Question:
I got started playing golf late last July (company golf outing) and have been reading in here since then. I’ve tried to incorporate several of the ideas that seemed to make sense, such as: 1 – take LESSONS (as an old fart of 45 I figured there was NO way I was going to learn without that) 2 – invest in some current technology (after playing several rounds last fall, and taking a lesson this winter I tried a LOT of clubs (the tribulations of which I reported in here!) and finally bought a set to replace the 35-year old Hagen Ultra’s I was using after digging them out of the basement last year.) 3 – Practice PRACTICE PRACTICE (I have a little local course that has a chipping area where I can hit wedges from 1 to 100 years, work over a sand trap, in the sand trap, and on various hilly lies (uphill, downhill, side?hill) and hit my little 7-iron chips from up near the green. I’ve been over there with my bag of 50-60 balls at least once a week since they opened. I’ve also been to several different driving ranges with the intent of working on SPECIFIC areas of problems. At this point I’m driving 230-270 yrds with a frequent slice or fade, and WHEN I HIT IT CORRECTLY hit a 5-iron somewhere between 140 and 160 yards. My wedges still need work but if I concentrate on hitting the same as I do at the practice area I can MOSTLY reliably get onto the green from 30-90 yards…) 4 – Play… (Been playing local par-3 courses and 9-hole normal length courses whenever possible – usually at least a couple rounds a week.) Anyhow, on Sunday, May 18 I played a local 3100 yd, par 36 course twice and shot a total of 94. A for-real, play a single ball, count my screwups, didn’t hit a single ball into the lake, 94! On Saturday, May 24 (2 days ago) at a different local course of 5400 yds and par 70 I shot an 85 – a for-real 85 where I didn’t lose A SINGLE ball and only wound up in 1 sand-trap all day, and only three-putted 2 greens! Very cool… Today, at yet another course (5300 yrds, par 68) I shot ANOTHER 85, which in this case included 2 penalty strokes for a ball into THE MIDDLE of a stinking little pond which resulted in a 7 on a par 3! In all three cases, I was fortunate to play with people who knew the courses and could give me valuable information about what to look for during the rounds. I also seem to have made a few new golfing friends! So, for those who are just starting out, there are nuggets of usefullness in this newsgroup – it isn’t all just bitching and moaning about Tiger and whoever. Get out there and beat on some golf balls and definitely take a lesson…
Response:
David, That is a very encouraging story to those of us who are still looking to break 100 regularly! Thanks, Ted – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I got started playing golf late last July (company golf outing) and have been reading in here since then. I’ve tried to incorporate several of the ideas that seemed to make sense, such as: 1 – take LESSONS (as an old fart of 45 I figured there was NO way I was going to learn without that) 2 – invest in some current technology (after playing several rounds last fall, and taking a lesson this winter I tried a LOT of clubs (the tribulations of which I reported in here!) and finally bought a set to replace the 35-year old Hagen Ultra’s I was using after digging them out of the basement last year.) 3 – Practice PRACTICE PRACTICE (I have a little local course that has a chipping area where I can hit wedges from 1 to 100 years, work over a sand trap, in the sand trap, and on various hilly lies (uphill, downhill, side?hill) and hit my little 7-iron chips from up near the green. I’ve been over there with my bag of 50-60 balls at least once a week since they opened. I’ve also been to several different driving ranges with the intent of working on SPECIFIC areas of problems. At this point I’m driving 230-270 yrds with a frequent slice or fade, and WHEN I HIT IT CORRECTLY hit a 5-iron somewhere between 140 and 160 yards. My wedges still need work but if I concentrate on hitting the same as I do at the practice area I can MOSTLY reliably get onto the green from 30-90 yards…) 4 – Play… (Been playing local par-3 courses and 9-hole normal length courses whenever possible – usually at least a couple rounds a week.) Anyhow, on Sunday, May 18 I played a local 3100 yd, par 36 course twice and shot a total of 94. A for-real, play a single ball, count my screwups, didn’t hit a single ball into the lake, 94! On Saturday, May 24 (2 days ago) at a different local course of 5400 yds and par 70 I shot an 85 – a for-real 85 where I didn’t lose A SINGLE ball and only wound up in 1 sand-trap all day, and only three-putted 2 greens! Very cool… Today, at yet another course (5300 yrds, par 68) I shot ANOTHER 85, which in this case included 2 penalty strokes for a ball into THE MIDDLE of a stinking little pond which resulted in a 7 on a par 3! In all three cases, I was fortunate to play with people who knew the courses and could give me valuable information about what to look for during the rounds. I also seem to have made a few new golfing friends! So, for those who are just starting out, there are nuggets of usefullness in this newsgroup – it isn’t all just bitching and moaning about Tiger and whoever. Get out there and beat on some golf balls and definitely take a lesson…