Guide for Beginning Golfers

First and foremost, I would like to Welcome You and Thank You for subscribing to my Blog. I sincerely hope that the information that I will be providing in my posts and messages will make your experience with golf an even more enjoyable and rewarding experience than it was for me. Enjoy !

In my opinion there are three things necessary to get started playing golf properly. Beside a desire to learn, the first and most obvious of the three is you need golf equipment, secondly, you should have some basic knowledge of how to swing a golf club and the basic rules of the game, and last but certainly not least is learning “Golf Etiquette”.  As you will note I will keep emphasizing the “Etiquette” part of golf and as you become a more experienced player you it will  become clear to you why.

Since the first item I noted as a requirement to play was Equipment, some recommendations I would make to acquire equipment are as follows: Golf equipment can be very pricey so it is important to know the type of equipment that is right for you before you make any substantial investments. Golf Clubs can range from as little as $150 per set to as much as $2,000 or more for the new, most advanced Hi- Tech equipment. My recommendation for someone starting out is to buy a used set of clubs, either at a golf store or garage sale , borrow a set from a relative or friend, or purchase a starter set form your local golf or sporting goods store ie; Dick’s Sporting Goods, Golfsmith, Modells, Walmart, etc.. If you decide to purchase a new starter set or a used set of clubs you should ask to speak to the resident golf professional ( Dick’s or Golfsmith would offer this service). He should be able to recommend equipment that will allow you to get started without spending an exhorbitant amount of money. It will also give you a chance to experience the game and determine whether it is right for you. As much as I love golf there are people who have no interest or desire to play. In conversation with them I usually find that either they have tried it, found it too difficult and gave up or they were into other hobbies such as fishing , boating and did not think golf was an athletic enough sport for them. I’m assuming that if you’re reading this post that you want to learn to play golf. One of the topics of a subsequent post will be how to LEARN TO PLAY the right way. It you want to give yourself a fair chance to see if you really enjoy the game you have to learn properly. Golf is not as easy as it looks and since we can’t all be Tiger Woods, us mere mortals have to work a little harder at it if we want to learn to play well. Forgive my digression, but I will do that from time to time to emphasize a point. My next post will be about learning how to play, so back to equipment.

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My name is Mike and I grew up in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn was a great place to grow up and I played a lot of sports in my younger days. Baseball, Football and Softball were my favorites and I spent many hours in the park and on the field playing them with my friends. I was introduced to golf when I was 21 but I never really took it seriously until I sustained a severe hamstring injury while playing softball when I was in my late 20’s (circa 1977). I tore it while beating out a grounder to 1st base and although I was safe my competitive softball career was over. I rested it for the remainder of the season but tore it again soon after I started playing again the following year. I was always very active in sports so I had to figure out someway to stay involved with a sport I could enjoy.

It then dawned on me. I had gone to the driving range a few times with my buddies and I even played golf once or twice on a regulation 18 hole course. I liked the game but never had the time because of my involvement with other sports so, problem solved – I would take up golf. The hamstring injury may have been a blessing in disguise. If not for my injury I may never have taken up a sport that I would come to enjoy and love more than I could have imagined. I didn’t believe it myself because at one time I was playing on four softball teams simultaneously – that’s how much I enjoyed that game. But I got enamored with golf almost immediately and the rest is history. I’ve been immensely enjoying the game for the past 30 years or so and I never looked back.

Anyway, one of the reasons I created this site is to help the new golfer to get started  “The Right Way”.  There is much more to golf than meets the eye. When I started playing I was lucky enough to have a few friends who had older brothers or dads who played and were willing to take me out with them, so I learned most of the rules and “Etiquette” of golf at the onset. Etiquette is described in the dictionary as – “a special code of behavior or courtesy”, and to play golf properly there are many courtesies to be extended to yourself and your fellow players. These are the unwritten rules of golf that I will go into a bit more on a future posting. (to be continued)