How to get better as a new player?

[iodje123]

My background: after not having played before, I bought some clubs 12 months ago. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos, had about six lessons since then, and ended up finding an indoor range where I could get unlimited balls so was able to go for about 3 or 4 hours on the weekends and maybe once a week after work. I rarely got out on the course (maybe once every two months) but as of last month I've joined a club so I can start actually playing regularly.

 

I just got my handicap which is a 32. On the one hand that could be a little frustrating as I have put so much time into practicing, but I feel fine about it as the improvements in my swing are night and day. The question I have now is, what is the best way to improve going forward? I don't feel like continuing to hit off matts is improving my game - those shots are only a subset of what I use on the course and the astroturf does really feel different to the grass. So my current routine is going to an outdoor range on Saturdays for an hour or so and maybe hitting the chipping greens for 30 minutes, and then playing 18 holes on a Sunday. But is that the most efficient way to improve, and is that enough to improve? I have ambitions to get into single digits, but want to be deliberate because I see a lot of golfers that have been playing for years or decades that don't seem to be very good speaking frankly, and I want to avoid falling into that trap!

 

Whilst going out practicing on a course is obviously the most relevant to improving my score, compared to hitting hundreds of balls on the range I feel like all the time walking, waiting, etc. isn't very efficient. And being time poor with quite a time intensive job, I thought some of you more experienced players might be able to offer some suggestions. I know about strokes gained but I feel like basing my training on that is a bit premature. I've also found the lessons to be very useful, but at least from a swing mechanics perspective not completely certain it's what I need. I think the biggest weakness of my game right now is from 100m in having basically done no wedge or chipping practice.

 

Anyway not to ramble too much, but TLDR: after working on basic swing mechanics for 12 months on a range, what's the best way to get my handicap down as fast as possible given I can only really commit to practicing on weekends?

 

Thanks

[MelloYello]

Hitting off of mats is historically easy (forgiving of bad strikes) so you're correct about that. There might be a slight limitation, but then again, I started on mats and generally the switch the grass is just something that takes one or two sessions to get used to. 

 

I'd be more worried about your practice schedule. I don't think getting out for some practice on the weekend quite enough. You really need to commit pretty hard for a year or so. Try and get out 3-4x per week, into situations where you can make a bunch of swings. One of those might be a round, but you need multiple practice sessions. 

 

Establishing a swing and an ability to consistently strike the ball should be your goal. The more assistance you get from a qualified instructor in these early stages, the better. Don't be afraid of junior instructors either. They're particular good at working with beginners and keeping things simple. 

[MattM97]

You just gotta play more if that isn't possible like you said then have to practice more to the point when you play your scores are much lower than before. 

 

Sadly no other way around it, was talking to my coach about the same thing he said gotta play more and practice more which I have been but the handicap isn't budging so gotta break that barrier somehow. 

[ericz]

Achieving a single digit cap is going to take a lot of work, but certainly possible.

 

You probably need to be hitting the range 3-4 times a week with very focused practice. Don't just go and whack ball after ball. Have a plan.

 

You probably need to be playing 3 times a week. 9 hole rounds are just as good in my opinion. You just need time on the course. You'll get experience hitting from lies that are less than ideal, unlike the driving range.

[DNF]

Practice, practice, practice. Consistency and repetition will build progression but not vice versa.

 

I too am a hack trying to break into the 80s (-25). I could hit the driving range all day and never figure anything out because I felt my time there was limited. Now I have a home mat/net and it's been great for my ball striking. I get feedback by recording myself and I can feel my mishits. About 100 balls a day for practice, 4 sets of 25. It goes by so fast I don't even feel like I'm practicing.

 

I try to putt as much as I can on my putting mat. I use the puttout mat with a sklz putt pocket and the puttout trainer. I haven't sunk more putts but my rolls have been more consistent leaving me with more 2 putts vs 3 putts.

 

Above all get out there and have fun, you'll be hunting pins before you know it.

 

[ChipNRun]

7 hours ago, iodje123 said:

I have ambitions to get into single digits, but want to be deliberate because I see a lot of golfers that have been playing for years or decades that don't seem to be very good

 

You have to take your improvement in phases. Besides working on full swing...

• Find a way to get your tee shots in fairway. All golfers can get ball closer to pin when hitting off short grass than hitting out of shaggy rough.
• Develop decent short game. If you're hitting double wedges on holes, or racking up three putts, this adds worthless strokes to your score. If you can get up-and-down from greenside on 1 of 3 close misses, that's extra pars for the scorecard.

To eventually break 80...

• Work on your full swing approaches. If you can get inside 50 yards in two on par 5 holes, and get frequent GIRs and misses inside 30 yards on the rest, this leads to pars  and birdies.
• A good short game is critical to keep you from scoring poorly, but GIRs set you up to score well... GIRs set up potential for pars and birdies.

------------------------------------

And consider situationals...

7 hours ago, iodje123 said:

Whilst going out practicing on a course is obviously the most relevant to improving my score, compared to hitting hundreds of balls on the range I feel like all the time walking, waiting, etc. isn't very efficient.

 

See if you can find times at your course when it is fairly open. Go out and play two or three holes in detail.

• Hit a couple of safety drives and a couple of aggressive ones. Play in approach shots from both positions.
• Hit some shots from fairway, and some from the rough.
• Hit a few shots from fairway and greenside bunkers.
• Hit lag putts from different parts of green, especially if the green is large.

These situationals will help you think creatively about shots. Plus, the situational shots will give you the full feel of a total shot. A clunker that rolls into a bunker tells you more than an oopsie on the range that you can ignore.

[Wooley12]

To lower your HC, some thinks I've done and still do.  After you study the proper set up for each type of shot:

Practice chipping at home 4 times a day for 10 min in your yard. Chip a ball then chip three more to that ball. Repeat. Practice chipping from the carpet onto the couch when you feel confident enough. 

Practice putting in the living room 4X day for 10 min. Putt a ball then putt 3 balls to that ball.

Practice proper grip/stance in the house in front of a mirror.

Practice your swing at home keying on one movement at a time. Takeaway, wrist c0ck, arm pits, etc

[ShortGolfer]

Find an executive or Par 3 course and play every hole as a Par 4!  No pin hunting from the tee!  You want to use course management to give you the best chance of getting up and down.

This will maximize your practice time with shots 100m and in.  Learn to play it as it lies but don't forget to wisely choose penalty options.  

 

[Chunkitgood]

The first question seems to me to be whether or not, when you are hitting on mats, you are doing it properly.  If so, you should be able to take it to grass, and if not, not so much.  In other words, I believe mats are so forgiving that you can groove what you think is a good swing and then learn you have engrained a poor one.

 

There are two types of golfers: those who hit up on the ball, and those who hit down.  Hitting down is the correct way.  There are many, many single digit cappers, nevertheless, who hit up.  They have attained a consistent bad swing.  This is a self limiting strategy for improvement.  It often happens as people learn to swing while playing, as they learn to “privilege” control of the face and the ball-such as battling to lose their slice-over learning to swing properly.

 

If you have learned to strike the ball properly, defined as getting the ball up in the air and traveling a considerable distance by hitting down  (not up) on it, go out and play, a lot, while at the same time working on the range as opportunity presents itself on controlling the face path and angle in order to make shots, then work on hitting the ball high or low.  Do not work on improving technique on the course, play with what you have.

 

Put your emphasis on ball striking, until you become quite good at it.  Leave the rest to last.

 

If you cannot strike the ball properly, learn to do so.  Admittedly, 95%+ of golfers don’t, and many of them are quite happy with and even proud of their games.  It just seems to me as you are starting it is worthwhile at least trying to do it right.  Among other things, doing it right is easier and much less stressful, and provides greater opportunity for creativity, than doing it wrong.

 

As Mark Twain said, always do right, you will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

 

I will not try to describe how to learn to strike the ball properly, as it would engender disagreement and confusion, but at least take some time to think about and make your own logical choices about what factors are important in a golf swing.  Use whatever resources you have, but remember you are responsible for your progress.  Chesterton said if something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.  Chesterton was a demonstrable idiot.  You have to decide if it is worth it to you to do it well.

[betarhoalphadelta]

12 hours ago, iodje123 said:

Whilst going out practicing on a course is obviously the most relevant to improving my score, compared to hitting hundreds of balls on the range I feel like all the time walking, waiting, etc. isn't very efficient. And being time poor with quite a time intensive job, I thought some of you more experienced players might be able to offer some suggestions. I know about strokes gained but I feel like basing my training on that is a bit premature. I've also found the lessons to be very useful, but at least from a swing mechanics perspective not completely certain it's what I need. I think the biggest weakness of my game right now is from 100m in having basically done no wedge or chipping practice.

 

 

2 hours ago, ShortGolfer said:

Find an executive or Par 3 course and play every hole as a Par 4!  No pin hunting from the tee!  You want to use course management to give you the best chance of getting up and down.

This will maximize your practice time with shots 100m and in.  Learn to play it as it lies but don't forget to wisely choose penalty options.  

 

 

Practicing on the course is invaluable and like @ShortGolfer I recommend if you can't commit to full 18 hole rounds, or even 9 hole rounds at a regulation course, getting time on exec courses is helpful. 

 

I've got a course near me that is 9 holes, 1115 yards, par 29. The par 3 holes range from about 65 yards to 130. The (2) par 4s are about 210 and 275. If you can get out early in the morning when it's not busy you can get around in probably a little over an hour. It's going to absolutely give you wedge/pitch/chip/putting practice. 

 

The problem I have here in SoCal is that courses don't often have "short game" practice areas. They have a driving range and a putting green where chipping is verboten. So to an extent you have to get that time on the course. At least if you have an exec 9-hole course, you can do that at low cost, in a short time, and it gives you REAL conditions because you're actually trying to score. 

[ShortGolfer]

I play a New England season starting in late June until the end of October.  In the off season I practice in my back yard and tend to my rose bushes for competing in rose shows.

Four months of practice on a challenging executive course with plenty of lost ball hazards and sloping ground.

First season I learned course management and got around the course with four irons and a putter.

2nd season I got fitted for new clubs and learned to hit driver.  Discovered there was no reason I shouldn't hit a draw as well as a fade if that is a reasonable course option.

Now in my 3rd season I learned to hit down on the ball before the season and am learning to do that on the course as well.

Edited July 21, 2023 by ShortGolfer

[LBB]

Best bang for your buck will be spending lots of time at a chipping and pitching green.  If you're lucky enough to have one close to you that allows 30-50 yard pitch shots, you're golden.  Doesn't even have to be 30 yard pitch shots to a flag on a green.  In fact, if the pitching green is busy, or you can tell that the practice green green is meant to be well kept, I find it's better that you just pitch back and forth on the side of the green and use a towel or alignment stick in the ground as your targets.  That way your pitch shots are not damaging the green and you don't have to worry about your errant shots hitting someone that might be also using the green to practice.  I also find that having a good pitching game using half swings really helps groove my full swing in terms of good tempo and solid contact.  Chipping and pitching is also free compared to buying range balls.

 

I also used to play a lot of twilight after work by myself.  I would hit a lot of shots off the turf in various types of lies, including from in the trees off hard pan or pine needles.  I wasn't always aiming for the green...sometimes I'd just aim for an open area so it's easier to fetch my balls after.  If I was 160 yards out from the green, and there was a group in front of me, rather than trying to see if they would waive me through I'd just practice a bunch of 100-120 yard shots short of the green while they are putting out.  Why just stand there and wait when you could be practicing.  Playing 9 or 18 holes for score is not a very efficient way to practice when you consider you may only take less than 20 full swings in 9 holes.

 

 

[iodje123]

A lot of great suggestions I hadn't thought of - thanks guys

[naval2006]

I’d always recommend a true beginner not to get overloaded with information because it’s more detrimental than anything. Things like off the mat or turf are irrelevant when someone’s got to build a swing.  
 

If you already have a teacher, use it. If you only have weekends to practice, set some simple realistic goals to start with; find other beginners at your new club through the pro and start socializing with them and enjoy the road to learning to play.  Keep your spirits high, be nice to yourself and in golf one may have the gift or not, but we can all learn to be patient. We need patience galore through the round. 

[smashdn]

Do whatever you need to do to get the ball off the tee and in play (that can certainly be developed and honed indoors and off of a mat as you are presumably using a tee).

 

Then get consistent from around 100 yards (or the metric equivalent if that is how you gauge distances).  That might be tougher off a mat as the lie is not analogous to what you find out on the course.

 

My thoughts here are that if you can get off the tee consistently, you won't be racking up penalty strokes.  If you can get down in two or three or four strokes from 100 yards, you will, in most cases be looking at no worse than bogey.  Bogey golf on a par 72 course is 90.  If you shoot around 90 that 32 will drop to maybe 15-18.  Play from appropriate tees where you won't have long approaches into greens until you skill and consistency improves.

 

I really feel that a repeatable and consistent swing with flaws works out a little better initially than a more fundamentally sound swing that is not repeatable.  Your teacher should be able to fix a consistent flaw.  An inconsistency is harder to get cured imo.