Ike kicked me in the arse and gave me a paradigm shift. I find myself wanting to do more outside of my comfort zone now (couch). I've always been interested in playing golf but have never made the commitment but I feel like the time is now. My wife is interested too so we're going to do it together, although I'm not sure if that's the best thing since she's insanely competitive (read: poor loser). Her entire family golfs, lots of people at my new job do as well, and my sister babydaddy is a tennis pro at a swanky country club here in Ft. Worth and can get me in to play free, so it will be good for socializing/networking. So I'd like some advice, tips and any anecdotes the board has to offer. What kind of clubs should I start out with? Proper attire/etiquette? Should I get lessons or just watch a video and start swinging? Is it as addicting as people say? What kind of costs am I looking at?
I would start out with some basic clubs and take some lessons from a Pro to get started. Its easy to get into bad habits/form so a Pro will start you ou with a nice base that you can work on/improve on. Spend lots of time on the driving range. Proper attire varies from course to course, but I would get in the habit of wearing polo shirts, dress shorts or Dockers (when its colder). Most courses nowadays only allow plastic spikes. Its very addicting and enjoyable as long as you don't take it too seriously IMO (i.e. dont go out there trying to shoot like the Pros). I am horrible, but I play with proper etiquette, and most importantly, I am a fast player so I don't hold up quicker players behind me.
Golf is expensive, it is difficult, it takes a huge commitment of time to A. become competent and B. just to play, you'd need a five hour block of time to play 18 holes. 90% of all people that say I want to learn how to play golf quit within a year. But if you really want to do it here is my stock answer as a former golf pro: Go to Golfsmith and have them make you up a 7 iron with a training grip ($20) also buy a used Sand Wedge and a putter ($40) Golf to the book store an buy Ben Hogan's Five Fundamentals of Golf ($16) Read it, try to understand it and then start going to the driving range and try to do what the book says. If you have a range with a chipping and putting green, spend an hour each trip learning how to chip a sand wedge up on to the green and how to putt the ball in the hole in two strokes. I tell people they need to have 40 hours of learning on the practice range before they ever go on the golf course (but they never listen) If you are having fun, then maybe sign up for some cheaper group lesson from a PGA professional. Only at this point is time to think about investing in clubs and paying green fees. A $200 box set from Academy is fine to start. Get a $5 copy of The Rules Of Golf, read it and understand it. Play with friends who keep it casual. If you get this far, the rest you will pick up by osmosis.
Go to the driving range multiple times before even attempting to actually play a game. It gets very frustrating, because it's more about form then it is about nuts. Usually the more nuts you put behind it the more your form is off and thus the ball goes on the ground instead of in the air. Once you have form down solid, which takes a long time, then you can start adding more nuts to it. For going off the tee it is easier to control the 3 wood then the driver as a beginner so I would start there. 3 wood off the tea to get the general feel for it. Buy a cheapo golf book about form, but it's hard to write about everything that needs to be done. Pictures with words are better when it comes to form in golf. The driving range has renter clubs so if you want to just go try it out without buying any clubs yet just got to the range and say you need some clubs. If you feel like you want to buy clubs just buy a cheapy set for now. When I first bought mine I got the bag, 3 woods, the irons, the putter, and the wedges all for 200 bucks. That is a super cheap considering 1 nice driver will cost you more then that. You can buy pre used golf balls or X outs which are balls deemed bad at the manufacturer, but they still fly. All this is good until you get comfortable and then if you want you can start buying the better clubs and balls. Usually when there is water i try to use my crappy balls rather then my good balls, because well there is a good chance they are going to drink. LOL. Just remember in golf form is key.
Yeah, go range-only for about 6 months. Even after that, you still have to learn to chip and put So unless you want to throw your clubs into a pond, make stroke play limited. It's not like there is any defense so in general, what you can do on the range, you can do on the field.
Golf's a great game and there can be nothing more glorious with a nice afternoon in the sun, a few holes of golf and a couple of beers along the way. Definitely get a few lessons with a pro to get you started and put some time in at the range, to get those skills and techniques to stick. Of course, getting out on the course is what its all about so as soon as you feel confident, get out there and maybe play 9 holes to see how you get on. 18 can feel like over kill for a beginner and can get boring. Maybe try to find a course known to be beginner friendly and where you won't feel intimidated by too many douche bags with huge drivers and small dongs. It takes time to get really good at golf, but not that much to get to be competent. Good luck, practice, be patient and enjoy!
