How to Learn Golf Quickly

Begin with Putter

It has been suggested by some experts who write on golf matters that the ideal way to learn the game is to begin with the putter and work backward to the driver.

The beginner would undoubtedly learn a lot faster in this manner and a lot better too. For example if you were to take a person who had never had a golf club in his hand before and place a ball a foot away from the hole and tell him to make the putt, the chances are he would do it. Then gradually lengthen the distance until you had him standing at the edge of the green and you would find that within a week he would be a very good putter.

Often times it's hard to get a beginner to realize the value of putting in golf. They are impatient to "hit it a mile". To be a good putter you must have faith in yourself or in your putter, which is the same thing.

In putting, whether playing or practicing, it is important always to have the same kind of ball, so use one weight and one make of ball only.

How to hit the ball

Then take up the mashie and teach him how to hit the ball with this club and you would soon have him working to perfection in the art of approaching, and all before he had ever hit a ball from the tee. Next would come the iron and then the brassie and finally the driver.

When he began to use the wooden clubs he would know that it was absolutely essential in their use to keep the head down and to follow through. He would also know, if he had learned the other shots with the iron clubs that the club must do the work instead of the body. That is, we will say the club finishes its work of connecting with the ball before the body puts the power into the swing.

How simple this all seems, and simple it would be too, if golfers were not so impatient. Did it ever occur to the amateur golfer that caddies begin golf this way? Many of them, in fact nearly all, begin their golf around the caddie-house by putting. There is no place for them to use a driver or brassie or even an iron and they while away the time putting and approaching. Usually a crude hole is made and the boys gather around and putt for small stakes. Then when they get a little more ambitious and attempt a mashie shot.

This is done often by shooting at a tree and it affords the best kind of practice. After learning how to handle the mashie in this manner the rest of the game is easy to pick up. At the first opportunity the boys try the wooden clubs if they are lucky enough to get hold of any. It is really surprising to see the development then in a comparatively short time.

The beginner should never go near a golf green until he has learned some idea of how to hit a golf ball.

Indoor GOLF is taught with the driver first, but as there is an excellent opportunity to get into the swing quickly and feel that you are doing something toward learning the long game, the idea is not a bad one.

Getting the proper swing before approaching golf course will save a lot. Beginners should remember that first class players hate to waste time playing with a duffer who only retards their progress. Learning the game while playing in a match is no way to get any headway. You are spoiling your own game and that of the good players.

There is another angle to the game too. Beginners do congest a golf course. They can't play the game fast enough to hold their place and a great many of them do not know enough about golf etiquette to invite those behind to come through. As a result the course is held up.

Try and remember that you must keep close behind those ahead of you. The general rule in regard to this is to play when the players in front of you have had their second shot. Sometimes this is not enough and one must wait until they are well out of range.

There is nothing more annoying than to have those behind you play their ball up to you or behind you. Don’t attempt to play towards a green if the pair or foursome ahead are putting. You may spoil their game. You may not be taking the game seriously, but the chances are they consider it a serious proposition. Don’t let them get too far away either, and when you see a hole in between and you are being pressed by golfers behind, invite them to come through.

There will be no occasion for uncertainty if you find yourself up against an opponent that you must constantly watch for fear that he will infringe on some rule or forget to count all his strokes. Talking or moving while one is playing is also very annoying and this angle of the game should be learned too. Stand a respectful distance away from your opponent while he is making a shot. Do not stand directly behind him. Do not move or speak either as this will throw him off and often cause a topped shot.

Concentration

Concentration in golf is everything. If one is startled he will most likely lose control of the club, look up and ruin the shot. There is no necessity for reminding a player of just what he has to do. Some golfers are apt to suggest to a player just as he is about to make the putt that he has this one for the hole. In other words try and act towards your opponent as you want him to act towards you.