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Tips for a newbie golfer? - channel1 - 06-11-2003
My two cents, where I either disagree or modify what the others have said:
Tees: They make nylon tees now. They cost a bit more than wood, but they are almost unbreakable. You might lose them, but you won't break them. You only need a few of nylon tees, I've seen them in a bag of 6.
Alternate for tees: on the par 3s, you'll want to tee up short and use an iron. There are almost always broken tees lying around that are perfect.
Balls: Get cheap, NEW balls. The recycled balls sold in stores are often recovered from the bottom of ponds, and have lost their "stuff" from being submerged for a long period. A new Spalding will be better than a soggy Titelist.
Don't even THINK about getting a sleeve of the really high-end balls to try. The Balata balls that the Pros use have a very soft cover, making them more controllable. A less-than-perfect hit will ruin a $5 ball. As a beginner, ALL of your hits will be less-than-perfect
Finding balls: You're going to spend a bit of time looking for you balls. As a point of etiquette, don't spend too long looking for it, unless you're playing by yourself on an empty course. While you are looking for your own balls, you will probably find other lost balls. Those will give you a chance to try other brands. :) If you happen to find a brand that works well for you, consider trying a box. Wilson Ultras work best for me.
Finding balls2: Just because the ball you found was high-and-dry, doesn't mean that they guy who LOST it never got it "recycled".
Wedge: Get a sand wedge, AND a pitching wedge. I have a few justifications for this. First, as a noobie golfer, you will be spending a lot of shots getting on the green. You might as well get the equipment that you'll use a lot.
Second, the wedges are clubs that you can practice with almost everywhere, in the back yard, parks, or wherever. And, you SHOULD practice with them. A good chip shot can save a stroke putting, and it's a lot easier to get good in the short game than it is to add 20 yards to your drive.
Hat: Everyone here said "Cap". No, no, no! Get a HAT with a full brim. You really don't want to be a "Redneck".
Glove: Get a couple of cheap gloves to begin. When my swing was off, I tore them up badly. A $20 glove will tear as easily as a $4 glove. My favorite glove to play with was my old cycle glove, with no fingers and a palm-pad. It looked funny, but nobody laughed after I hit. :)
Shoes: Sneakers don't cut it. Get a pair of Footjoys, reasonably cheap. Plastic spikes, because pretty much all of the courses around here don't permit metal spikes anymore. Learning to hit the ball is hard enough, without your feet sliding around.
Ride or Walk: If I remember correctly, you live in London (just up the 401 from me :) It rarely gets too hot to walk 18 around here. Get a good-carrying bag, something light with legs. I have a Sundowner, that I got when they first came out with that type of bag. It's great. Don't overload it.
When it really, REALLY, is hot, go ahead and cart it. Also, if you enter a tournament, get a cart. You can easily spend 6-8 hours on the course in a Scramble. They are a hoot, but no fun if you're beat.
Fun Games: Like a said, Scrambles are a hoot. Another great night out is Glow-ball, but there are not many Glow-ball tournaments around here any more, since they tend to destroy golf courses & carts. The last Glow-ball I played in, there was one cart that went in a creek, another went in the river, and loads of them went into trees. Amazing fun, though.
Serious Games: Yup, get lessons, like most have said. BUT, don't be afraid to get a lesson from a different Pro if the first one you go to doesn't help much. People are too different for one Pro to know what you really need. A good (helpful) Pro can often suggest someone who will be able to get you going.
Playing the "Tour" is okay for variety, but join a club where the dues are fairly cheap. It help a LOT, when you know the layout of the course. You can then concentrate on your game, and less on where you want your ball to end up. Plus you'll eventually lose fewer balls, and find more lost balls, since you'll know where they wind up. Plus, you'll get to know more people, and the Pro is more likely to give you a deal on lessons and equipment.
That said, DON'T join up this year, unless you find the club you REALLY want to join. Play the "Tour", and get a feel for the courses. The Two-for-One ticket books they sell around here are a great deal for this.
-rcv-
Tips for a newbie golfer? - Occhidiangela - 06-12-2003
Learn how to drive the car before you hit the highway.
Really, that small investment in 'how to do it right' beats any amount of effort on how to undo doing in wrong.
My advice, and I know. :)
Tips for a newbie golfer? - Walkiry - 06-12-2003
In a couple of things :)
1. About the new balls. I can see that older balls recovered from ponds could have been worse than new balls some time ago, but modern 2-piece balls? I don't really think so.
2. The wedge-no wedge. Am I the only one who can get backspin with a 3 iron here? It's really not that hard to do a high shot with a 9 iron, and in terms of half-swing short shots, I don't see a big advantage over a pitch, specially for a beginner *looks at post about his own set*... I'm talking in general :lol:
And for the really short shots, I strongly recommend the chip-and-roll approach with a 5 or 7 iron. Although one should have as many weapons as possible at hand, rolling your ball over the green for short shots will help you learn and understand how to 'read' the Greens, and improve your putting skills. (I'm not sure if it's the correct term in English, it's how we say it in Spanish).
Tips for a newbie golfer? - --Pete - 06-12-2003
Hi,
I can see that older balls recovered from ponds could have been worse than new balls some time ago, but modern 2-piece balls? I don't really think so.
Yeah. The wound on a core balls will soak up water and some of the bands will break. That would indeed ruin them. But they are fragile balls anyway, and a top with a nine or wedge will kill them even if it doesn't break the cover (I know, killed a fair few and cut the cover off to see the damage :) )
But the solid balls which are the most common? I doubt that a few weeks of being in the water actually does them much harm. That being said, the cost of low end balls at Costco, etc., hardly leaves room for much savings in buying used balls.
There's a nice short history of the golf ball at http://www.attachemag.com/archives/05-02/p...s/passions1.htm -- very readable.
Although one should have as many weapons as possible at hand, rolling your ball over the green for short shots will help you learn and understand how to 'read' the Greens, and improve your putting skills.
Very true. It's been a while since I last did it, but a good exercise to improve one's "shot manufacturing" ability is to tackle a course with just a five iron and a putter. Works best on an "executive" length nine hole course. We used to call it a "Sam Sneed nine" when I was in high school. If nothing else, it is a good lesson on how little distance counts as compared to accuracy :)
(I'm not sure if it's the correct term in English, it's how we say it in Spanish).
It's how we say it in English, too :)
--Pete
Tips for a newbie golfer? - Occhidiangela - 06-12-2003
Here in Texas. Using a 7 or 8 iron to bump and run using a putter's motion from off the green.
And as for read, we read it, but Americans read Break and the Brits, as I recall, read Borrow.
And their beer comes in lorries, not trucks . . .
Tips for a newbie golfer? - channel1 - 06-13-2003
I can see that older balls recovered from ponds could have been worse than new balls some time ago, but modern 2-piece balls? I don't really think so...
... I doubt that a few weeks of being in the water actually does them much harm....
The packages of "Experienced" balls sold in some stores are usually collected by folks who dive ponds that may have never been cleaned out. It's not just a matter of "a few weeks", but possibly YEARS that they have been there.
The problem is not just water saturation, but also freezing cycles. Remember, too, Deebye lives in London ON, not Texas. We see more ice than what's floating in the cooler.
I went to school with a lot of the guys who worked at my club, and hung with them quite a bit. They have a pretty good sideline selling found balls. We have checked out a lot of the balls that were obviously submerged for a long period. The solid core balls often have cracked cores.
As a side-note on a fun thing to try, and maybe impress your buddies: Put a few inexpensive balls in the deep freeze, then take them out and try hitting them while they are still frozen. Your buddies will think you've been taking lessons from John Daly. :) If you happen to shatter one (which happens), play innocent.
-rcv-
Kid Bugs
Tips for a newbie golfer? - T-hawk - 06-18-2003
Here's my kind of golf :)
Tips for a newbie golfer? - ShadowHM - 06-18-2003
I love Frisbee Golf !
Although there are two 'official' frisbee golf courses here in Toronto (free to the public) the best games are those where you make up the course as you go along. :D
Tips for a newbie golfer? - jdirks - 06-20-2003
new to the Lounge and just saw this thread. Forgive my bringing it back up.
Alot of the advice was quite good. If I might second 2 things:
1) Take lessons. trust me, its worth doing.
2) Gravity IS stronger over water. (Also tends to have a sideward affect towards hazards and OB areas.)
Lastly, a very good friend of mine is an accomplished golfer. I blame (credit?) him with introducing me to the game. I am an intensely competitive perosn and expect alot from myself. One of early outings, I was doing particularly poorly and tossed one of my clubs into the drink after hitting my 3rd straight shot into the water with the blasted thing. (Hey, I figured it HAD to be a defective club. Right? lol) Anyway, my buddy came over to me, smiling like a goonie bird, and said, "Jim, you are not a good enough golfer yet, to get THAT angry over a bad shot." Bar none, single best thought for a beginner to keep in their head while playing the game.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!