One of the most asked questions by beginner golfers is how do I get started?

I thought I’d share with you the exact formula I teach to all my new golf clients.

Step 1:

Obtain access to equipment by purchasing or hiring clubs from a friend or golf facility.

Step 2:

Telephone the local course or driving range and find out the opening hours and ask if you may go and practice.

Step 3:

Go to the range with your equipment and ask for a small bucket of balls, practice the steps from my book or any advice from a PGA Professional. When it is time to swing, be sure to make small swings to obtain solid contact with the ball.

Step 4:

When you can consistently hit more than 70 yards and always make contact with the ball. (No missed shots)
You can try and play a short course or the local public course. Allow a few hours for this. Try and play later in the
afternoon if you are concerned about drawing attention to yourself. Most golfers will be happy to see you because we all started where you are now.

Step 5:

Repeat step 3 & 4 for 2 consecutive weeks then evaluate your progress.

I hope this helps

Like this advice? The Ultimate Guide to Beginner Golf is available here. Beginner Golf Book

One common mistake that all golfers make when practicing is to practice from the same spot at the driving range or practice fairway hitting to the same target with the same club…every single session.

Let me ask a question. Does this at all resemble the game of golf? Absolutely not. Unless you have a fresh air shot, the lie, the distance and the conditions change from shot to shot.

So golfers the world over spend their time trying to perfect the unattainable dream of a perfect golf swing that changes from shot to shot anyway. Therefore the practice you do, needs to closely resemble the way a game of golf is played. Approximately 14 times per round the driver would be used. Except when putting, the same club is rarely used twice in a row. The ball is on different types of grass from shot to shot. The ball is on a different slope every shot once it is teed off. The ball can be above the feet, below the feet, uphill lies and downhill lies. Combinations of all the above, for example an uphill right to left lie. The game is invariably played in all types of conditions, different temperatures, rain and different strengths of wind blowing in different directions.

So the practice and preparation required for golf is far more specific than the way that most people go about it. I bet you are already guilty of hitting 50 drivers at the driving range with no target in mind and no penalty for a missed shot? Don’t feel bad, you and 98% of golfers practice like this. So you are not giving anything away. If you really want to improve then you need to practice in a far more effective way and use the motto “Every Shot Has A Purpose.” You see, anything can happen in a round of golf. You can play from some pretty amazing but difficult places on the course. So as the title says, prepare for anything.

All around the world there are people trying to learn to play golf. Many of them don’t know how to do it the right way. Most new golfers just rush around and try and get information from a variety of sources. A mix of professional coaching, golf channel, internet, magazines and golf books is a lethal combination. As a beginner golfer have you discovered that there is already differing opinions on all facets of golf?

Golf is such a random sport. Every golf course is different. Each hole on an 18 hole course is different from the last. The conditions on these different golf courses changes every day. The equipment is well manufactured but is not made perfect. The body of every golfer is different in terms of strength, balance and flexibility. This is why golf is such a random sport. This simple fact reflects why there is so much variation in golf instruction.

How does one learn to play golf then? My advice would be to seek council from a PGA Professional either in person or via the internet. Be careful though to not mix knowledge sources. The varied information from books, to videos on the internet will confuse you and often contradict the last piece of information that  you heard. Listen to this professional, follow his or her advice to the letter and practice dilligently. This is the only formula for success. You need single mindedness and good clarity to become a good golfer. The professionals you are learning from have already followed this path over the past 10 years +.

Take bite size pieces of information from the professional and practice this until the particular skill is established. There is nothing worse than trying to play golf with a checklist of 10 things to go through when you’re swinging. Ask lots of questions from your professional but keep it around the same topic. For example if you’re are getting taught the grip, ask questions about the finer points of the grip and resist the temptation to ask questions about footwork, weight transfer or something unrelated. This is the best way to learn to play golf.

My last article around beginner golf instruction focused on reading the greens in order to putt properly. The aspect of visualization is very important in this task. Once we have read the green our focus needs to shift towards alignment. That is, how do we aim in a fashion that will roll the ball on the line we have selected with the correct speed to hole the putt? There is a risk of this article being too technical for beginner golf players but let’s keep going.

Every putt has a starting line. The starting line is the line or direction that a putt rolls on immediately after impact. For the purposes of this discussion we are going to extend this starting line out straight and extend the line so it is level with the hole. So if you have a 10 foot putt that breaks 1 foot from left to right. You would have a line that extends for 10 feet that ends 1 foot left of the hole. If you don’t understand re-read the last paragraph until you understand.

This line we were just talking about is called the true aiming line. This means that even though we want to hole the putt, we must aim at this point so the ball can go into hole. This true aiming line is our reference point. The first object we need to aim is the putter face. Lucky for most golfers their putters have an aiming or sight line. This line needs to aimed as closely as possible down the true aiming line. From there you need to build your grip and stance around this putter face aim. The face must not be disturbed during this process. With your body alignment it actually needs to be parallel left of the true aiming line. Just like train tracks, running parallel left the whole time. These two lines will never meet. You can practice this alignment by using an elastic line and two metal chicken skewers that you can buy for a couple dollars down at the supermarket. The elastic line gets suspended mid air by the skewers. All you need to so is place this elastic line on the practice green and place your putter underneath the elastic line so that the sight line on your putter matches the elastic line. If the lines match perfectly or alignment is correct. From here you can use a golf club or ruler to place some parallel lines along the elastic line. You need to ensure in this order of priority that these are aimed correctly.

1. Putter face
2. Eyes
3. Forearms
4. Shoulders
5. Hips
6. Knees
7. Feet

By using a line or system this helps ensure that your aim is correct and parallel left of your true aiming point. Remember that the hole is rarely our target.

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Beginner Golf Instruction around putting generally focuses on the mechanics of the putting stroke. This is dead wrong. Almost every golfer is worried about their putting stroke. What does it look like? Did I pull that? I pushed that one. Before looking at the mechanics of the stroke the target has to be considered first. Everything in golf is relative to target.The great thing about putting for new golfers is that is the easiest skill in the game of golf to get started on. Despite the complexities involved in putting a new golfer can confidently roll the ball on almost any green – If they are shown what the surface does to the ball first. Most golfers have enough hand eye coordination and artistic talent that when they are shown how a ball moves on the green they can instinctively roll the ball towards the target.

On the putting green, putting the ball into the hole is the objective but the hole is not the real target in most cases. In our sport the green is never flat. It is extremely rare to find a putt on any green without some kind of break or movement in any given direction. Therefore before the mechanics of the putting stroke are examined the green and the putt has to be studied to determine a strategy. You need to ask yourself where and how am I going to roll this ball to get the ball into the hole.

To study and read a green takes a keen eye and great imagination. You have to be able to see the overall profile or shape of a green and work out the overall effect that they have on the micro breaks that you see on the green. Most greens only have gentle contouring with light mounds and shapes on them. Some greens, like the ones major championships are played on have fierce slopes and tiers. You need to examine “if my ball is going to roll on this slope, will it effect the roll of the ball in a particular direction?” Also “At what speed is my putt going to roll over this particular slope and again will that have an effect on the ball? The golfer needs to remember that if a ball is travelling at great speed than the slope of the ground will have only minimal impact on the golf ball. If the ball is travelling quite slowly than the slope will have a greater impact on the golf ball.

Using these questions then one can assume that the closer the ball gets to the hole the more the slope will influence the ball. This is due to the slowing down or losing speed as it approaches the hole. To properly read a putt the golfer must walk the putt from 360 degrees to fully appreciate what faces them. The questions above are asked and the visualization process has already begun. You need to visualize your ball rolling on those slopes and how the ball will react. To finish the process once a decision has been made the golfer must than visualize the ball rolling on the exact line intended at the selected speed and see the ball disappearing into the hole.  In my opinion this should be the 1st level of beginner golf instruction around putting.

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There is one thing that all beginner golf players have in common. That is when they play a round of golf they cannot avoid at least one hole that ends in disaster. Often a beginner will be able to play reasonable golf, shooting around two over par every hole, then disaster will strike in the form of an 8 or higher. Typical beginner golf instruction focuses on the swing. The truth is that these costly holes can be avoided with some simple course management strategies. Here are the top 4 course management tips.

1. Don’t use a driver on a par 4 or 5 unless you can reach the green in 2 shots. Usually a poor hole starts from a poor tee shot. The driver is the hardest club in the bag to control. The best players in the world only hit the fairway around 70% of the time. What would your average be? If you had to chip the ball out of the trees or even worse: take a penalty then your score increases by at least one anyway. So by hitting driver off the tee you are taking a risk that does not have adequate reward. You will need to play a 3rd shot anyway to reach the green.

2. Tee the ball up on the correct side of the tee. Most beginner golfers simply place their ball in the middle of tee before driving. Did you know that where you place your ball can determine the success of your tee shot? Allow me to explain, if you slice the ball you need to stand on the right side of the tee. Your ball always starts left and moves right. By hitting from the right side of the tee box you effectively give yourself more room to the left to be able to move the ball. The opposite is true for players who hook the ball. You need to stand on the left of the tee to give yourself the best angle.

3. Take 1 more club hitting into the green. This is a good tip for all players. Most players overestimate how far they hit the ball. A majority of shots you hit finish short of the target whether they are struck well or not. By taking an extra club, you can swing easy ensuring better contact and flight control.

4. Use the ground for the short game. Where possible try to use the ground as much as possible for your short game shots. If you can putt from off the green, putt. If you can use a hybrid or wood to hit the ball close to ground, do that. If you can chip and run, do that. Avoid shots that fly a majority of the distance. These shots require perfect strike and flight to be consistent. Most beginners do not have the correct technique to play pitches and lobs very well.

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Where do you start when trying to fix a beginners golf swing? Usually a beginner has a poor golf swing mechanically, they struggle with consistent contact on the ball and have little control over distance and ball flight. Due to the complex nature of the game, it is difficult to decide which part of your swing is the root cause and which are just compensations. Due to this fact, some corrections you try to make or advice you may take will have little impact on your golf swing and ultimately the shot you’re trying to hit.

Having coached hundreds of beginners, I’ve found that the concept behind how the ball is actually struck is having the greatest impact on a beginners golf swing, ball striking and flight control. Let me ask you a question. How is the ball struck so it can get up in the air? Do you lift or help the ball in the air? Do you have come level with the ground? Do you hit down on the back of the ball? Unless you’ve received some good advice or coaching in the past, I bet your answer was hit up or lift the ball in the air. I’m sorry to say that this concept is wrong and is totally ruining your golf. If you have seen any good player stike a ball, you will notice they take a small divot out of the turf when striking iron shots. It’s this downward force that propells the ball in the air. Don’t stress, I have a drill for you that will help you first understand, then practice what you need to do. The beauty is, you don’t even need a ball.

Find an area either at the practice range or backyard where you can swing freely. The area needs to be able to be marked. A bunker is perfect, or a similar sandy area. Mark a straight 1-2 yard long line in the sand, dirt or grass. This line must be clearly visible. If you only have grass available, then a a can of marking paint will be perfect. Set up with you feet shoulder width apart either side of the line. Place about 60% of your weight on your lead side. Start by making small swings at ankle height either side. The aim is to have the swing bottom out at the line. This should be evidenced by a bruise or divot taken out of the turf or sand. This is best executed by rotating the body and having the arms respond to the body. Usually excess hand and wrist movement in this drill will see the ground missed altogether or the club bottoming out behind the line. Once you get 3 in a row from ankle height that hit the line cleanly than move out to knee height then hip height. Again making sure you get 3 in a row that contact the line perfectly.

Once you have achieved this you can place a ball down and repeat the same process from ankle height, knee height then hip height. Do not advance until you are proficient at the ankle height. Please remember that a beginners golf swing is quite complex, there are lots of unnecessary movements that can be drilled down to a physical imbalance of the muscles and their structures and also the concept of what you need to do to play well.

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As a professional golf coach, I’m constantly being asked by beginner golf players: What is the difference between a chip and a pitch? The two shots can be defined in many ways, so lets discuss the difference between the two shots and when you’d decide to play them.

The first way a chip or pitch shot can be categorized is by the distance of the shot. Not by the overall distance of the shot but the distance you are from the edge of the green. A chip shot can be categorized as a short game shot that is played within 10 metres of the greens edge. To futher qualify the difference between the two, the flight of the golf ball must be considered. Any shot that flies more than around 50% of the total distance of the shot should be considered a pitch shot. Under 50% will be a chip shot. The club used must also be considered. Pitch shots are generally played with a lofted club, usually one of your wedges. Chipping can also be done with a lofted wedge but the flight of the shot must be considered when deciding, as per the last rule.

The next thing to consider is the type of swing that is employed. At the risk of being too technical for beginner golf players, a chip shot will be a shot where no or minimal wrist movement is employed and the club won’t get past hip height. To take the club back further without employing wrist cock and elbow fold would be extremely uncomfortable for any player. Therefore, to swing further the wrists and elbows must be used to increase leverage. When the club is swinging past the hips it is considered a pitch shot.

Now that all the qualifiers are out the way let’s discuss how to learn each shot. Believe or not a pitch shot is best learnt by doing a chip shot first. In a basic chipping action, little or no wrist or elbows are used. The club is moved primarily from the rotation of the body; back and forward. A pitch shot employs the same body rotation, as the hands move back over the trail foot the wrists and trail elbow start to cock and fold respectively as the body continues to rotate. The club is now levered into a supported position that has enough power and loft to flight the ball for a pitch shot. The same rotary movement is used to deliver the clubhead back to impact and the follow through. At no stage during the downswing does the body stop rotating and the hands flick at the ball. The rotation delivers the blow. This concept is one of the hardest for beginner golf players to achieve. Hopefully now you understand the difference between a chip and a pitch.

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When I’m coaching beginner golf players I’m constantly amazed by the amount of people playing with equipment that doesn’t fit them. Beginner golf clubs are so important because the habits you learn and create when starting the game will be with you for the rest of your golfing life. The technique issues I see with golf clubs that are not the right length are: posture at setup, grip position, postural control during the swing and impact conditions.

Posture at setup

Golf clubs that are too short will make golfers bend forward in a non athletic manner. Most players will add too much knee flex or bend forward from their thoracic spine in order to get the club down to the ground. Clubs that are too long will force a golfer to place their weight back into their heels and be too upright with their upper body posture. This is very non athletic position and it is hard to activate the muscles needed to hit the golf ball well. This type of setup also plays havoc with one’s balance.

Grip position

Usually golf clubs that are too short will force the player to place their top hand grip very long into the palm. They do this because they are trying to make the golf club play effectively longer. What this does is place the hand in a position on the club that is very difficult to lever the club properly as the hand and wrist has nothing to anchor off. This also makes the club play effectively heavier even though the overall weight of the club hasn’t changed.
Clubs that are too long usually force a golfer to place their hands too high into air in order t get the toe of the club on to the ground. This usually effects the takeaway sequence as the lead wrist works into flexion and the club moves to the inside of the plane with the face shutting down. This takeaway makes it difficult to play good golf.

Postural control

If the golf club is too short the golfer will tend to dip down and forward in the backswing and downswing to be able to get to the ball. This takes away from the more rotary motion needed to hit the ball with power and consistency. Compensations will need to be made with other body parts to be able to hit the ball well. If the golf club is too long we will generally see the golfer stand up and lose posture throughout the swing. This is particularly damaging in the downswing as it affects the timing and quality of the strike. This occurs because the golfer is trying to make more room to deliver the strike.

Impact conditions

Impact conditions are effected because of the requirement of the golfer to manipulate the club through impact to make up for the poor movements during the swing. Often a golfer with poor golf club length will add flexion to the trail wrist through impact due to the body being out of position. This makes it difficult to hit down and through the ball and create a quality strike.

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Are you a beginner golfer? Do you want to know how to play golf? If so, then we need to go over what you know (or think you know) about golf. Let’s start with a simple concept. This occurs before you even grip or swing a club. What you are thinking regarding how to play golf or swinging a club is giving you very little chance of striking the ball well.

Most beginner golfers have the concept of ‘lifting the ball up’ to get it in the air. This is one of the single most destructive swing concepts in golf. Let’s go over a few things first. Each club is specifically built with loft or upward angle on the face. This club specification is designed to elevate the ball without you having to help it. This feature, designed with the grooves and the aerodynamic ability of the ball will provide the flight you require.

Sometimes just a change in thought pattern can achieve a better result.
Combining a thought with a better movement pattern can really accelerate the improvement.

Have you ever watched golf on tv? Have you noticed the divots that players take on all iron shots? This occurs because the player has struck down on the ball and used the loft of the club correctly. Yes, in golf down equals up!

Here’s how you do it

In the backswing, you should rotate your body into your trail hip ensuring that your trail foot stays stable on the ground. In the downswing you should shift your weight by lightly bumping your lead hip towards the target and rotating your hips. This should place a majority of your weight on the lead leg. Most players who are trying to lift the ball in the air have their weight on the back foot at impact and have both feet flat on the ground well into the follow through.
This moves the low point of the swing behind the ball which means that you will either hit the ground behind the ball and lose massive distance or miss the ground altogether and hit the top of the ball. This topped shot flies really low and again loses valuable distance.

At impact you need your hands slightly ahead of the ball with your lead wrist flat and your right wrist bent. I advise that you check this in a mirror and practice from inside a doorway where you can rest the shaft of the club on the wall. This wall exercise will give you the feel for where your hands are at impact.

The next exercise I advise is to practice a ‘line drill,’ draw a long line with a piece of chalk, marking paint or simply draw a line in a sandy or dirt area. With your feet placed either side of the line practice swinging the club and striking the front part of the line (target side). We are looking to make a divot the size of a dollar bill. Too big a divot and energy is lost, too little means there is not enough force going down to compress the ball. If you can do this 3 times in a row then you are ready to place a ball down. Simply make the same swing and the ball will get in the way of the downward strike and go into the air.

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