Impressions of a total beginner (Golf in General)

Member Name: JonnyM79

Product:	Golf in General
Date:	22/04/02 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not too hard, Fun, Other golfers don't bite

Disadvantages: Need to find golfing friends, Getting hold of some clubs, Don't go to a busy course

Up until last week I'd never so much as picked up a golf club. Actually that's not quite true; I'd managed to putt my way around the local crazy golf. In fact I was pretty nifty at avoiding the windmill.... Anyway, the point is last week I had my first experience of proper golf and I thought other potential beginners may find the whole thing interesting.

A couple of friends are moderately keen players (keen enough to own their own clubs) and I'd been badgering them for ages to teach me (it took several months to wear them down). When they finally relented they said it probably wouldn't be a good idea to out on the course straight away and we'd start our first lesson in the back garden. Prior to this they insisted I watch a Jack Nicklaus video about the perfect swing (perfection was aiming a bit high for a first go, I thought, but it turned out to be quite useful, starting off with details such as how to hold the club). The first lesson consisted of hitting a simulated golf ball (scrunched up bit of paper) against the wall while learning how to line up my feet, how far to swing and just generally getting used to twirling a big metal stick around my head. It didn't seem that difficult: after about 1/2 an hour I was getting pretty good contact almost every swing. I was pronounced competent enough to hack my way around the local pay-and-play course.

Going to the course was a little daunting. Beautiful weather, though (I can't imagine it's that much fun in the rain). I was basically expecting a pitch'n'putt in a grotty field, but this was the real deal; 18 holes, some par 5s and golf buggies for the lazy/infirm (can't understand why you'd want one myself), and manicured fairways and greens. It was £7.50 a round, and we wandered to the first tee, where I was delighted to see the course was almost deserted. My first companion walked up to take his first shot and just as he reached
the top of his backswing his phone went off and he sliced his shot into a tree: then the second one took his shot but was still laughing and it trickled along the ground about 30 yards: fantastic!

Upon enquiring which of the array of clubs to use I got a brief explanation about club selection. Basically the lower the number the further and lower it hits the ball, with woods hitting further than irons. The wedge chips onto the green from close and then you putt it with the putter. Simple. I was advised to go for an iron because they're easier to hit and picked a 4. First shot: didn't try to hit it hard, just made sure I hit it. The ball looped gently into the air and dropped bang in the middle of the fairway about 100 yards away. Golf: it must be piss-easy.

I won't bore you with the rest of the round, although it wasn't all as smooth as that. Suffice to say that hitting off the tee and putting are not too difficult for the beginner to at least look competent at. However shots requiring you to chip onto the green from 30 yards or so are very difficult, requiring touch, and you often find the ball going straight over and landing just as far away on the other side. Overall I seemed to normally play the holes in 2 or 3 shots more than par. I'm proud to say I can't comment on playing out of bunkers :) Other golfers were all very pleasant and noone made any nasty comments as I hooked yet another ball onto a different fairway from the one I was aiming for; maybe pay-and-play just doesn't attract the snobs. The one cardinal sin seems to be holding other people up, so if a much better/faster player is waiting behind you it's best to wait and let them go ahead.

The basic message of what I'm writing is this: don't be put off from taking up golf by feeling that everyone will be unfriendly to a beginner. I've read other opinions stating that you should get a professional teacher and
put in hours of practice on driving ranges and putting greens before even considering going out on a course. Well I'd put the opposite view. Hitting endless balls on a range is extremely dull (I tried it a few days later) and unless you're serious and looking to improve it's more likely to put you off. Just find a near empty course, some understanding friends for advice, and hack your way round. You may end up with a score more normally found next to the Australian cricket team, but so what; after even a couple of rounds you find you start to improve. Just get stuck in!

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