how good can i be?

[cbgolf]

I decided to take up the game in December and so far i have gone to the driving range about 10 times and have taken a lesson(with two more to follow).

I plan on continuing range practice and when it gets a little warmer i will hit some par 3 courses.

I am enjoying myself even though i'm still not even close to developing a consistent swing. I can barely hit a wood even at the range. Thats okay because i never picked up a club prior to December . I am enjoying the challenge of trying to learn the game. Other sports came easier to me but with a chronic knee golf is about all i can do(luckily the doctor said golf is fine for me)

However with two kids and a wife who works in retail i will have somewhat of a limited time to golf.

Where i live i guess you could say we have 8-9 months of weather that is suitable for golf. Once i learn the basics and feel comfortable enough to play a real course

i'm guessing i will probably be able to do the following

-one full round a month (say 8 rounds a year) and maybe another 5-6 par 3 or 9 hole rounds spread throughout the year.

-an hour trip to the practice range on most weeks i don't play on a course when the weather isn't too bad.

I realize thats not a whole lot of golf but is it enough to become decent?

I'm not saying i want to be shooting par in 5 years but is it enough to maybe shoot in the low 90's?

I'm learning with a starter set which isn't too bad . I like it because i don't mind when the clubs get beat up at the range. And since it has all the clubs(driver 3w 5w 3h 4h 5pw and two wedges) i can learn to hit every club.

While i'm here i miles as well ask another question.

Given my situation and given the fact that when i do start to play regularly i will want a better set of clubs is it worth it to look at callaways or pings or nikes?

Or would wilsons , nickents, and adams be fine for me (a casual yet committed golfer)

I ask that because there are some great deals on a couple hybrid sets-wilson deep red for 130.00, adams for 269.00.,Nickents for abot 300.00. I have been putting money aside when i'm ready to upgrade and will want to get something good , but for someone who may golf 10-12 times a year will"game improvement clubs" like i mentioned be about all i will able to handle for several years ?

[ezra76]

How much you want to spend on clubs is up to you. Nothing is going to magically make you better but a lot of GI clubs can help make the misses not as bad.

 

I'd recommend a few lessons to get the fundamentals correct and practice from there. If you get into it, trust me, you'll make more time to play and practice. :black eye:

 

Score is going to be relative to the course. Within 40 miles of me there are courses I could shoot under par on and courses I couldn't break 100 on.

[Boba]

Answering "how good can you be?" is not a question any of us can answer. As you said, you have gone to the driving range about 10 times and have had one lesson. Your athleticism will help if you only play 10-12 times a year, however casual golfers are rarely decent. None of us can answer whether or not you will want a "better set of clubs" however wilsons , nickents, and adams are sufficent for 99% of golfers.

 

Buy what you want and practice as you wish, you'll get out of it what you put in to it.

[par36golfdeercreek]

when it comes to the set, if your the pro you are taking lessons from can fit you for a set of irons i recommend you do that. getting properly fitted for clubs is the best thing for your game, because then when you make a bad swing or mishit...you know its the swing now the clubs!

 

and how good can you be it depends how commited you are! if you wanna get to be a lower handicap you can just practice practice practice!

[thenewbie]

with only 1 hour a week, the low 90's might be tough. or you might take to it and be there in months. hard to tell. when I first began (relatively not to long ago, mind you), I jumped in head first and was practicing 4-6 days a week within a couple months of picking up the game. the firs time I played 18, I shot a 126. I believe it took 3 or 4 months to break 100, and it was a few more months after that before I could shoot in the low 90's wtih any kind of consistency. . .and that was with going to the range maybe 6-8 hours a week.

 

like others have said, generally you get out of it what you put in.

 

I hope that doesn't discourage you. . .this is a great game, and there are many who don't have any more extra time than you who still love to play golf and have a great time.

 

all of the companies you mentioned make great equipment, and as you continue in the game, you'll get a better sense of what equipment you will want. with the time you plan to put into it, it will probably be a good idea to stick in the game improvement category. you will probably derive more enjoyment from the game if you can keep it easy, which game improvement clubs can help to do.

[cbgolf]

Thanks for the responses . You guys pretty much answered my questions. I probably don't have enough time to invest to become too good of a golfer. That said i still plan to continue going to the range every chance i get and eventually play at least 18-27 holes a month.

I will get a fitting from my instructor and eventually upgrade to some game improvement clubs. As long as i can get just a little better every year i think i will ok.

I just don't want to be the guy who goes out 6-8 times a year and is completely terrible.

One of the thins i like about golf so far is that there is so much to learn and even with limited practice time it gives me something to look forward to every time i go.

[Veritas]

You never know how quickly you will get better. I started golfing a little over a year ago and really don't have much time to practice. I usually can get in an hour a week of practice and 9 holes. I now shoot in the mid 90's on average at this point and have broken 90 once. So despite not having a ton of time to practice I met my goal of breaking 90 last year and hope to continue to see improvement this year. Most importantly, just enjoy playing and learning the game. It doesn't matter to me that I can't hang with most of the guys on this site. I love getting out there and playing and thoroughly enjoy the 95's that I put up. Good luck as you learn the game!

[birdie_man]

Get as good as you can. Then you will find out. If you have ability and persistence you can do well. Never discount persistence.

[PurePursuit]

Try to make the most of your practice time, don't just go hit balls for the sake of hitting balls...Work on your short game as much as you can (chipping and putting). Play within yourself also, with limited practice if the best you can do off the tee is a 4 iron or 3 wood that slices 30 yards, learn to play that shot. Welcome to golf, looks like you have the bug :D

[rok78]

Going to the range once a week doesn't mean you can only practice once a week. I usually hit a bucket on Saturday, go play on Sunday and I shoot in the high 70's low 80's. But during the week I work on backswing all the time with a mirror, chip and putt on carpet every now and then, and work on set up. There's lots of stuff you can do without hitting a ball. And when I'm on the range I make every ball count. To hit 50 balls takes me just over an hour. I make sure I have a clear purpose with every ball and make a bunch of practice swings before I hit a ball to make sure I have a feel. Quality beats quantity every time.

 

That being said, I'd like to get to scratch this year so I'm going to probably add another range day during the week and really work on putting. Short game makes all the difference.

[beachgrovejunior]

Its not how good can you be, Its how good do you want to be?

[Ghost_Orchid]

Dont forget to practice your putting stroke...you can putt at home on carpet. Learn the fundamentals of the swing. There are lots of swing clips on youtube, browse through some of the tips here, and have fun.

[Tanner25]

I'd like to reinforce one previous point. Your score will many times reflect the difficulty of the course. In the beginning - take it easy. Driving range, then par 3 course, then executive course which has 3's and 4's and is shorter. Then you'll gain the confidence for the regular tracks. Have fun!