Beginner - Golf or Pitch & Putt

Neames

So, I'm a complete newbie to golf.

Kind of interested in taking it up as a hobby. However, I'm not keen on coughing up fairly significant money on membership and clubs only to find out that it's not for me.

A local pitch and putt club offers good cheap deals and sure if I didn't like it, it won't have broken the bank.

Any thoughts on this idea?

CalamariFritti

It'll give you an idea whether you like hitting small balls sound the place, but its not the same. There are people who love one and not the other. Me for instance I love golf but pitch & putt wouldn't do anything for me.

spacecoyote

Where are you based? There are plenty of pay & play options in the Dublin area where you could try out a round without the commitment of joining a club

Neames

spacecoyote wrote: »

Where are you based? There are plenty of pay & play options in the Dublin area where you could try out a round without the commitment of joining a club

Thanks spacecoyote,

I'm based in the midlands so I suppose I could look into pay & play options around Laois and Offaly.

username?!

Find a long par 3 course. Glen mill in Wicklow is fairly close to the real thing IMO. Driving range will do you for drivers etc

slave1

Ask around and see if you can be a visitor in a society, this way you will be buried with a lot of visitors on a course and can relax a bit, most societies will allow visitors and it's a great way to get into the game and play a few different courses.
Don't worry about playing crap, we all have to start somewhere

Armchair Andy

slave1 wrote:

Ask around and see if you can be a visitor in a society, this way you will be buried with a lot of visitors on a course and can relax a bit, most societies will allow visitors and it's a great way to get into the game and play a few different courses. Don't worry about playing crap, we all have to start somewhere

I know you mean well but I really do think playing society golf as a means to getting into the game isn't a great idea.
5 hour rounds surrounded by lackadaisical golf (albeit not from all players) isn't a proper reflection imo.

Op would be better off paying a pay as you play course or a couple of green fees with mates if he needs time and consideration to take before committing to the game.

Jayop

You'd get an ould cheap set of second hand clubs for next to nothing on done deal and if you decide you don't like it you'd sell them for the same money. Don't buy good ones till you're sure. As for paying membership I know most clubs around me do a pay as you play type green fee's for about €15 a round. 50/60 euro should see you out playing with the basics.

Even if you know anyone who's a big golfer you could be sure they'd have a spare set lying in the shed or at least the makings of a set that would get you going. I'd say I have about 35/30 clubs in the shed that'll never see the light of day again.

Jayop

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057167995

There's a great resource for you. 9 hole courses but they'll be full length holes so you'll get a good feel for the game rather than playing 50/60 yard pitch and put.

stockdam

Good advice above. Get a cheap but good 2nd hand set. maybe forget about a driver until later as people often struggle with it. Don't buy junk that is 20 years or more old as clubs have moved on.

I'd suggest starting golf rather than P&P. For me P&P doesn't teach you anything about the long game. A long par three course (holes longer than 150 yards) would be a good compromise. You can get away with a poor grip and technique for P&P which will not work when you move to longer holes. P&P greens tend not to be too challenging so you won't learn about how to cope with fast greens. There are a lot more challenges to face playing golf such as learning to play in the wind, playing from bunkers, shaping shots, playing off tight lies etc.

P&P will teach you a lot about the short game and I would start playing after you have some good golf basics.

red face dave

I'm an absolute complete beginner. I've played maybe 5 rounds of golf to date (very badly). For a change decide to head out and play pitch and putt (par 3) today and I hated it.
So back to the golf for me, might try p&p in the summer again to see is it any better.

Neames

Wow,

Folks, I just want to say thanks very much for all of the advice. Really appreciate it and I think I'll look into the second hand golf clubs and societies. Thanks very much for taking the time to give me your views, really helpful.

brick tamland

Nothing wrong with starting with pitch and putt. I'd guess it's how most started. Won't do any harm to your short game either. Give it a go and see what you think.

Seve OB

Pitch and putt is v different to golf. If you are not good at it, you could still be half decent at golf.

OP. Try hitting some driving range. No pressure there and you get to whack it whatever way you like. Quite often if you are any way chatty, you can pick up a few tips from the guts next to you. Even get some basics, grip stance ball position

If you hit one really good shot you'll be mad to do it again. When you do it again then you will be hooked

mike12

See can you do group lessons for golf basics they are cheaper way to get the basics.

diomed

I've played both, had handicaps at both (best golf 18 was 78, best p&p 18 was 46).
My golf long game was never much good as I didn't hit the ball very far.
The best golf I played was when I haunted the course as a teenager on holidays, playing morning and afternoon. You learn to scramble.
My first club pitch and putt competition I won thanks to a very nice 12 handicap, my gross only one worse than the scratch player who played with me. I'd just come form a month's holiday in the west of Ireland playing several times a day.
If you play pitch and putt (not par 3) play with a sand wedge. In time when playing golf you can just look at a shot to the green and know what to hit/how to hit it. Your putting should also be streets ahead of most golfers.

I'm not sure which should come first: reading golf books and learning the right grip and stance, or going to a pro first and learning those. Perhaps playing, reading, taking lessons all at the same time might be best.

stockdam

diomed wrote: »

I've played both, had handicaps at both (best golf 18 was 78, best p&p 18 was 46).
My golf long game was never much good as I didn't hit the ball very far.
The best golf I played was when I haunted the course as a teenager on holidays, playing morning and afternoon.  You learn to scramble.
My first club pitch and putt competition I won thanks to a very nice 12 handicap, my gross only one worse than the scratch player who played with me.  I'd just come form a month's holiday in the west of Ireland playing several times a day.
If you play pitch and putt (not par 3) play with a sand wedge.  In time when playing golf you can just look at a shot to the green and know what to hit/how to hit it.  Your putting should also be streets ahead of most golfers.

I'm not sure which should come first: reading golf books and learning the right grip and stance, or going to a pro first and learning those.  Perhaps playing, reading, taking lessons all at the same time might be best.

Are you saying that playing PnP will make you a better putter? I wouldn't say so as the greens will be smaller and generally slower.......but I'm no expert.

Pudzianowski

Hi,

Try adverts.ie for clubs, great value & a huge range, I generally find it better than donedeal. I'd also recommend you pay as you go for a while, in Laois look up click on golfnow deals from the Heath, mountrath, Portlaoise, Portarlington GC websites, they sometimes have green fee deals at very good value, (mountrath next sat at 15:00 for €12 for example), cheap way to get started.

Once you get addicted to golf, there's no cure!!!!

diomed

stockdam wrote: »

Are you saying that playing PnP will make you a better putter? I wouldn't say so as the greens will be smaller and generally slower.......but I'm no expert.

I think p&p will help if the greens are any good, and if you practice your putting. In my teens I was very enthusiastic. I practiced putting on my threadbare bedroom carpet, and would try to roll a ball to rest against an upright tee at about eight feet. At pitch and putt you must hole a putt if you miss a green and chip on. If your tee shot is on the green you must hole the putt.
My short game was always way better than other golfers. My bunker play around the greens was also a lot better. But it was better because I spend full afternoons practicing bunker shots, with different wedges, and in different sand.
Unfortunately, my tee to green game was laughably bad. It took years to eliminate my massive slice, and get any sort of rhythm into my swing. I once saw my "beautiful" swing on film and it looked like Kung Fu.

stockdam

diomed wrote: »

I think p&p will help if the greens are any good, and if you practice your putting. In my teens I was very enthusiastic. I practiced putting on my threadbare bedroom carpet, and would try to roll a ball to rest against an upright tee at about eight feet. At pitch and putt you must hole a putt if you miss a green and chip on. If your tee shot is on the green you must hole the putt.
My short game was always way better than other golfers. My bunker play around the greens was also a lot better. But it was better because I spend full afternoons practicing bunker shots, with different wedges, and in different sand.
Unfortunately, my tee to green game was laughably bad. It took years to eliminate my massive slice, and get any sort of rhythm into my swing. I once saw my "beautiful" swing on film and it looked like Kung Fu.

Yes but why is P&P any different? If you miss a green in golf then you need to get up and down to par. I can't see why there's any more pressure in P&P to hole a putt.

You can do what you did to improve you putting or bunker shots for golf too.

The main thing is that you can be very good at P&P with a relatively poor swing. It's much harder to be good at golf with a poor swing. Now that may be an attraction in P&P but on the other hand if you play golf then the challenge is to practice and improve all parts of your game.

Mantis Toboggan

Cheap second hand clubs online OP then mix it between par 3 courses and the driving range for a few months before venturing out onto the full course. Best of luck.

diomed

stockdam wrote: »

The main thing is that you can be very good at P&P with a relatively poor swing. It's much harder to be good at golf with a poor swing. Now that may be an attraction in P&P

That doesn't make sense.

stockdam

diomed wrote: »

stockdam wrote: »

The main thing is that you can be very good at P&P with a relatively poor swing. It's much harder to be good at golf with a poor swing. Now that may be an attraction in P&P

That doesn't make sense.

Why does it not makes sense?
What's the average length of a pitch and putt hole......less than 120 yards?
If so then you'll be hitting a wedge or 9 iron max.
You don't need a great swing to get the ball onto the green or around the green on a short pitch. If you have a decent chipping and putting game then you'll be looking to par most of them.
Move up to a golf par three and you will probably be looking at 150 yards to 200 yards. Now tell me that a person that has only hit wedges will now play these holes well? Move up to a par 4 or 350 to 450 yards and suddenly the challenges are much greater. A player who has only hit wedges will probably struggle with a driver or fairway wood or mid to long irons.
I've played with a fair number of P&P players and they generally have poor grips and poor swings. They are great from 100 yards in but they struggle with the long game. The long game exposes a poor swing much more than the game from 100 yards in.