5 Tips to Get Started Golfing
September 6, 2022
By Steve Bourbon, Head Professional
Golf is one of the only sports you can play throughout your life from youth through retirement. The best part, it is never too late to pick it up. People always ask me how to get started in the game as an adult. Here is my advice:
Take regular instruction from an experienced instructor.
This should be someone who can communicate well, has been trained to teach, and can also play golf at a high level. Mastering the fundamentals is a lifelong process in this game. Keeping the fundamentals in mind is of utmost importance. If you never let go of the basics, you never have to go back for them! Golf is not a game that makes typical logical sense, nor one that you can figure out on your own because you played other sports well. What makes you good at other sports doesn't necessarily help you in golf. In many instances it can actually hurt you. Supervised, intelligent instruction can help you avoid the pitfalls of learning the game on your own and creating bad habits that can take a lifetime to break.
As with learning all motor skills, you must crawl before you walk or run.
For golf, that process means learning to putt first, and then learning to chip and pitch, which will help new golfers transition to a full swing more smoothly, and also help them avoid bad habits. You only really need 3 clubs to start: a putter, a wedge, and a 7 or 8 iron.
Start a consistent stretching routine.
This will be helpful when learning the game, and it certainly won't hurt any other areas of your life either. Remember, in regard to flexibility: what you don't use, you lose.
When you are ready to venture out onto the course, try to begin on a Par 3.
The short game (100 yards and in) makes up 60% of the game, and it’s where most people lose or gain the majority of their strokes when trying to keep or improve their score.
Try to play with better players than you.
Play with someone who can teach you a little bit about the etiquette and traditions of golf. It helps to make you feel like a part of the game, and the sense of belonging to the golf community is important as a beginner.