When you first started to play...

Just a few short questions about going from a beginner without a lesson to playing your first round.

When did you play your first round?, was it long after picking up Golf?.
What did you shoot in the first round?.

Wish you had practice something more before playing the first round?(I'm think chips/short pitches here, or even teeing with a driver)

Just interested to hear your stories.

I bought clubs a few weeks ago and was trying to sort group lessons(student on Back to Ed to on E188 p/w) due to the prices of private lessons.
In the end the second guy I contacted told me he'd give me four 15min sessions for E30 and I'd learn a great deal in each(in fairness to him as well he doesn't bolt once 15mins has elapsed).

Before the lessons I layed off the range as much as possible as hitting with bad habits isn't fun and I knew I'd learn nothing.

So I'm bidding my time now, but really want to play my first round.
I've had two of the lessons so far and I've improved my grip and set up to the point where he doesn't readjust me, main problem is bending my arms at the top of the back swing and trying to extend and use the wrists more.

Been playing a bit of pitch and putt as well and I know from that I'd be struggling with short pitches and chips.
Have also took the driver out of the bag twice since my first lesson for 4/5 balls and it goes about 100ms straight then 100m off to the right so I'm in no position to tee off yet.

Just wondering how long it took ye to get out there for the first round with the tools to at least hit each shot with some competence?.
I've a slow summer ahead of me, and an ankle injury running 4 months(which is what inspired me to take up the golf) meaning I can't play anything like soccer for the time being, so I'll be devoting 4/5 days a week to Golf(bought a cage yesterday for the back garden) and hoping to get somewhere by summers end.

Dolph Starbeam

It shouldn't be a big deal. Get out there and try to enjoy it. After the round you will have a better idea of what areas you need to improve on.

kryogen

Its supposed to be relaxing, and fun. Just get out and hit some balls, even if your playing terribly its great to just get out there.

Dont over think it.

PARlance

If I was waiting until I was happy with my game I wouldn't have played a round yet

Get out there, enjoy the one or two good shots forget about the other 128 and keep up the practice.

For your first round I'd try to go to a relatively forgiving course (if you give your location I could suggest if I know the area) and at an off peak time if possible.

That's purely for your own enjoyment. I did this at the start and found that it best as there was less pressure and a monster of a course could shatter your confidence.

If you have mates that play, having one to show you the ropes would be great.

YayaBanana

YayaBanana wrote: »

It shouldn't be a big deal. Get out there and try to enjoy it. After the round you will have a better idea of what areas you need to improve on.

I might go for a round after I finish my 4th lesson.
From the first lesson, he told me to just use the 6 iron for now, I'm fairly straight and consistent(being 100mtrs with maybe a slight slice) with it off the tee only making a complete meal of 3/4 balls out of a basket of 30 yesterday.
However the 5 each I hit with my 3 hybrid and driver were all over the place. I've only used the driver for about 10 balls since I got it and they always take a massive slice about 80mtrs off to the right with only maybe 100 off carry.

kryogen wrote: »

Its supposed to be relaxing, and fun. Just get out and hit some balls, even if your playing terribly its great to just get out there.

Dont over think it.

ajcurry123 wrote: »

If I was waiting until I was happy with my game I wouldn't have played a round yet

Get out there, enjoy the one or two good shots forget about the other 128 and keep up the practice.

For your first round I'd try to go to a relatively forgiving course (if you give your location I could suggest if I know the area) and at an off peak time if possible.

That's purely for your own enjoyment. I did this at the start and found that it best as there was less pressure and a monster of a course could shatter your confidence.

If you have mates that play, having one to show you the ropes would be great.

I wasn't exactly waiting till I felt I'd a decent cusp of the game, the driver and hybrid play coupled with awful short pitches(though I could handle that) at P+P made me feel I should at least iron out those a tiny bit more before taking a round on.

I've been using the driving range/getting lessons at the Glenlo Abbey in Galway so I'd say that could be a good option for a first round as the bunkers are GUR and it doesn't look too hard(fairways seem pretty wide, not much foliage bar behind the greens, not too many bunkers).
They have a E15 round on a Tuesday I think and its usually very quiet any time I've ventured out.
Any other suggestions bar there?.

What sort of rounds did ye have to begin?

slave1

Don't get too technical, I remember my first score, it was 129 off society tees, 5 years later I shot 79 from the back tees on the same course, still my best round.
Now it's about enjoyment, if you don't enjoy it you'll just give up or have your playing partners wish you would!

Go out there, hit the ball, find it and then hit it again, it's about enjoyment and as an earlier poster pointed out, remembering that one sweet shot of the round.

donalg1

Just go out and play, you will see others on the course hitting balls all directions, nobody on the course at the same time as you is going to be hitting every fairway and green, if they were chances are they would be a pro.

Why not even go and play a Par 3 course, chances are you will have to hit all your irons at some stage and your driver too, plus you will most likely be pitching / chipping on pretty much every hole.

I started on a Par 3 course and once I had an idea of what I was doing on the course I moved up to the full course, think it was a good while before I broke 100 usually getting around 110, Id say my first ever round was closer to 130

spacecoyote

If you are not comfortable with Driver, then as mentioned, maybe ease yourself in with some Par 3 golf. At least you'll be playing with a bigger range of clubs than you would by just playing pitch & putt.

Try not become TOO technique obsessed, as that can be just as crippling. Know guys that spend their lives on the range searching for the perfect swing instead of getting out & enjoying playing golf. And even look at the pros. Think it was Jack Nicklaus that was asked how many perfect shots he hit in an average round, and his answer was 7/8. And thats the guy with more majors under his belt than anyone else in history.

We all started somewhere. I would have started off playing 5/6 rounds of society golf a year, taking no lessons, and hacking my way round in probably about 110 shots.

Then joined a club, started taking a couple of lessons and have seen improvements every year since.

The thing I always did though, was, I don't stop playing even going through the learning process, as I just love playing golf too much to be avoiding the course. Yes, I'll put in range time too, but I try to play whenever I can. Last year, when going through a little swing change (is there such a thing as a little swing change ) I had 6 consecutive weeks of 0.1s back onto the handicap before things really settled down & I started to see the benefits.

For every few steps forward, you're going to still take a few steps back, its part of the joy (& frustration) of the game.

Best of luck!!!

GreeBo

gilberto_eire wrote: »

I might go for a round after I finish my 4th lesson.
From the first lesson, he told me to just use the 6 iron for now, I'm fairly straight and consistent(being 100mtrs with maybe a slight slice) with it off the tee only making a complete meal of 3/4 balls out of a basket of 30 yesterday.
However the 5 each I hit with my 3 hybrid and driver were all over the place. I've only used the driver for about 10 balls since I got it and they always take a massive slice about 80mtrs off to the right with only maybe 100 off carry.

Personally I think you'd enjoy it more if you left the driver at home for your first time, or maybe left it alone until the end of the round.
You are hitting it the same distance as your 6 iron + 80m away from your target, this is not going to help you enjoy your round and will likely put you under pressure from behind and cause you to panic and not enjoy the game.

If your pro is advising to just use from the 6i up then I would listen to him...he is a pro
Remember that you are a beginner, you are pretty much supposed to be having a double bogey at best on every hole.

Forget the par of the hole, comparing yourself to that will annoy you and cause you to make poor decisions.
Record every shot, no matter how bad and keep this card. You will be looking back on it in a year or two wondering how on earth you could possibly have been this bad...and wondering why on earth you made such silly decisions on what/where to hit ::p

Decided to go ahead and have my first round after my last lesson tomorrow.

I felt a massive improvement today at the range compared to last Friday(I've been hitting maybe 20 balls at a time in the back garden into the cage maybe 3/4 times every day but its hard to gauge the actual accuracy and power so trips to the range help me see some results on that practice).
I was hitting my 6 iron an extra 20-30 yards putting it beyond the 100mtr mark consistently(I used to always hit it bang on 100 though its uphill so there's no carry) I even hit a decent 3 wood shot and I'm seeing next to no massive slices now.
Hit a number of shots with my hybrid from the deck with it being the first time I was able to use it properly (along with my 6 iron when using it before I normally would make a hard connection with the mat first resulting in a poor shot.)

I think the improvement has come because now that I'm concentrating less on my back swing(my left arm was collapsing but think I've made a better effort at it) I'm starting to focus on shifting my weight to my front foot on the down swing leading to a better connection.

I feel happy enough now to take on a course, I may tee off two balls(1 with driver/3 wood and one with my 3 hybrid) and just pick up the driver ball to see the general accuracy.

Will post back with my first score :pac:

DuckSlice

Where are you based, 30 euro for a 15 min lesson seams steep to me, u can get 2 hours for 100 euro near me!!

etxp

etxp wrote: »

Where are you based, 30 euro for a 15 min lesson seams steep to me, u can get 2 hours for 100 euro near me!!

It wasn't E30 for 15mins, it was E30 for four 15min sessions(and he usually stays a few minutes extra, doesn't run once its 1:45. Plus I get 40 balls per lesson which would have cost me 16 otherwise so it was a bargain)

FWIW...Galway.

DuckSlice

ah right i must have read it wrong!

but getting back to your topic, my first round of golf was the first time i ever picked up a club as far as i can remember, it was about 17 years ago when i was 10. i wasnt teeing off but i was playing in from 200 yards.

i think you need to get out there and start playing some golf, there is only so much u can do on a range. your hitting the same lie, time after time, and in the real world no 2 lies are the same. you will really start to improve when u start playing on golf course, this time of year is perfect for it. you can go out in the evening the course will be quiet, i went out myself this evening and was just chipping and playing out of a bunker for half an hour, and then carried on with the round!

get yourself out and enjoy

etxp

etxp wrote: »

ah right i must have read it wrong!

but getting back to your topic, my first round of golf was the first time i ever picked up a club as far as i can remember, it was about 17 years ago when i was 10. i wasnt teeing off but i was playing in from 200 yards.

i think you need to get out there and start playing some golf, there is only so much u can do on a range. your hitting the same lie, time after time, and in the real world no 2 lies are the same. you will really start to improve when u start playing on golf course, this time of year is perfect for it. you can go out in the evening the course will be quiet, i went out myself this evening and was just chipping and playing out of a bunker for half an hour, and then carried on with the round!

get yourself out and enjoy

Well I should have no trouble with numbers out the Glenlo, I use the range there along with getting my lessons and it's always VERY quiet when I'm out, the bunkers are GUR so while this makes it a bit easier playing wise, I won't be able to practice a bunker shot for a while.

I have 3 months until I'm back to college so I can devote 3 solid months of practice between the range, the garden(I've a range style mat on the way from ebay as now I'm using dried grass to fill the divot so hitting more than 20 a time is hassle plus tearing up the garden, once I get that I can practice more at home) and the course(I'll try get a 3 month membership in the Glenlo otherwise join for the year as it's only E230ish) so with 3/4 rounds a week I'll hopefully have came on a good bit by Sept.

Wilbert13

Stick with it and best of luck. You'd be surprised how much you would improve in 3 months if you're getting out that frequently

Cecco70

When I took up golf a couple of years ago I was 40 years old and I had never picked up a golf club in my life, although I had played a few sports like ice hockey, tennis and baseball when I was younger and living in Canada.
The first thing I did was have 4-5 lessons, I kind of learned the basics but I was really nervous about taking it to the course. I then practiced at the range and played some pitch & putt for about a year before I finally played 18 holes , a nervous experience but once the nerves are gone its the greatest feeling. All the other sports I've played as a young lad don't even begin to compare with this great game, even after a bad round the only thing I can think of is getting back out again for another 18 holes. Many members on this forum warned me about getting hooked on this game once I started playing, how right they were....it is constantly on my mind now and I love it.:)
The most important thing is...ENJOY YOURSELF!!!