Beginner-advice Appreciated

calerbass

Hi, im planning in taking up golf in the near future and im wondering is their any advice i could get.

Im left handed, so im wondering how much a left handed set might cost me, aiming to buy cheapish to start off with.........

would it be better to start off on a driving range first to practice my swing or go straight to a golf club and jump in the deep end?

Played it few times few years ago but just hired the clubs etc.

Im in cork so can anyone recommend a golf club/range that would be suitable for a beginner?

Should i get lessons?

any help would be great, thanks.

FlutterinBantam

Yep start at a range and see how you get on.

You should be able to pick up a set of LH clubs for circa 250 300 which would start you off.


Wouldnt rec. joining till you tried out the range.

EnjoyandImprove

My advice is, hit some balls at the range but dont wait too long before jumping in at the deep end and going out on the course, any course. Try and recruit some friends family strangers to play with you, if you are cute you will find a set for a hundred quid but if your going to spend a bit of cash put it into the driver above anything else.

DonkeyPokerTour

EnjoyandImprove wrote: »

If you are cute you will find a set for a hundred quid but if your going to spend a bit of cash put it into the driver above anything else.

Dont disagree about picking up a set for about 100quid, but couldn't disagree more over putting the money into the driver above anything else! During a round, at most you'll hit your driver 14times (less if you use course managment). On the other hand you'll hit your putter about 28+ times a round, and your irons/wedges the other 50shots or so. So if you use cold hard logic then you should spend twice as much on your putter as you do on your driver and about twice as much again on your irons & Wedges!!!

However people have no bother spending 200, 300 and ever 450euro on a driver, that they use at most 14 times in a round! By that they should be spending between 400 and 900euro on a putter and between 800 and 1800 on a set of irons and wedges!

My advise is to get yourself a starters set (or a second hand set of irons and woods etc), and if you want to spend a bit of money on good clubs, add a good wedge or two. Wedges are your scoring clubs, I'd happily be twenty yards shorter on my drive if I could improve my chipping and putting!

The other club thats very important is your putter. Putters are very very personal things! Some people find that a cheep 10euro putter works best for them, others find that the most expensive putter in the shop works best for them, my advise is to go to a golf shop and try alot of different ones out! Its the only way to see what style you like and what suits you. But having confidence in your putter can be massive in your game, if you stand over putts thinking "I'm going to make this" your far more likely to than if you are thinking "I dont really like this putter"

Anyway good luck in your new adventure into the golfing world!

Regards
Ian

Ginny007

The range is the place to start get all the bad shots out of your system less pressure.

Also if you are thinking of going out to play try to go out late in the evening less people around and less pressure.

In_tuition

Being a complete novice I wouldnt be spending any money on the driving range twice a week. You'll soon see an expense starting to build up.

Pick up a club, any club preferably 6 or 7 iron though in a local car boot sale or if you know anyone and purchase a set of plassic balls in the local golf shop and bang away at them out in the back garden.

Check out some coaching videos on youtube and get the basics of playing good golf correctly. You could sit on a range for 2 hours a week and hit a few good shots and it would be of no benfit to you whatsoever at least at home you can have the laptop on and go outside and put to practice what you watch.

Any clown can hit a golf ball, but you need to be aware of your body control in order to hit the ball correctly each and every time. You won't find that blind on the range and going to a coach is too expensive for most of us.

This is my advice anyway. You'll learn more and get your naturally swing feeling with zero cost.

alxmorgan

I'd recommend Shawn Clement's stuff as he's nice and simple.

http://www.youtube.com/user/clemshaw

In_tuition

alxmorgan wrote: »

I'd recommend Shawn Clement's stuff as he's nice and simple.

http://www.youtube.com/user/clemshaw

I'll second that.

I've posted that link on a few threads on here recently, definitely worth watching.

Zak Flaps

i'd start with the driving range...most ranges will lend you a club to hit...
also recommend youtube clips, tons of stuff there....
shawn clement's videos are very good...
yes, you should get some lessons....a pro will teach you the basics correctly...best to get into good habits from the beginning...

Nuri Sahin

alxmorgan wrote: »

I'd recommend Shawn Clement's stuff as he's nice and simple.

http://www.youtube.com/user/clemshaw

OP, Clement's ^ videos are well worth a watch.

Don't see the point in spending large amounts when starting out except for maybe a putter IMO.

There is nowt wrong with being on the look out for a 2nd hand set of clubs as well. My first set was a 2nd hand set of Mizuno T Zoid irons and 3 wood which I got from my old local pro shop for around £80 at the time. I did buy a new Ping Anser from the US though. I used those clubs for another 4 years and by then I was down from 25 to 14 handicap.

EnjoyandImprove

DonkeyPokerTour wrote: »

Dont disagree about picking up a set for about 100quid, but couldn't disagree more over putting the money into the driver above anything else! During a round, at most you'll hit your driver 14times (less if you use course managment). On the other hand you'll hit your putter about 28+ times a round, and your irons/wedges the other 50shots or so. So if you use cold hard logic then you should spend twice as much on your putter as you do on your driver and about twice as much again on your irons & Wedges!!!

I think you should apply this logic you speak of to practicing the short game more then the driver, what I mean is that if you gave me a chep sand wedge and an expensive sand wedge, the results would be pretty similar. But give me a cheap driver and I would have no chance, heads are monkey metal and shafts will torque and twist all over the place. Thats why i say spend a little bit of cash on a decent driver and just pick up the rest cheap as you can.