Getting back into golf and very excited. I'm in my late thirties. I played some growing up but was never that good. I wouldn't break 100 on pretty much any course.
I don't swing and miss completely, but my shots are erratic especially when hitting the driver and the long irons.
My swing isn't terrible, it just growing up I played other sports and I don't think I ever hit enough balls to really lock in decent hand eye coordination especially with the longer clubs.
My plan getting back into it is to hit more balls at the driving range to try to get consistent at making good contact and then eventually get a golf lesson. Currently watching youtube videos to try to pickup a few things on how to practice at the range etc.
What advice do you have for getting better at golf?
Or said differently what help you the most at improving your game?
Online stuff is good, if you truly understand what they are telling you.
BTW, Danny Maude is a very good online pro.
Feel free to shoot me an e-mail. reyoung1027@gmail.com
Lessons are helpful, but are expensive. I can assist.
Remember what Jack would say. Practice doesn't make perfect it makes permanent. If you are just pounding balls you will not improve. Perfect practice makes perfect.
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Don't try to kill the ball with each swing. Don't grip it too tight and have good tempo. At least, that's what I try to think about when I'm swinging.
Definitely get a couple lessons
Get a lesson, I wish I had done that from the start. I finally caved after 3 years of struggling and it wasn’t until then that I finally got better. You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference it makes, my average score came down at least 15 strokes by finally caving and working with a pro a 5 times over the course of a year.
Second, practice a lot -- start from the hole on out. First --putting, then chipping, then pitching, etc. It's the short game that will allow you to lower your scores. On drives and longer shots, don't try to "kill" the ball -learn you limits and abilities and plan your game around them.
Third -- don't go to the driving range without a plan or a means by which you can analyze and correct your mistakes. Just hitting balls is not going to help. You need to reinforce the positives vs. repeating the mistakes.
Fourth -- keep you eyes on the ball. Amazing how many bad shots are caused by losing focus, moving your head, etc.
Finally --calm down and have fun. There will be good days, bad days and some truly atrocious days. Learn to laugh off the bad ones and enjoy the good ones.
Lot of luck and hit 'em straight.
It is the greatest and the worst game in the world.
My only tips:
get your hands right (a course pro will help you with that) and correctly positioned on the shaft.
My other tip, DON'T LOOK UP BEFORE YOU HIT THE BALL. Force yourself to look at the ground where the ball was before looking up to see where the ball went. The old trick of tying a fishing line around your neck attached to a fish hook on the other end of the line that is firmly in your crotch can help with that.
Lastly, keep your head still as a vase on a shelf, looking behind the ball.
If you practice for years, you will get old as dirt
PRACTICE and SCORING
1) Range/Short Game 3x a Week (includes when you play the course)
2) Play 1x-3x a Week
3) Get a lesson and figure out the one major flaw that's screwing you (mine was flipping at impact); concentrate on fixing that flaw over the next 6-12 months and NOTHING ELSE. Very hard to commit to that but I promise you, this makes things simple.
4) Play up a tee or two
5) Watch Instagram videos (David Bender comes to mind; follow the pros, PGA tour, DP Tour, etc. that always helps)
The #1 most important and easiest thing you need to work on right now is a proper set up. That includes grip, head position, shoulder turn, ball position. All of these things can be learned in the first month.
After that, it's all an art and mentality. Range play will help with getting better at consistent contact. Course play will teach you to be a better scorer. Constantly learning will make you a more versed golfer which will help with scoring well regardless of location or your swing.
Above all, keep things simple and try not to care about bad shots. It's a shot-by-shot mentality, not a "oh crap I hit it into the woods, my score is fucked" mindset.
It's almost 50s here in Westchester – may go play Saxon Woods today.
accompanies you around the course. It’s a costly approach, but totally worthwhile long term.
Golf Tech opened up in my town and were running a special on a swing evaluation, to get you in the door on lessons. I am very close to pulling the trigger, but haven't yet because being good isn't really that important to me. I just enjoy getting out of the house for a few hours and having some beers.
Super important
1. Get modern forgiving clubs. Don't be afraid to get a lighter flex (senior flex) shaft on your driver to keep it in the fairway. Today's forgiving clubs are very different than those of 10 or 20 years ago. Get used clubs to start, maybe from the 2nd swing web site.
2. Take a few lessons with an instructor that has good communication and teaching skills.
3. Videotape your swing. "Feel isn't real". Even self-analysis from an iPhone video will help.
4. At the range, put a golf tee a couple of inches outside and about a foot behind the ball. This will force you to approach the ball (correctly) from the inside. The majority of swing faults cause the club head to approach the ball from the outside. This exercise will expose swing faults, though you'll need a pro or video to help you figure out what the actual fault is. If you're already approaching the ball from the inside you're probably already shooting in the 90s.
5. Go on Instagram and watch the very short golf tip videos. There are many videos of the format that show an exaggerated swing fault and then the correct way to execute the same move (backswing, transition, release, etc). Very enlightening and easy to follow.
6. If you want to score better, just pretend the green is about 50 yards short of the actual green. Try to get there in 2 less than regulation (for a par 4, try to get there in 2). Then try to get down in 3 shots from that spot on every hole. Boom - you just bogeyed every hole and shot a 90. Even if you throw in 6 double bogeys you've shot a 96.
Most importantly, just keep the ball in play and enjoy the game!
Quote:
When you are taking lesions check with the instructor to see if the clubs that you are using are right for you. If they are not you will not be able to get better. These days getting fitted for clubs that actually fit you is vital and easy.
Super important
While a good fitted club is important in some capacity, it's not the be all end all for new entries. I would recommend forming a consistent swing with each club for a year or so before doling out $$$$ for new fitted clubs.
Many years ago I learned golf before fitting really existed the way it does today. I could play fairly well with whatever hand-me-down club from dad's leftovers. It's just not that important to beginners as swings will improve quickly if one practices/lessons.
OP: Just get out and play, practice, see what kind of swing you have to start with. Tons of good stuff on YouTube these days, pick I drill and start swing around in your driveway/yard. And way when you go in for a lesson, you already have something in mind to work on.
Happy golfing!
Just retired...anybody recommend lessons in Nassau or western Suffolk?
This is going to be a long post but I hope the OP reads it because I think it has some real good info.
First a bit about me. I've been playing over 45 years. Got to a 3 handicap when I was younger. Now I shoot in the 80's as I have little time to practice.
The first thing people like us have to come to terms with is that we are not world class athletes. The guys that play on TV are. So there are things the Pros do that you will not be able to. So don't try and swing like them.
So far most of the advice has been to get lessons. While I mostly agree with that, who you get lessons from is important. From my experience there are three types of teachers.
The first type is the most prevalent. And in my opinion the worst. They try and teach you how to swing like the Pros.
It's your typical PGA pro that will start by showing you the grip, stance, posture. Then telling you how to move into the proper position on the takeaway etc. I call them the position people. While a good swing does hit certain position hitting those position doesn't produce a good swing. If you go this route you will need to practice, practice and practice. Then when you are done you will need to practice even more.
The second type of teacher realizes that you aren't trying to play on the tour. Will tweak what you have to get you to play better. The problem with this method is the tweaks only last so long. So you will have to keep going back to get tweaked. If you are brand new they will revert to the first type.
The third type of coach knows you aren't a tour player. He also knows how our bodies and minds work. He uses other real life activities that no-one needs lessons for to get the correct movements down. These guys make the game simple. That's why I linked the site I did above. I highly recommend you searching him on youtube. He has a ton of videos. If you want I will point you to where to start.
So for the lesson crowd I have a question. Have you ever swung an axe to cut down a tree? Did you need a lesson to swing it?
My golf trail hand is a side-on grip, I work to always pivot over my center and to “dump” the clubhead behind me early(helps me stay on plane). We put mid size grips on all my clubs based on hand size.
Now we’re working on 3:1 tempo, as my clubhead speed and ability to control where the club bottoms out both jumped significantly once I started working on that.
He has me on the ShotByShot app/website where we can both see my strokes lost in each phase each time I record a score. I’m down to single digit driving, around the green and putting. My approach game is poor and that’s what triggered the work on contact late last season.
He taught me how to use the bounce on tight lies and the putting game I use for practice now makes me ultra confident standing over any putt. We also did aimpoint express as learning how to do it quickly is an additional confidence builder. I was an equivalent 5 index last season because of all of it. Very few 3 putts and my makes @8-12ft were up.
Finding the right instructor was life changing. But you have to put back in what you take from the lessons.
I don’t think the people who hit a golf ball straight and far naturally (whether their swing is pretty or not) have any appreciation for how fortunate they are. Those people often diminish the lesson thing, alongside the people who are lazy or afraid of trying hard and not getting results.
Sorry for the long post but as you can see I have some enthusiasm for the topic!
My golf trail hand is a side-on grip, I work to always pivot over my center and to “dump” the clubhead behind me early(helps me stay on plane). We put mid size grips on all my clubs based on hand size.
Now we’re working on 3:1 tempo, as my clubhead speed and ability to control where the club bottoms out both jumped significantly once I started working on that.
He has me on the ShotByShot app/website where we can both see my strokes lost in each phase each time I record a score. I’m down to single digit driving, around the green and putting. My approach game is poor and that’s what triggered the work on contact late last season.
He taught me how to use the bounce on tight lies and the putting game I use for practice now makes me ultra confident standing over any putt. We also did aimpoint express as learning how to do it quickly is an additional confidence builder. I was an equivalent 5 index last season because of all of it. Very few 3 putts and my makes @8-12ft were up.
Finding the right instructor was life changing. But you have to put back in what you take from the lessons.
I don’t think the people who hit a golf ball straight and far naturally (whether their swing is pretty or not) have any appreciation for how fortunate they are. Those people often diminish the lesson thing, alongside the people who are lazy or afraid of trying hard and not getting results.
Sorry for the long post but as you can see I have some enthusiasm for the topic!
Glad you found an instructor that helps you. But what you describe is the opposite of what I'm talking about. Talking positions and tempo and aim point is what makes the game more complicated than it needs to be.
I'll use an example to show you the third type of instructor. It's how I taught my daughter. I learned this from watching the videos I linked above. I encourage the OP to take this route.
From the time my daughter was able to walk I would take her to the range with me. She had a club designed for kids and she would hit balls next to me. Like all beginners she struggled to make contact but she was having fun. When she was around 6 or 7 she asked if I could teach her who to hit the ball like I do. Of course I told her I would.
So I loaded her into the car and instead of going to the range I took her to the local softball/soccer field. I took an alignment rod and stuck it in the ground. Moved her about 15 yards away from it and told her to throw the club at the rod. The first time she threw it overhand right at it. I was OK. Now throw it underhand like a golf swing. The first ones went high and left (almost everyone when they start throw high and left).After about 30 minutes she started to figure out how to throw it at the target. For the next two weeks, every night after work, we would go to the park and throw clubs. She got very good at it. At this point I told her every other throw I want to to make the same action but don't let go of the club. Instant golf swing.
Then we went to the range and I showed her how to hold the club (very strong grip) put a ball down, and told her to throw the club at the target and just let the ball get in the way. Beautiful golf shots. That's when I told her, we don't hit golf balls. We produce golf shots. The target needs to be the focus, not the ball.
She had a perfectly sequenced swing. Made solid contact every time and never once thought about a swing thought. Doesn't know what her hips are doing, where her arms went on the takeaway. Didn't once think! All she did was throw the club at the TARGET! and not let go.
So to the OP. You could go pay someone to tell you what position to get into, pound lots of range balls and hope to improve or watch some youtube videos that explain what your task is for each particular shot, let your subconscious brain take over and enjoy playing the game.
Learn how to solve problems near the green out of the rough, the fairway and the sand. A good instructor should give you a plan. One of my buddies never hits any shot around the green lower than 12ft in the air it seems, and it hurts him
frequently.
They should also make sure you’re able to line your putter up at the target. Whatever stance or putter works for you, find them!
Good luck.