Upgrading from Pitch & Putt to Golf

Lord TSC

Hey guys and gals,

P&P has always been something I enjoyed but since my brother and I are both (unfortunately) unemployed, we've found ourselves with more time to play.

We do ok, and we're getting better and better (have cut my average score down by 20 over the last two months) but obviously as time goes on, it feels as if P&P is the easy version of Golf, and I'd like to see about "upgrading" to Golf.

So, question is...how big a step up is Golf? How much harder is it? We can hit the ball about 60m no problem now on the P&P course, but I'm worried when we play golf, we'll struggle to hit decent shots. And how much will it cost me to get enough to play a game? Is there any good guides for people new to golf? And when do I make the step up? How good should I be at P&P before I decide to give a round of golf a try?

Thanks in advance guys

stringy

Hi,

Well I play of an 8 handicap and have being playing p&p recently, where I shot 4 under par at my last attempt. So if you're 20 over on 60m holes, you've a lot of work to do. Maybe consider playing par3 courses next and then go to the driving range, trying out the longer clubs. When you're there try be specific and aim at targets rather than just bashing away delighted that the ball is going far. When you feel comfortable hitting all the clubs, why not try the full golf, and you'll be hooked

Good luck!

dan_ep82

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Hey guys and gals,

P&P has always been something I enjoyed but since my brother and I are both (unfortunately) unemployed, we've found ourselves with more time to play.

We do ok, and we're getting better and better (have cut my average score down by 20 over the last two months) but obviously as time goes on, it feels as if P&P is the easy version of Golf, and I'd like to see about "upgrading" to Golf.

So, question is...how big a step up is Golf? How much harder is it? We can hit the ball about 60m no problem now on the P&P course, but I'm worried when we play golf, we'll struggle to hit decent shots. And how much will it cost me to get enough to play a game? Is there any good guides for people new to golf? And when do I make the step up? How good should I be at P&P before I decide to give a round of golf a try?

Thanks in advance guys

I went to driving ranges as a teenager regularly (mainly to hit the ball more than anything, took up pitch and putt over the last 8 mths and then moved to golf in the last two or so.

Its a big step up but maybe not in the way your thinking. The obvious one is the course is bigger,but it can be a bit daunting at first. You have alot more clubs and you have to know how far you can hit each and judge how far from the flag and pick the right one. Accuracy on the longer drives is more important as if you miss hit you could be going 150 mtrs in the wrong direction. But its also much more enjoyable when you hit a really good shot,even the bad ones are more fun I think. The greens are one of the biggest differences I'm still getting used to, they're massive in comparison to my local P&P. Also the irons are swung different to the PW,it took me a while to be able to change easily from the short to long irons but it comes eventually.

On average I can hit my PW between 100-115m comfortably/accuratly or so (driving range for checking distance) but the best thing about golf is you can always take the bigger club to get that little bit better distance until you get your ball contact better and start hitting longer.

As for cost,you can pick up a set of clubs and a bag from between 70-250 on adverts.ie depending on the make. Then golf shoes,trousers and a suitable collared top. I'd advise a glove, a cap and some long tee's aswell. Any ball will do as long as it not the 60% distance range balls lol
I pay €10 in Moor Park Kentstown and €5 in Navan golf course for a single round on both. Generally your looking at under €30 for a round.

I found this helpful - http://www.reddit.com/r/golf/comments/1j6iwu/my_beginners_guide_to_golf_includes_lots_of/

As for when to start,whenever you feel comfortable,you can only get better the sooner you start. My best at P&P was 2 over and after 5ish games I hit 28 over yesterday in Golf.

See if you can get a lend of some clubs and go to an open course for a round and see how you get on and if you can bring someone who plays that isn't too wound up

kiers47

stringy wrote: »

Hi,

Well I play of an 8 handicap and have being playing p&p recently, where I shot 4 under par at my last attempt. So if you're 20 over on 60m holes, you've a lot of work to do. Maybe consider playing par3 courses next and then go to the driving range, trying out the longer clubs. When you're there try be specific and aim at targets rather than just bashing away delighted that the ball is going far. When you feel comfortable hitting all the clubs, why not try the full golf, and you'll be hooked

Good luck!

I think he means he has reduced his score by 20 shots over the last few months(not 20 over)

mr.jingle

Pitch and putt is definitely the easier of the two but at the same time it contains probably the most important part of golf.

Get yourself to a driving range and get used to swinging a set of clubs, P&P swings are 99% of the time different to a golf swing so will take a little time to adjust.

Find a suitable course for beginners and take it from there, it can be hard starting off but there is no better feeling than hitting a sweet drive down the middle or a 5iron to the middle of a green something that pitch and putt will never give you.

kelbal

Just be aware that the way you stand/line up/swing in P&P is possibly totally unsuitable to playing golf. You can see all sorts of methods at hitting wedges in P&P that work, but when you try and do the same with a driver in your hand, things get interesting:eek: In an effort to adapt to golf, I'd nearly treat it as starting from scratch. Ideally get a lesson in the basics, or just look on youtube for "beginner golf swing" or something, to get an idea of what you should be doing. The best bit of advice I could give is to keep your swing slow and steady. If you go lashing the hell out of it, you've no control at all. Get someone to take a video of your swing and post up here if you want! I'm no swing coach myself, but you might get some useful advice.

In terms of clubs, the best bit of advice I could give is to get as many hybrid clubs as you can, rather than having low irons (3,4,5). They're the clubs that look a bit like irons, but have a bit of extra bulk on them. If possible, you should get hybrids so that the longest proper iron in your bag is a 6, or even a 7 iron. The hybrids are so much easier to hit, and as a beginner you'll use them alot of the time.

GreeBo

kelbal wrote: »

Just be aware that the way you stand/line up/swing in P&P is possibly totally unsuitable to playing golf. You can see all sorts of methods at hitting wedges in P&P that work, but when you try and do the same with a driver in your hand, things get interesting:eek: In an effort to adapt to golf, I'd nearly treat it as starting from scratch. Ideally get a lesson in the basics, or just look on youtube for "beginner golf swing" or something, to get an idea of what you should be doing. The best bit of advice I could give is to keep your swing slow and steady. If you go lashing the hell out of it, you've no control at all. Get someone to take a video of your swing and post up here if you want! I'm no swing coach myself, but you might get some useful advice.

+1
a lot of p&p players are very wristy and flick the ball in an effort to get it to stop on small, not great greens.

This will be a disaster when trying to play "real" golf. You have to hit down on the ball to play golf.

Dr.Rieux

GreeBo wrote: »

+1
a lot of p&p players are very wristy and flick the ball in an effort to get it to stop on small, not great greens.

This will be a disaster when trying to play "real" golf. You have to hit down on the ball to play golf.

Had my first lesson yesterday and one of the things I have to work on is just that. I'd recommend getting lessons, I'm doing the same thing and have a few lessons booked, could nearly hit it straight with the driver. Nearly

dan_ep82

GreeBo wrote: »

+1
a lot of p&p players are very wristy and flick the ball in an effort to get it to stop on small, not great greens.

This will be a disaster when trying to play "real" golf. You have to hit down on the ball to play golf.

The brother started Golf the other day and he's quite good at P&P (his best was 3 under par) and his short game is much better than mine (2 over was my best) but he was having a problems changing is swing for the clubs,at times swinging a 6-7i like a PW and chunking it but he scored a gross 98 on his second round :eek:

I was out distancing him,some times by an entire stroke, but from 100ft his was much better than I. I'm going to spend as much time working on my short game from now on.

As for the other comment about hybrid's. I have a 4h and I can't seem to hit it right (120meters if im lucky) where as the 5i I can hit fairly well. The weight of it I find hard to get used to but I don't think I'm swinging it right either,some times I'd feel like I should hit it like a wood instead of an iron:o

Lord TSC

Thanks for the friendly replies guys. Think I need a crash course in some basic terminology, but taking it all on board

kiers47 wrote: »

I think he means he has reduced his score by 20 shots over the last few months(not 20 over)

Ha, yeah. Should have worded it "Over the last two months, I've cut my average score down by 20", in that when I started, I kept hitting 90 over 18 holes, and now I'm down to about 70.

I play in Juilanstown though which I don't think gives pars. Not that I've noticed anyway...but the upside is that they have a golf course there that I read in another topic that some people think is a nice confidence building course

I've been checking out clubs on Donedeal and looks to be some good deals. Also seems to be plenty of people round me who give lessons (and I think I saw signs up advertising lessons at the Pilltown driving range).

With the clothes....whats the deal with the outfits? (Trying to say that in a way that doesn't sound funny, just general curiosity). I have a glove since it stops blisters on my hand. I get the cap and the shoes. But is there a reason for the shirt and trousers? Typically we go in jeans and a hoodie, but is it that those restrict your swing?

Also just found out the local driving range actually lets you use the clubs for free when you go, so might head down and see about giving some a try and see how much further I can hit with the clubs and how different it feels.

PARlance

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Thanks for the friendly replies guys. Think I need a crash course in some basic terminology, but taking it all on board



Ha, yeah. Should have worded it "Over the last two months, I've cut my average score down by 20", in that when I started, I kept hitting 90 over 18 holes, and now I'm down to about 70.

I play in Juilanstown though which I don't think gives pars. Not that I've noticed anyway...but the upside is that they have a golf course there that I read in another topic that some people think is a nice confidence building course

I've been checking out clubs on Donedeal and looks to be some good deals. Also seems to be plenty of people round me who give lessons (and I think I saw signs up advertising lessons at the Pilltown driving range).

With the clothes....whats the deal with the outfits? (Trying to say that in a way that doesn't sound funny, just general curiosity). I have a glove since it stops blisters on my hand. I get the cap and the shoes. But is there a reason for the shirt and trousers? Typically we go in jeans and a hoodie, but is it that those restrict your swing?

Also just found out the local driving range actually lets you use the clubs for free when you go, so might head down and see about giving some a try and see how much further I can hit with the clubs and how different it feels.

You don't need a cap and in relation to clothes, most clubs will have some form of a dress code. Jeans and a hoodie are generally a no no for dress code reasons, plus I think they would also restrict your swing.

A cheap pair of chinos/trousers could be picked up in the likes of penneys, or this site has also got cheap golf clothes for sale.
http://www.sportsdirect.com/golf/clothing/mens-golf-trousers?src=sd-golf
A collared shirt is the norm, in winter a cheap jumper can be worn over it, I find TK Maxx handy for picking up golf clobber.

kelbal

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

With the clothes....whats the deal with the outfits?

yeah, the clothes thing is mainly a dress code from the clubs, they want people looking reasonably smart. That being said, I'd never want to golf in jeans, too restrictive. Think someone mentioned golf trousers, absolutely no need, just looking for an excuse to spend over the odds - like ajcurry said, penneys/dunnes slacks/chinos will do the job.
I'm not particularly a clothes snob myself - but other than at the cheap public courses, if you wander onto golf courses in jeans/hoodies the members will be looking at you sideways thinking you're a bit of a scruff-bag:P