Where did you start?

redarmy1929

Now that the weather is getting better I want to get back out and try my hand at Pitch & Putt or Par3.

I am looking to move onto Golf.

I was just wondering where you all started?

Lessons of golf instructor?
Pitch and Putt?
Par3?
Went straight to Golf?

cheers

ForeRight

Pitch and putt all through my teens
Lots of par 3 then as it got a bit older and into my early 20's. I played maybe 4-5 full rounds of golf a year in that too then at age 30 nearly 4 years ago I stopped playing football and joined a golf club playing every week.


I didn't get lessons I just learned as I went and found it very enjoyable.

geeksauce

I started off in the garden, then the driving range and onto a Par 3 course then, after a year or so I moved to the 'full' course. Got a couple of lessons starting off too.

Better to learn the correct grip and stance etc at the start before bad habits appear, they are harder to lose and learn the correct way than to learn the correct way to begin with.

BigChap1759

The local football pitch :)

newport2

At a stag. Played nine holes, got 2 pars and fell in love.

Always regret I didn't get lessons initially. Took a while a few years later to eradicate fundamental things I was doing wrong.

Funny thing is, never really loved pitch and putt. I'd play it a few times and then just lose interest until someone suggested playing it a few months later again. But once I tried golf I've never stopped wanting to play. Totally different game.

VikingG

Best bet is to find a friend who knows how to play and has a set of clubs that he can loan you.... and is willing to give you some time.. Go to the driving range first 2 or 3 times just to get the idea of how to swing and then pick a short/easy course and try it out...
If you feel that you want to continue.... go get a set of good second hand clubs and get some lessons...

redarmy1929

VikingG wrote: »

Best bet is to find a friend who knows how to play and has a set of clubs that he can loan you.... and is willing to give you some time.. Go to the driving range first 2 or 3 times just to get the idea of how to swing and then pick a short/easy course and try it out...
If you feel that you want to continue.... go get a set of good second hand clubs and get some lessons...

I bought a cheap set of clubs on adverts for 80quid.

Newcastle golf centre is not too far from me, they do a 4 lessons for 99euro.
I might try that, as geeksauce said to improve my stance etc..

They have a driving range there as well so it might be worth doing.

Thanks lads, your posts have been very interesting, especially the local football pitch Hopefully the team didnt have to cancel any of the matches due to divots

ib_sanf

Par 3 courses are a good bridge between pitch and putt and golf.

If you can find a par 3 course that has a variety of hole lengths that helps.
That's the way I moved from pitch and putt to golf.

After that (or alternatively) a muni course like Deerpark in Howth is a great stepping stone.
If ya don't live near there, there should be something similar in your region.
Before going on to their 18 hole course they have 2 separate 9's at Deerpark. Wide open and plenty of beginners and casual golfers. Great place to go out when starting off in golf.

When ya do feel ready for an 18 hole golf course, maybe start by going at non peak times - you'll be under less pressure.

I'd take the above or similar steps.
What ya don't want to do is go out in a members club or a course with serious, experienced golfers during a busy time.
You'll only be put off and intimidated and they'll be pissed off. Instead graduate to that.
It'd be a bit like going out on the motorway in the overtaking lane on your first day behind the wheel.

Lessons, absolutely can't hurt you. If you don't get them straight away - consider getting them in the near future.

A group lesson for beginners might be a good way to go.
Less expensive, and more social. And a group lesson works well for beginners, as you're all in a similar both. As you get more experienced in golf - that's less the case.

Try doing one where long and short game is covered - you'll enjoy your golf a lot more.
Should be lots of offers from pro's this time of the year - for evening group classes.

All the best, hope you enjoy it.

Rikand

From the age of 6 my dad brought me out caddying for him, i couldn't wait to get started playing myself from then

Boscoirl

Played pitch n putt for the first time in about 14 years last night( was awful) plan to go to a driving range next and take it from there

Dubron

I went on this exact route and encourage any friends I've tried to get into golf to do likewise:

1) Pitch and Putt : Malahide Castle
2) Driving Range
3) Par 3: Malahide Castle then Balheary
4) Swords Open (Multiple times)
5) Any other course

redarmy1929

Would any of you lads go out on your own for either P&P, Par3, or Golf?

DuckSlice

I was about 11/12 dad was going golfing and I asked could I go and I got hooked. Didn't play pitch and putt till I was about 18. Learned everything on the golf course. Didn't have a lesson till I was 19.
I always think it's best to go straight into it because that's the way I done it I suppose.

Milkers

redarmy1929 wrote: »

Would any of you lads go out on your own for either P&P, Par3, or Golf?

Love golfing on my own tbh. Probably half of my rounds are solo.

redarmy1929

Lads thanks for the advice.

Went out for a game of pitch and putt on Saturday, got 75 on Par 54, it was gick but we have to start somewhere haha.

Ive emailed someone about lessons as well so on the right track.


Just had a quick question. For pitch and putt clubs where you need to be accompanied by a member etc... is there anyway round that. As someone started out, I dont know any members of clubs.

Barnaboy

redarmy1929 wrote: »

Just had a quick question. For pitch and putt clubs where you need to be accompanied by a member etc... is there anyway round that. As someone started out, I dont know any members of clubs.

I wouldn't worry about that. Loads of P&P clubs are pay and play. Just check your local area listings- www.ppui.ie has a good list but not complete. I know Good Counsel in Ballyboden, where I grew up and learned to play, is pay and play, or least it was the last time I played it about 20 years ago!

Seve OB

Rikand wrote: »

From the age of 6 my dad brought me out caddying for him, i couldn't wait to get started playing myself from then

Pretty much the same for myself. The caddying for the old man definitely got me into it and of course he would let me hit a few shots and he got me set up with grip posture swing etc.

Then we used to play down and across the roads in our estate, with self cut holes on the "island" greens and fairways Of course the doglegs around the houses were tricky and we would have to send someone down to the corners to make sure there were no cars coming!

Actually when I think about it, I used to be quite accurate... I wonder what happened!! :rolleyes:

redarmy1929 wrote: »

Would any of you lads go out on your own for either P&P, Par3, or Golf?

Milkers wrote: »

Love golfing on my own tbh. Probably half of my rounds are solo.

Yea I love playing on my own, but due to circumstances haven't done so in a long time... till I joined a club round the corner a couple of weeks ago and now I'm back at it

Dtoffee

It was the 60s and the only way lads like us were allowed on a golf course was to work or caddy. I actually started playing with a group of old guys on a laneway with no grass (just stones, clay and dust). There was 4 holes, all about 15 yards long and basically we all used the same old battered 8 iron. It was literally all touch as you had to get the ball in the hole or you were out very quickly .... after round 1, the worst player was out and we would keep playing until it was down to the last two and we had a winner. Games were quick enough and you either got your act together or walked home with no arse in your trousers (the bets were not big, but neither was my sponsorship;-) ).

From there I graduated to pitch n putt, par 3 and the long game ..... its the long game that is my downfall :mad:. I am liable to get the most outragous shots around the green and one of my proudest moments was when an old pro commented to his partner after Id drained another long putt; 'he see's nothing but the hole ... feckin lethal'. I had never thought of it that way, but my early years playing in the stone laneway had obviously engrained a 'get the ball in the hole' mentality.

bigtimecharlie

Played some Pitch and Putt at college and then when I moved in a house share in Dublin, one of the guys was a golf nut. Got a starter set for Christmas and played alot of par 3 before heading out onto the real courses.

GCW

Hit a few 7 irons to a Par 3 when out with my Da as a nipper. Used to really love that. Made a Pitch & Putt course in my garden then, holes were dug out and about 8in wide. Still never got a hole in one. Used to play from outside the kitchen uphill to the 1st, there was OB everywhere if you were too long. 2nd downhill before the patio. Long was dead there again. Then you could flop over a fence to the 3rd hole or play through a gateway which was a layup of sorts. Then a long one (about 20yds) down the length of the back garden. Next one was my least favourite, up the side. Then the finishing hole was over the front driveway of the house which needed about a 40yd carry over the concrete surface where the cars were parked, back up to the 1st hole. Don't know what the course record was because I could never stop myself from cheating, even back then. Then moved on to Par 3 golf but was mostly stoned playing that. Then joined a club as a junior around leaving cert time, played a bit, was pretty crap with a brutal temper. Then joined a golf club a few years ago.

TheDoc

Started walking around with my Da when he joined a golf club.I'd help find balls in the fields or go around the lakes with a ball retriever while he would practice.

Then he got me a SW as it was the smallest club, and started teaching me how to play.

Got the bug and he bought me a set of clubs at about 10 years of age. I'll never forget them. 3 wood, 5 iron, 7 iron, pw, sw, putter.

Started with some PAr3 in Balheary until they brought a junior membership into the club which my Da signed me up to. I started with a 33 handicapp, and by about 14 was down to an 18 handicapp. Still same set of clubs

When my Da upgraded and gave me a set of real golf clubs, the magic started to happen!

It's kinda weird, even now, I always find preference for my PW, 7iron and 5iron, even though I can hit any of my clubs fine, I'll always try find an excuse to hit them

snaphook

Started with intermittent pitch and putt during the summer in the late 80's and eraly 90's.

My dad played regularly when he was younger but was a lapsed golfer so to speak.

Got the golfing bug big time after watching the 1995 Ryder Cup.

Played my first proper round before the 1997 Ryder Cup and have played regularly ever since.