Guide for Beginning Golfers

Practicing putting may be obvious advice but many players Do Not spend enough time on this important aspect of the game. Over half of the total golf score is made on the putting green so you can see it is critical to limit the strokes there if you want to improve your golf scores.

A few tips I can offer are as follows: 1) Spend at least ten to fifteen minutes on the practice green before your golf round to get a feel for your putting tempo and the speed of the greens that day 2) Keep your head down until the golf balls drop in the cup or at least until well after the ball is struck and on its way 3) View the putt from at least two directions to get a TRUER feel of how the green slopes 4) Line up the lettering on the golf ball with the intended line of the putt 5) Always try to go past the hole to allow yourself a chance for making each putt.

I think we covered most of the important tactics to help improve your putting. Practice them and I’m sure your scores will drop accordingly too. Happy Golfing to All!

More than half the strokes of a persons golf score is made on the putting green. So for better scores it pays  to dedicate a fair amount of practice time working on your putting skills. In the past I have been a streaky putter. Some days I can’t drop one for nothing and others I sink every putt I hit into the cup. The latter is naturally the preference and since I made some adjustments in my set up and putting technique they have made me more consistent on the green.

Direction and speed are the two key components to the putt. It may take some time to be able to read the slope of the green to determine direction. This ability will come from practice and experience as you play. Some techniques I now utilize to aid with consistency in putting are the following:

1) Line up the writing on the golf balls and place your ball on using this line in conjunction with the read you determined after viewing the slope of the green.

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The “Putt” is the stroke or shot in golf once your ball has landed on the green. This shot calls for rolling the ball toward the flagstick or cup if the flag has already been removed and is normally made using the putter. The putter is the club which has the least loft and a relatively flat face. If you have followed parts one thru eight in “Playing Your First Golf Round” then you have progressed from making your first tee time reservation, arriving at the golf course, the first tee jitters, hitting your clubs and progressing down the fairway and finally reaching the green. Congratulations !

There are two key ingredients to making a good putt, Speed and Direction. Because the green usually slopes in different directions it is key to learn how to read the slope of the green. The five main different types of putts normally encountered are Uphill, Downhill, Left To Right, Right To Left and Straight. For an uphill putt the ball must be struck harder in order to make it up the incline slope. The opposite holds true for a downhill putt because the ball will have a tendency to accelerate down the slope depending on the severity of the decline of that slope. A left to right putt will do exactly what it says – go from left to right. This means that you will aim your ball toward a target or line left of the cup and the opposite holds true for a right to left putt. The amount of distance left or right again depends on the severity of the slope of the green. There are also double breaking putts and even triple, which are usually associated with longer putts on very undulating greens, but that is a discussion for another time. When first starting to putt I would advise to aim directly at the cup or flagstick and experiment to get a feel for both speed and direction. These two ingredients of putting are critical to ultimately scoring well at golf. More than half of the total strokes of a persons score are usually made on the putting green.

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In parts 1 thru 7 we discussed all aspects of a persons first golf round from the reservation of the tee time to arrival at the course and the first tee box jitters and you, hypothethically, have now advanced the ball to the greenside area. As noted in Part 7 you can chip the ball with your irons or wedges and get close if you have some green and an opening to the flag location to work with. If you are in front of a sand trap or have some other obstacle between you and your target it may call for another type of shot. I DO NOT proclaim to be a golf professional but I can impart knowledge to you that works for me after 30 plus years of playing, reading and experimenting with the different aspects, strategies and shots required to play the game of golf.

As stated earlier if there is an obstacle in the way of your approach, such as a sand trap or tree, it will require a different strategy which will depend on the distance from clearing the aforementioned obstacle to reaching the flag or hole location. The most important thing is to concentrate on the shot on hand and follow thru to a finished position. The strategy I use to get over an obstacle quickly is to set up with a higher lofted club such as the sand or lob wedge with the club nearer my left foot and laid open so the ball pops up faster than normal. The term laid open means the club face is approaching a flat position with the blade pointing upward in relation to your stance and the ground. I also break my wrists back sharply and quickly which also promotes height and less distance, which is not your goal for this type of shot. Remember to follow thru to a finished position or there is a good chance you will leave the shot short of your intended landing area. You can try this shot even if there is no obstacle in your way and get a feel for the line of ball flight you will achieve for future reference under actual conditons. How close you get to your target will be determined by the distance away and the amount of follow thru combined with the speed of your swing thru the ball at impact. Accuracy and distance will come with practice but the main goal is to get over the obstacle and onto the green and not in a sand trap, tree, water or other hazard that may lie in front of you. This is one of the tougher shots required in golf so if you master this one it will help your game and score tremendously. Next Part 9 – The Putt. Happy Golfing to all !

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In parts one thru five of “Scheduling and Playing your First Golf Round” we discussed scheduling your tee time, the first tee, hitting the ball in the fairway, some rules of etiquette, and approaching the green. The green, which as noted earlier is the tightly mowed area of grass that surrounds the flagstick and cup, is a most important area of the golf course because almost half of your golf score will be determined by how well you do with your chipping, putting and bunker or sand play on or around the green.

You have now hit your approach shot and you are on or near the green. The strategies utilized here will greatly effect how well you will score. If you are near the green and have a clear opening to the flag then you have a few options in your approach. You can either use a more lofted club such as a pitching, lob or sand wedge or you can utilize what is called the bump and run technique with a less lofted club such as the 7, 8, or 9 iron. The more lofted clubs are harder to hit and achieve consistent results with accuracy and nearness to the cup after the shot. The professional golfer will use this method and these clubs proficiently because of the hours of practice that he has put in to perfect the feel with each individual club. When you have reached a certain level of expertise then you will know which club will work the best for you under any given shot requirement. In my opinion the bump and run, especially for the beginning golfer, will give you the best odds for getting closer to the pin if you are on the fringe or have a clear approach to the flagstick. The key to a consistently successful shot here is practice as is the key with most any part of the game. The method I would recommend for the beginner is to set up your body and alignment as if you were going to putt, maybe a bit open to the hole ( which means your right shoulder will be slightly forward of alignment to your left – for right handed golfers and opposite for left handers ) and lean your weight toward your left side ( for right handed golfers – the right side for left handed golfers ), and set the ball slightly right of center toward your right foot ( again for right handed golfers ), close the clubface a bit and hit the ball as if you were hitting a putt but with a slightly more descending blow and be sure to follow thru about as far as you took the club back. Whether you use a 7, 8, or 9 iron will depend on distance and elevation of the green to the flag. If the green is sloping uphill you will want to use a less lofted club such as the 7 iron to ensure additional roll after the ball lands to get up the incline of the green nearer to the flag as the ball comes to a stop. If you have less green to work with or the green is sloping downhill you will want to use a more lofted club such as the 9 iron or pitching wedge so the ball will stop faster after it lands on the green. As stated earlier the proper club selection for you will only come with practice and playing time. One other tip I will offer that I found works well for me is to keep your head down until well after the ball is struck and allow minimal body movement as it is not required for this type of shot. The hips may rotate slightly open toward the target but that is about it. Practice, Practice, Practice will make perfect. Have fun and Happy Golfing to All ! Part 7 – Other greenside shots and The Putt.

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