Posts
1123
Joined
9/9/2019
Location
Lake Elsinore, CA
US
26 here, been to the range a few times, decided to get into it. Buying a set of clubs today off Offer up and a putting mat for in the house when I’m bored. Never played a game of golf in my life haha other than mini golf. Any tips and recommendations? If anyone is in the Elsinore area and plays feel free to hit me up!
grip and rip my friend
on a serious note, after a full year of playing i would take your clubs to a club fitment shop and have them analyze your clubs for your swing. i've been playing for about 15 years now and finally spent the $150 to find out my clubs are about 3/4" too long for me and the club head lie-angle was completely off. i ended up trading the old girls in and getting new clubs, but it's a night and day difference having equipment set up for you. it's like taking a bone stock bike with stock suspension settings to the track and expecting to be as fast as on a bike with a full suspension setup to your body and riding style.
If I had any advice it would be to get a professional (instructor) involved before you pick up too many bad habits. Not saying to have an instructor on retainer for the entirety of your golf career, but at least let someone analyze your swing.
Also, what Peely said. Even if you buy off-the-shelf clubs, go to a good shop and let them set you up with the right club shafts for your swing speed, and of course, for the proper fit.
Spend most of your time working on your short game. Everyone wants to hit it long but that's not where you get that low score. The first time I played with a bunch of scratch golfers, I was amazed that I was (seemingly) playing as good as they were. We were making the turn and comparing scores, and they were smoking me. They weren't hitting many more greens than I was, but they were getting up-and-down and making par, where I was struggling for bogey. It makes a huge difference.
If you can shoot 80 in a few years of trying be proud of yourself. Thousands of hackers (me) have never sniffed that number.
If there's a reputable inexpensive teacher out there take a few lessons. It's a hell of a lot easier to start with a good habit than try to fix a bad one.
Last and most importantly, tip the drink cart girl generously. They're usually doing the job to help pay for college and most are super sweet.
Good luck and welcome to A Good Walk Spoiled.
The Shop
i usually go for Adidas as they have a great all-around feel but are comfortable enough to walk a full round and not want to throw them away after.
all the club mfrs have good entry level clubs to select from. i would get cavity back irons if i were you, not blades. when i browse the classifieds, most people selling their clubs online are blades (expert players club) or slightly below. my guess is they got a more advanced club and they were too hard to play, so they are selling them to re-coup the loss. i'd stay away from anything without a cavity for a while.
You'll definitely have some of those moments.
It's great.
Everyone above has great advice. Get decent clubs, in fact get fitted before you even buy a set. Correct figment is critical as peely said ,it’s like a 150 lb guy riding 240 lb suspension or vice versa. Length,lie angle ,shaft flex,kick point are all things a good fitter can determine inside a half hour
Keep your tee shot in play. Don’t worry about the 300 yard bombs. No fun hitting 3 off the tee. The distance will come with better,smoother tempo, not sasquatchian muscle.
Practice the short game like there’s no tomorrow. Plant a flagstick on your property and practice the 80 yards and closer wedge shots. High wedge, punch shots , the whole shebang. And obviously good putting is absolutely critical to scoring.
Find some buddies that you enjoy being around for 4 hours a clip,and if you do,it will be memories that will last forever.
Does it sound like I miss playing.?? Absolutely. At 58 I decided If I was going to race again I better get to it and I put Golf on the back burner for a few years. My work schedule doesn’t really allow the time needed to have 2 hobbies that demand the amount of time ,focus and practice that’s needed to excel. Now at 62 ,I’m REALLY itching to get back out there. There really isn’t any feeling like puring a 185 yard 5 iron inside of 10 feet with the match on the line!!
I know I’ll get shit from most golfers on here, but I was one of the few that never drank on the course ,and waited till after the round to imbibe. Then it was time to play the entire round over again over drinks lol.
Take up the game and at your age,it’s something you can enjoy with your buddies for another 50 years !!
Play
I like to scroll through for all the melting prima dona's.
And practice at the range - a lot. Everybody loves to crush the ball but you make your money 150 yards and in. Golf is one of those games that gets to be way more fun once you know what you’re doing. Good luck and don’t take yourself to seriously at first.
I still keep going back though!
Pit Row
The next line: Every day.
Get good shoes, these days they can be worn on and off the course. If you decide golf is not for you, you can still use them.
Clubs: go the local Play It Again Sports Shop, buy used ones. The staff there will help find ones that fit you for a fraction of the price.
Get Lessons, absorb good habits. No truer words ever spoken, it will pay off.
Learn Golf Etiquette! Its as important as holding your line on a track.
No matter what course you play, no matter what hole you're on, if you continually hit 150 yards accurately, you're shooting Par.
You will be pissed trying to get to some elusive number.
It was 80 for me. I started getting pissed off, and it was becoming less fun.
I finally had an epiphany, and said to myself, you know what Karl? You are a 90's player.
Chilled my mind for a while, and got into the 80's.
I know a couple of guys who bought clubs off the Callaway site and they have felt that the condition reported was very honest, perhaps to the point that the clubs were quite a bit better than stated.
https://www.callawaygolfpreowned.com/
Club up, and chill...
My problem now is, since I don't play as much anymore, is I can hit this 7 160 if I hit it.
It's the damn IF that gets me.
I was friends with the accountant for a pretty nice course, and we got comped, and occasionally got to play a few holes with the pro.
One day the pro says, "grab the 3 clubs you think you need, and no more."
I grabbed a 3 wood, a 7, and the putter.
I played 9 holes as well as I ever did with a whole bag of shit.
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