a while ago, but I was still pretty bad... Before I go much further, I will get lessons, definitely.

Angry, if I'm one thing, it's courteous. I know that's hard to believe here on TWP, but I'm often over concerned with trying to be polite and fair with others. So I have no issues picking up my ball and taking a 0. I think they've put a few of us on a team expected to do awful -- so we wont mess up any of the more competitive players. I don't mind picking up my ball and taking a 500, or whatever the absolute worst you can have.

Thanks for the advice, Ive been reading that keeping your head still and your body relaxed is important. I think Gman's advice about not trying to really drive the ball is important. I don't think Ill use my driver at all.

Don't worry about that, even most of the "good" golfers at any course are still pretty bad in the long run.

Golf is simultaneously the most fun and most frustrating/difficult thing one can do, but you'll definitely have a shot or two that make you come back every time.

[over the mountain]

I dont play as much golf as I used to (used to be 3-4 times a week). all the tips aoubt keeping you head still, and keeping your eyes on the ball, not swinging to hard and letting the club do the work for you are true but hard to really ingrain into your swing if you're just starting out.

so my advice is two things:

1) dont be embarrassed or nervous aobut other people watching you swing/tee off. you are going to look bad, sometimes missing the ball entirely or dribbling it 10 feet in front of you. the best thing to do imo is to stay loose, happy to just enjoy the nice weather. if you get frustrated or embarrassed at not being a good golfer the first time you play its not going to be a fun outing. after i would have a bad shot/tee off i would make a joke, laugh or buy a beer. after a bad shot do me mindful that you should try and address and advance your ball as soon as possible.

and

2) THIS IS IMPORTANT IMO: find a comfort club and use it ALOT. its probaly going to be around a 7 iron for you. go to the range, hit alot of balls and try to find 1 comfort club you feel comfortable swinging and getting good contact on. on a bad day i would tee off with nothing less than a 4 iron sometimes. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TEE OFF WITH A 6 or 7 IRON, 150 yds relatively straight with good loft will make you feel a whole lot better than dribbling the ball 10 feet in front of you with a driver.

good luck!!

[Hog1]

As Firstdown has already iterated, swing mechanics is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can learn. When you have a good swing, the game is fun....allegedly. If you do not, it not nearly as much fun and can make for some very long rounds.
SEE A TEACHING PRO. If you do not, you will probably never have a good swing. Most of all have fun. As has already been mentioned, be courteous to the other guys.
There is way to much you need to know (but you will learn) to do it here. It is by far the greatest game and better yet, you can play til' you die.
Good Luck!

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Daseal

FD -- I definitely plan on taking lessons, but this outing is a bit last minute. Im just trying to get some basics. I will certainly take that advice though. My friend worked at a golf club and played a ton and gave me some pointers a while ago, but I was still pretty bad... Before I go much further, I will get lessons, definitely.

Angry, if I'm one thing, it's courteous. I know that's hard to believe here on TWP, but I'm often over concerned with trying to be polite and fair with others. So I have no issues picking up my ball and taking a 0. I think they've put a few of us on a team expected to do awful -- so we wont mess up any of the more competitive players. I don't mind picking up my ball and taking a 500, or whatever the absolute worst you can have.

Thanks for the advice, Ive been reading that keeping your head still and your body relaxed is important. I think Gman's advice about not trying to really drive the ball is important. I don't think Ill use my driver at all.

Are you playing in a FL Best Ball Tournament? Also at this point in your game your not suppose to take anything over a tripple boggy.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I might be the only person who chimes in here saying that my few experiences with golf were the worst times I've ever spent doing something supposedly fun.

I've played three times, taking a LOT of care to be courteous to other players, but each time I went and tried to learn, someone was screaming at me from three hundred yards away for hitting in the rough on THEIR course. Sure, I'm bad, but I can't learn if I don't try. It was a horrendous experience for me and each time was a different course and each time almost everyone there acted like they were better than me and were more concerned with bothering a rookie than caring about themselves.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I might be the only person who chimes in here saying that my few experiences with golf were the worst times I've ever spent doing something supposedly fun.

I've played three times, taking a LOT of care to be courteous to other players, but each time I went and tried to learn, someone was screaming at me from three hundred yards away for hitting in the rough on THEIR course. Sure, I'm bad, but I can't learn if I don't try. It was a horrendous experience for me and each time was a different course and each time almost everyone there acted like they were better than me and were more concerned with bothering a rookie than caring about themselves.

Some people can be an ass on the course but it is also hard as a new golfer to know all the rules and how to be courteous. This summer I have played several times with a new golfer and I tell them I'm not trying to tell them what to do just explaining to them what to and not to do on the course. It helps to play with someone to show you around the course. For example if you hit your ball over on their hole you have three things you can do. 1 If your too far out for them to hit you proceed to your ball and hit your shot and get out of the way. 2) go to the edge of the fairway area and look back to see if they will wave you out to hit your shot. 3) If they are hitting wait out of the way and when they are done go take your shot. Don't let a few a$$ holes keep you from a great sport that you can play for pretty much the rest of your life.

[Daseal]

I think a lot of that will be minimized by the size of our particular group. We are playing best ball tourny, mind explaining what that is for me?