Learning Golf

[gpedude]

Anyone know the place to learn to play golf? Something I really wanted to get into but know very little about...Tried finding places that teach. Looking for like weekly lessons or something similiar...I dont care about the place being super fancy or run down.

[Chung Tran]

the first thing to know is the putter is NOT your penis.. neither is a niblick, that is an old term for a 9 iron!

maybe try a Golf Academy? there is one off of I-30, near Eastchase.. it will be expensive and it will take a long time before you can play worth a damn.. but if you get to that point, golf is very rewarding.

[WalkerTx]

Hank Haney has a few facilities in the area...at least he used to...there's one for sure in Lewisville

[aldo3178]

Get ready to be pissed off a lot.

[Sweed McCoy]

What general area are you looking?
Patience my friend, it will take you a while before you get good enough to really enjoy, but when you do it can be a ton of fun

[Chung Tran]

I will add that when you start playing, play with guys who are as good, or preferably better than you.. you don't improve by playing with other Duffers.

and don't lie to yourself, like 99% of Golfers do.. if you got a 9 on a hole, don't mark it as a 7.. just because your scorecard records a 94 for 18 holes, doesn't mean you and everyone else doesn't know you shot a 116

[MooneyFlyer]

To really get a feel for the game before you make a serious investment, just borrow a 7 iron from any grumpy old neighbor. Then hit yourself in the shins a few times, a few shots to the forehead, and finally one good swing to the nuts . . .

This will give you an experience that is very similar to a round of golf.

From an 8 handicapper . . .

[pyramider]

Easier to get a ball peen hammer and repeatedly hit yourself in the head.

[ManSlut]

Originally Posted by gpedude

Anyone know the place to learn to play golf? Something I really wanted to get into but know very little about...Tried finding places that teach. Looking for like weekly lessons or something similiar...I dont care about the place being super fancy or run down.

gpedude, you picked the exact way you should go about learning how to play golf - from a qualified teaching professional...My Dad put cut down golf clubs in my hands at the age of 7, I started taking lessons and playing competitively at the age of ten. My old teaching Pro was an old friend of Ben Hogan's and I met Mr. Hogan, my idol, at the age of 12!

You can find a teaching Pro at any golf course, public or private, and just about any golf driving range...Googling Golf Instructional Pros in your area should bring up names...The game is the most difficult to get good at, but if you learn the 5 Fundamentals at the beginning you will speed the 'getting good' process up tremendously...But remember this, over 60% of the game is from 150 yards in so practice at least that much on the Short Game, especially chipping/pitching and putting.

Start out for a few weeks taking a lesson once a week, till your shoulders, back, chest and hands get used to the motion then step it up to a lesson twice a week if you can afford it and if you stay serious about learning the game consider maybe taking lessons for about 2 years. You probably wouldn't have to take one every week that 2nd year though...A good Pro will probably just have you hitting a 5 or 7 iron for a few weeks till you start getting the fundamentals down, then start working on other clubs and other parts of the game...Be Patient!!...Golf is a mental game, learning to think properly no matter what level you are at is the Key to improvement.

ManSlut

From a Zero Handicapper...

[singleagain45]

Manslut just told us he grew up in West FW, and was a member of Shady Oaks. That's about the only possible way to meet the great Ben Hogan back in the day.

How close am I on that guess ?

[ManSlut]

Originally Posted by singleagain45

Manslut just told us he grew up in West FW, and was a member of Shady Oaks. That's about the only possible way to meet the great Ben Hogan back in the day.

How close am I on that guess ?

LMAO...I wish...This was 1976. My old Pro was older than Mr. Hogan and came from a family of professional golf brothers. I was his star pupil and he told me everything about Mr. Hogan being very private was true and I never thought it would happen till it did...I always played in an English Driving Cap but when I met him I didn't wear it because I thought he would look down upon it, trying to clone him or something!...When he saw me swing he immediately saw the Old Pro had taught me to swing like Nicklaus - Upright plane, big hip turn, left heel coming off the ground to turn better...Hit a few balls for him and then he treated us to lunch...Best hamburger I ever had because he was a God to me!!...Mr. Hogan admired and respected my Old Pro a lot, I could tell.

No, I grew up in Dallas and the area Burbs.

[canuseeme]

Read this:
https://www.amazon.com/Harvey-Penick.../dp/1451683219

[Prolongus]

Any of the public courses near you should have a teaching pro. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND taking lessons to get the most out of the game or you will "groove" a shitty swing, get frustrated and quit if you try to learn yourself. There are people in the 80's and 90's playing this game.

Half the score in golf is putting. If you play a 72 course and you two-put each green, that's 36 strokes.

A couple of great golf books:
Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book".
Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons. The Modern Fundamentals of Golf."

"This game is 90% mental. The other 10% is mental."
-Ben Hogan (I think )

[Chung Tran]

Originally Posted by ManSlut

over 60% of the game is from 150 yards in so practice at least that much on the Short Game, especially chipping/pitching and putting.

From a Zero Handicapper...

Originally Posted by Prolongus

Half the score in golf is putting. If you play a 72 course and you two-put each green, that's 36 strokes.

I'm not sure throwing out percentages is valuable for a new player, LOL.. but good point about the value of chipping/putting, most newer guys let that take care of itself.. and it doesn't.. I've seen so many players who can smack a driver 260-290, but can't get down in 4 from 100 yards in to save their life.

half the score is putting after (if) you become an excellent golfer.. it's more like 25% early on.

while I'm at it, I'll throw in approach shots (or par 3 tee shots).. seems like 90% of golfers underclub..I will play with someone who's handicap is 20 strokes higher than mine, and he will hit, say, a 7 iron to my 5 iron.. so much ego involved, LOL.. bottom line, your ego tends to cost you many strokes when you're a high-handicapper.

[Prolongus]

What I should have said about putting being half the game is: on a par 72 course, if you hit every green in "regulation" and take two putts to sink it, there's your 36 strokes, thus half the score. A putter is the only club you will use on every hole. Unless you chip it in or hole it from the fairway or tee of course.

Arnold Palmer said he wished he would have started putting using the "left hand low" grip. Me, too.