Golf...

[Cajuncowboy]

Started learning golf. I messed around with it years and years ago but only really played one game, if you could call it that.

Took my first lesson from a PGA Golf pro. He had me driving balls for over an hour. Man, who knew your body would be sore after that?

Anyway, I finally got to where I was driving the ball 225-250 yards consistently, and straight. My biggest problem is keeping my head down at the point of contact.

Any golfers here that have any tips for a beginner?

 

[peplaw06]

When I was a beginner, I had problems keeping my head down too. The best piece of advice I got was to cock my head back, not look straight down at the ball. For example, I'm right handed, and I basically look at the ball with my left eye. Would be the opposite eye if you're left handed. But instead of looking up at contact, it got me back to even with the ball. I still use this too, it's almost subconscious for me.

But I'm not a golf pro or anything. I'm sure Silverbear has better tips.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

I'd love to get some lessons from a golf pro. Even if it were just a few little things to work on. I'm a pretty bad golfer, but love the game.

 

[Sarge]

Raymond Floyd once told me, "never get mad on the course, you'll never be good enough." (he was so right)......He also told me, "one's true personality comes out on the golf course." - he's a great guy...

 

[Jon88]

I don't play golf, but I had a friend who worked on a golf course here from highschool into some of college. One time someone teed off and hit him in the head with a ball and knocked him out. From then on he would course people who hit balls near him while he was working.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I remember my bro-in-law used to take me, he would pack beers in the pocket where you place your tees, and we'd swig and take a swing of the club

such fun

 

[Jon88]

I remember my bro-in-law used to take me, he would pack beers in the pocket where you place your tees, and we'd swig and take a swing of the club

such fun

Golf is a big excuse for people to drink beer. I need to learn to play it, and I probably will eventually.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Golf is a big excuse for people to drink beer. I need to learn to play it, and I probably will eventually.

that was me last week [youtube]Lh6hGL9Y9l0[/youtube]

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Started learning golf. I messed around with it years and years ago but only really played one game, if you could call it that.

Took my first lesson from a PGA Golf pro. He had me driving balls for over an hour. Man, who knew your body would be sore after that?

Anyway, I finally got to where I was driving the ball 225-250 yards consistently, and straight. My biggest problem is keeping my head down at the point of contact.

Any golfers here that have any tips for a beginner?

Hey, you are where I was about 3 years ago. I remember it well.

I will just tell you some of my experiences and the "little things" I do.


1. Dont EVER start thinking, "I got it" - because you dont. Trust me on that one. Especially when it comes to driving the ball.

2. That "lifting of the head" - I did it alot then and do it once in a while now. The only thing that works for me is this - right before I strike the ball, I make sure that I locked in to swing fast(not hard) through the ball AND I tell myself "keep the head down, look at the ball". You have to trust that picking up your head to watch the ball before you follow through wont help you. You can look at the flight of the ball AFTER you follow through completely.

Hope that helps. Works for me.

Oh yeah, ALWAYS take 2-3 practice swings right next to the tee before driving the ball. It tunes your swing.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Started learning golf. I messed around with it years and years ago but only really played one game, if you could call it that.

Took my first lesson from a PGA Golf pro. He had me driving balls for over an hour. Man, who knew your body would be sore after that?

Anyway, I finally got to where I was driving the ball 225-250 yards consistently, and straight. My biggest problem is keeping my head down at the point of contact.

Any golfers here that have any tips for a beginner?

Try and keep your head still until your right shoulder pushes your head out of the way during the swing. Obviously your supposed to move it before your shoulder hits you but you get the feeling of keeping your head down.

A good tip someone gave me was a way of keeping the same consistant swing on every shot. Say to yourself as you start the swing "Severiano Ballesteros". As you come to the end of his name you should be at the end of the swing after you've hit the ball.

Oh, and don't try and hit the cover off the ball. The harder and farther you try and hit it the shorter it'll go. It's a great game, just when you think you've cracked it; it bites you in the ***.

 

[jimmy40]

Started learning golf. I messed around with it years and years ago but only really played one game, if you could call it that.

Took my first lesson from a PGA Golf pro. He had me driving balls for over an hour. Man, who knew your body would be sore after that?

Anyway, I finally got to where I was driving the ball 225-250 yards consistently, and straight. My biggest problem is keeping my head down at the point of contact.

Any golfers here that have any tips for a beginner?

He had you starting out hitting driver?

I taught several of my friends how to play golf and taught them on a par 3 course, seemed to be a lot less frustrating for them and me.

 

[Jon88]

that was me last week [youtube]Lh6hGL9Y9l0[/youtube]

You can't be stealing golf carts.

 

[jackrussell]

This should do the trick.

 

[DIAF]

The number-one thing for beginners to get on the path of not-sucking-at-golf: Backswing. Everyone sees pro golfers on tv keep their left arm straight, right arm bent, and turn their hips perfectly so that the club is almost parallel to the ground on the backswing and tries to emulate that....and you wonder why you hook/slice/miss/kill your arms. Take a short backswing. Shortening that backswing is the best thing you can do when starting off to keep you hitting balls straight.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[MapleLeaf]

.... my approach is this:


Stance.

Shoulder width apart. Toes even and if you connected one toe to the other it would form an imaginary line heading towards your target. Knees slightly bent. Drop your arms down naturally. Hands should grip your club below your chin.

Shaft length and lie angle of the club should match your height and it should look like you are in a comfortable tall stance.

Grip.

Use the (7) fingered grip with your low hand pinky covering the index finger of your top hand. If you have small hands you can use Jack Nicklaus' (8) fingered interlocking grip. Buy a set of Victory grips and it will help you set up your hands on the shaft.

Set up.

Teach your self a consistent proper set up to be able to hit the ball in the direction you intend. Too many times I see beginners lining up to the left or the right and then ask why did I hit the ball there.

An old trick is to lay your irons down and align your toes to teach yourself the set up stance to hitting the ball straight.


Swing mechanics.

Everyone is an expert...listen to your golf pro, but in order to teach yourself the control and muscle memory of good shots work your early ball striking with a (5) iron. It's an easier club length to control and you will have earlier success when the club is shorter.

Good luck. It's a great game!

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh yeah.

Something I started doing at the range was the following.

After stretching and warming up with practice swings. This is what I do.

1. Hit the ball of the tee with driver.
2. Next shot I hit a ball off the turf with a 7 iron
3. Next shot I hit the ball with a wedge.

Simulating a 3 par hole.

Just whacking at the ball with a driver will waste more shots. IMO.

This should do the trick.

HEHEHE - oh man

 

[vta]

I live on a golf course and have never even played the game.
The guys who do, talk about it with such passion, there must be something to it, but for some reason when I walk around the course I feel like taking pictures instead. Golf courses are beautiful.

 

[silverbear]

Started learning golf. I messed around with it years and years ago but only really played one game, if you could call it that.

Took my first lesson from a PGA Golf pro. He had me driving balls for over an hour. Man, who knew your body would be sore after that?

When I was working as a club pro, I'd take the winter off completely, I didn't even touch a club for like 4 months... when it was time to get back into the groove, I always went to the driving range first...

And at home later that evening, I always experienced some rather uncomfortable muscle spasms on the left side of my rib cage... I knew it was coming, long before it happened...

You put a lot of different muscles to work in the course of a golf swing... in fact, hitting a couple-three hundred balls is a hell of a workout...

Anyway, I finally got to where I was driving the ball 225-250 yards consistently, and straight. My biggest problem is keeping my head down at the point of contact.

Any golfers here that have any tips for a beginner?

There are lots of little tricks for lots of golf's little problems, but only one that I've ever come up with for yours-- try to actually see the clubface strike the ball... I mean, focus hard on that...

You can't do it, the ball is off the clubface in a millisecond, but if you focus on trying, you'll keep your head down long enough...

It's actually quite fascinating to watch super slo-mo of a golf ball on the clubface at impact, it helps you understand how backspin is imparted to a ball... at the instant of impact, the ball actually flattens against the clubface (which is why tour pros change balls every 3 holes, on average), then starts to roll up the face... this starts the backspin action... the ball then returns to something close to its original shape, which springboards it off the face...

Your inclination to look up too quickly is a natural one, you want to see where the ball's going (if only to keep from losing your ball, those things have gotten EXPENSIVE)... but try telling yourself that you have plenty of time to pick the ball up once it's in flight, and if you look up too quick, it won't be in flight, it will be rolling along the ground...

 

[silverbear]

Raymond Floyd once told me, "never get mad on the course, you'll never be good enough." (he was so right)...

As a young assistant pro, I was known for letting the silver bird fly (golf slang for throwing clubs after a bad shot)... I rationalized that behavior by telling myself that I was getting my anger out, so that it wouldn't ruin the next shot...

Of course, that was pure BS... happily, in time I came to realize that I was a really good scrambler, and if I kept my wits about me, par was still attainable... I've never been a good putter, but I can execute most all of the short shots around the green with some touch...

Jack Nicklaus once said that he expected to hit at least 7 bad shots in every round of golf he ever played, and that the key to playing well was to recover from your bad shots... and I think it was Ben Hogan who once described golf as an exercise in disaster management... LOL...