Learning Golf

Learning golf is really a lot of fun if you approach it the right way. Unfortunately, very few people use anything like that sort of approach. We tend to be impatient and competitive, and golf seems, well, pretty simple. Hit a ball with a stick right? It's just like when you were a kid, just hit the little white ball down that way and then whack it into a hole. Plus, it's just a bunch of old guys who can't play other sports. Not so much, golf, while not physically demanding the way football or rugby might be, is still incredibly difficult to master. But that doesn't mean it can't be fun learning golf.

the way to being is at the most important bit and work your way out from there. And what is that most important part? Putting. Start five feet from the cup and work your way out to 400 yards. Ever single hole will have you putting once or twice, while you will use that big, expensive driver on fewer than half the holes (if you're smart, that is). You will be a much better golfer overall if you get good at putting first and then work on driving later. Unfortunately, nobody does this. What you typically see is someone buying a huge set of new clubs and getting a bag of balls and pulling out the Big Girtha and hammering away like they think they can even hit the ball at all. No dice, it will just lead to a ton of really bad habits and frustration.

So the first, and only, club you should buy is a putter. As a matter of fact, you can start learning golf without buying a single thing. Go to your local golf course and see if they have some demo putters you can try out. Then buy a small bag of balls or just a few nick and scuff balls and head over to the putting green. Place one ball an inch behind one of the holes and two more balls on either side of the cup one inch from the edge. Then practice putting from about five feet. Use one putter to putt about fifty to 100 balls then ask the pro shop for another model. You will get really good at making five foot putts (we don't have time here to explain the reason behind the other three golf balls around the hole but it helps you get your speed right, and speed is everything in putting), as well as figure out which putter feels most comfortable to you. A reverse grip is also good.

Once you have found your favorite putter buy it and a set of three short irons that fit you for height. No, not everyone can use the same clubs. If you're five foot five you need a club with a very different loft and lie than if you are six foot two. With your short irons practice shipping the ball to the hole (using a putting stroke) from just a few feet off the edge of the green and then putting those balls into the hole just like you've been working on previously. Gradually work your way further and further from the pin until you are taking full pitching wedge shots from about 100 yards.

Believe it or not, that's about 75% to 80% of the game of golf. You first shot from the tee should get you within range of that pitching wedge, and if you know how to get the ball close to the hole with your wedge and can putt well you're playing good golf even if you have never spent more than a little time working on a full swing. Since most of your short game doesn't require anything like a full swing (and you can find lots of good resources about chipping and pitching) you could very well end up being a pretty good golfer even with a terrible swing.

And that's all there is to learning golf. Start with a borrowed putter at five feet and work your way back from there. It won't take very long and you'll have a knack for the speed of your putts, which will make you deadly on the greens, and a feel for your chipping and pitching. If you have feel and confidence within 100 yards of the pin, you'll beat the daylights out of those poor saps who started trying to learn golf by banging away with their drivers. and, you'll have a whole lot more fun.