Is golf a sport or a hobby? This question is posed by those spectators who watch as these athletes swing a club a few times an hour, and then strut around a nice green lawn. They attempt to avoid hazards which are actually shallow pits of sand or calm lakes, and yes, the recently infamous, Tiger Woods is the highest paid “athlete” in the world. Yet, golf is a sport in its own right.
Not just any lumbering ball of blubber can pick up a club and do well. A combination of strength, coordination, technique, and mental toughness all contribute to a golfer’s success. Like most other hobbies, mastery does not come from excessive reading. Practice is key to becoming a better golfer. In the following golf lessons, we won’t bore you with creating a body coil that will increase your power or developing a lag in your swing to extend your drives because no matter how good your reading comprehension skills are, nothing compares to practicing your swing at a driving range. We just provide some tangible tips that will probably make your game quite a bit better.
Know-How You Need Prior To Golf Lessons
Taking up Golf :
Anyone who is sincere in playing the sport of golf must first take golf lessons even before holding the first club. As the sport is not as simple as riding a bicycle which could be learned by sheer ability to balance, playing golf requires the knowledge of basic skills accompanying such sport. You just do not hit the ball the way you like it; you must follow a certain form, stance, and swing to be able to accurately hit and land it to your intended target. Once these basic movements are executed, hitting the ball is almost certain, and where the ball would land could easily be approximated.
Stages in Golf Lessons:
There are basically three stages of golf sessions, namely, golf lessons for beginners, golf lessons for intermediate players, and golf lessons for advanced players.
For beginners, lessons consist of theoretical teaching:
- Golf history, most Golf Classes will include a bit of interesting history on golf, this proves to be useful when introducing different aspects of the game without getting too technical. It allows you to learn about different world renowned golf competitions, origins of golfing lingo and expressions and gives you a gist of how the game evolved to what it is today. Interesting history and useful information on golf equipment can be found in this article.
- The Golf Glossary, this is basically all the vocabulary related to golf you didn’t cover when you looked at the sports history, such as the names of each club, the names of different parts of the green, names of other equipment or generalities on Golf.
- The more technical aspects of the game, after having covered all of the most important sport specific vocabulary in golf, it’s time to learn the rules of the game. This is another tedious aspect of learning golf but can be done in fun ways. Playing the game and “learning as you go” is one way; but since you don’t know how to swing yet it might be a little frustrating. A good tip would be to learn the rules in a light video game or watching a game of golf on TV with a knowledgeable friend who can explain it to you properly.
- Proper stance and grip, these are the next two things you will
learn in golf, now you know almost everything you need to know to play, all that remains is learning how to get that ball to the hole. A big part of that is stance and grip. I recommend getting an instructor for this part. All of the above parts can be self taught but having someone who can correct your stance and show you how to grip properly is essential when you’re starting out. - The swing itself is the next part you can focus on, this is something you can do 50/50 by yourself and with an instructor. Start off with an instructor, then go to the driving range and practise what he told you a hundred million times, then go back to him, back to the driving range etc… until your swing is decent enough to take it to the next level.
- At this point it would be useful to learn about the uses of each club and how they affect the ball if you haven’t already, then you’re pretty much good to go for the actual game. You can read up on the basics of golf clubs here or learn about general golf equipment and our recommendations here.
In beginner golf lessons most of what is taught can be self taught, there’s no need to take a class to understand the rules and theory of the game. There are ample resources on the internet(include links here) that will teach you this in depth. However, the part where you will need golf instruction and guidance comes when you take a club into your hands and try to hit the ball.
For the intermediate player:
Just because you reached the fairway does not mean you can’t still take golf lessons. At this stage, as an intermediate player, you will receive most of your golf lessons outside of your regular golf classes and continue to learn from the caddies, the pros, and the teacher. Experiencing the application of the lessons previously learned is probably the most rewarding part of golf and the highest level of golf instruction one can receive. It gives insight as to how important it is to follow the basic principles of golf in order to play at a higher level. Here, the teacher will constantly remind you of the lessons, and at times, explain to you why a particular swing resulted to such a beautiful or lousy ball flight.
There is no real trick to becoming a master of the game. Practise, as always, is key. But making sure you listen to the people who teach you and apply yourself to correct the mistakes they point out, or try out the things they suggest will make a big difference. Continuous golf lessons may be tedious at times, but the reward and satisfaction of hitting par and birdies on a consistent basis, while reminiscing on the shots you made when starting off, is going to be well worth it.
For the advanced golfer:
Advanced players also need to improve their skills. As the sport of golf is hard to master, you must continue honing the skills you already have. At this point it’s about incremental gains. You already know the bulk of what there is to know and getting a couple of yards more on your drive or getting a more accurate putt will be a matter of very small and difficult changes in your swing and game. At this point it is your advantage as an advanced player to find a mentor who will be able to help you in improving your game. Little lapses in the execution of the basics of golf not known to the advanced player are easily seen by the pro or the teacher. He will be all be able call your attention to small mistakes that block you from becoming better and you will be able to work on them together.
The Actual Game: Preparation
Playing golf is all about preparation, even before stepping up to drive the ball onto the fairway. Make sure your clubs are well suited for you (or else the results you would like to achieve will be much harder to reach). Also, make sure you know the course you will be playing on, or hire a knowledgeable caddy that can guide your shots and inform you of every nick, ditch, and hill on the green. For the more serious athlete, weight training becomes necessary as well. Your swing’s power comes from your core and legs, not from your arms, so focus on increasing your strength in these areas. Exercises such as bicycles for your abs and squats and lunges for your legs will quickly increase your swing’s effectiveness. No matter how many golf lessons you have taken, you will never be at your best unless you have the body of an athlete.
The Clubs and Mental Golf:
In golf, each swing is critical to your overall score, so absolute concentration is a necessity. Equipment is goes only so far in golf. You need to master the art of concentrated focus and it’s use in different stages of the game. Here is a quick video of a practical way to enhance focus in your game:
The Driver
Anxiously waiting to drive the ball off the tee will see any golfer shoot way over par. Patience is key. Make sure you take the time to check the wind. There are many methods of doing this ranging from dropping a few blades of grass and seeing where they get carried, to licking your finger and holding it up in the air. Also, know where the fairway is for you may need to curl your ball so it doesn’t end up rolling into the rough. Have a humble idea of how far you can drive the balls well so you have an accurate idea of where your ball will land. No amount of literary golf lessons will perfect your drive so get to the range or the course and DRIVE!
The Iron
Your iron game is arguably the most important aspect of golfing repertoire. With good iron play, your putting game can be close to non-existant. Your iron play should be perfected in the driving range, and you should be able to hit areas all around the range at will. If you want to challenge yourself, you can try to hit the small carts that circle around the driving range picking up balls. You should practice using each different type of iron so you feel comfortable when the time calls for a certain club. Also, one of the most common mistakes with the iron is swinging too hard. The iron swing is delicately accurate and can win you multiple rounds of golf.
The Putter
Arguably, the most intense part of golf is the putt, because it is the swing that allows you to put the ball in the hole. Even if you can drive like Tiger and use an Iron like Rory Mcilroy, nothing will matter if you can’t putt. Here is where concentration plays a huge role. Before putting, you should know the slope of the green and adjust your shot accordingly. Be careful of how much force you put into your putt as well. Too little and you won’t make it to your hole. Too much, and your ball may be right on target but ride right over the hole. This is the shot that will earn you eagles and birdies so practice it like your life depended on your putting. Practice on putting greens or take some golf lessons and this aspect of your game will inevitably improve.
Who to Play With
Pick your partner wisely! This may seem like an inane aspect of your game but your partner is what makes the game fun. Whether it is your high school buddy or former president George W. Bush, in the end, golf is about enjoying the sport. Mentally, happiness is the greatest reward from participating in this sport and a genuine conversation over a game of golf is a priceless experience. For practical thinkers, happiness also contributes to higher performance because it prevents over thinking. Over thinking is a killer of golfers and leads to bad drives, chips, and putts.
After reading these quick golf lessons, go out and play. Practice your drive, chips, and putts. Head to the course with a friend or befriend the nice caddy who is carrying your heavy bag of clubs. In the end, golf is a sport that will make you an athlete for life.