Top 5 Golf Tips for Beginners
Golf is a great sport for people of all ages and from all walks of life. If you’ve become a fan of the sport, you might be trying to figure out how to learn golf quickly. While picking up the basics isn’t all that tough, actually getting to a point at which you’re happy with your play can take a lifetime. Below are a few tips that any beginner can use, each of which will help you with a different aspect of the game.
1. Work with Someone to Improve Your Golf Swing
While golf is absolutely a game that you can play on your own, beginners are always encouraged to learn how to play golf with other people. Not only a great way to figure out how to learn golf quickly, but it’s also one of the best ways to ensure that you aren’t picking up too many bad habits when you first get started with the game.
It’s always a good idea to consider taking golf lessons. If you have the time and money to do so, working with a pro is one of the best beginners golf tips out there. If you don’t want to take lessons, though, you should still find a more experienced friend or family member with whom you can play from time to time. You should definitely make sure that someone can keep an eye on you early on so that you don’t start developing quirks that you will have to unlearn as you start to get a little more serious about golf.
Or, if you don’t know an experienced golfer, you can instantly know all the errors you’re making here.
2. Pay Attention to Your Golf Stance and Swing
One of the most practical things that you’re going to work on as a new golfer is your stance. It’s certainly not the most glamorous part of learning how to play golf, but it’s one of the most important. Learning the right way to stand, the right way to position your body, and the ring angles at which to swing will constitute an important part of the process of learning how to be a better golfer. You’ll continue to come back to this foundational part of the sport as you get better, so you might as well get started now.
In addition to your stance, you’ll need to start working on your swing. Strictly speaking, it’s going to be your swing that has the biggest impact on your game so you’re going to want to perfect it as much as possible. Don’t be put off when you don’t get it right immediately, though – golfers work on their swings throughout their entire careers and many never feel like they’ve gotten it exactly right. If you want to be an excellent golfer, you’re going to have to admit that there’s no shortcut to having an ideal swing and that you’ll have to keep working on it as you learn how to play.
3. Learn the Unwritten Rules of Golf
Like most games, golf has both written and unwritten rules. The written rules are actually very easy to understand – most of the time, you’ll just need to know when it’s okay to hit your ball and when you’ll need to take a penalty. There are, however, dozens of unwritten rules to golf and breaking them can have consequences ranging from angry players coming up behind you to getting banned from courses. It’s wise, then, to get familiar with these rules.
Perhaps the most important thing you’re going to need to remember as a new player is to let faster players go ahead and play through. Slow play is a major faux pas, as it slows down every person who is behind you and it can absolutely derail many tee times later in the day. If you let other players know that you’re still learning and you’d like them to play through, mots of them would be more than happy to oblige.
One of the big reasons why it’s good to play with other players is that experienced golfers can keep you informed about all of these rules. Most players wouldn’t necessarily know that they can’t drive carts across the green or that there are certain actions on the course will ruin your reputation, but a good player can pull you aside to keep you informed before you make a major mistake.
4. Keep Your Costs Down
It’s also a good idea to try to keep your costs down when you first start playing golf. While the investments you make in equipment can be great for the long-term, it’s very easy for your costs to spiral out of control when you first get started. Simply put, it’s a good idea to make sure you actually like playing golf before you spend thousands of dollars on the sport! When we generally talk about keeping costs down, we do mean that you should stick to the basics – get your gear, just don’t go out of your way to buy certain types of custom equipment before you are ready.
It’s also a really good idea to invest in used golf balls early on. No, golf balls aren’t necessarily all that expensive in and of themselves if you buy the right brands but you are going to lose plenty of balls when you get started. Many ranges and clubhouses are more than happy to part with their used balls for a fair price and you can build up a good stock of practice balls while you are learning how to control your swing. This will help you feel a little less embarrassed the next time you shoot a ball out into the woods.
5. Go Out and Practice
Finally, make sure you go out and actually play golf! Yes, you can and should look up tips and read books on the sport but nothing actually beats getting out on the links and putting your knowledge into action. Studying is fantastic but you should really be working on learning practical skills when you first get started. Go out and make mistakes, then figure out what you did wrong. If you’re able to play, you’ll be able to better spot your weaknesses and learn how to get better at the same time.
If you can’t get out to the golf course, make sure you go to the driving range regularly. The range is actually the best place to work on your swing because it allows you the benefit of both being able to hit the same shot repeatedly and not having to worry about someone waiting on your to play. While you can’t necessarily practice some specific scenarios at a driving range, you can get more used to your swing and the general cadence of the game. When you are willing to put in the hours at the driving range, you’ll be able to take those skills back out to the real world.
These beginners golf tips will help you to get started quickly and see improvements in your game. While you absolutely need to work on the practical aspects of golf, don’t forget that the game is supposed to be fun. Follow the rules and put in the work, but take some time to appreciate the game itself. If you’re able to go out and spend a great day playing golf, you should be able to come home just a little happier. Golf can be an amazing sport – all it takes is a lot of practice and the right mindset to fully appreciate its value.
Also, you want to make sure that you are cutting the learning curve as much as possible. So you can breeze through the frustrating beginnings and move on to the part where you start enjoying golf and are consistently accurate and more confident with each hole you play.
