By: Steven Katz
Over the years golf has developed with different opinions among the golf trainers, most of them concerned with techniques – stance, pivot, or swing. These opinions may suit one player but may not necessarily be as fruitful to another.
This article familiarizes beginners and inexperienced people with golf.
To begin with, let’s choose a golf club
Most common mistake made by people who want to start playing golf is that they get brand new and expensive golf clubs in a hurry. The clubs these days come in different varieties as per golfing needs and the ability of the golfer. As a beginner it is hard to know which of those sets are suitable to a person. Almost all get the most expensive set which may not suit them, and get embarrassed at the golf course. Now, then they sell their costly set to someone at a lesser price.
So, what is the way out?
Most of the driving ranges have golf clubs for hire. Also some have second hand golf club sets and beginners can try them out and buy the set which suits them.
Now let’s see how to choose the right golf ball
The worst thing that can happen to a beginner is that a good swing is wasted just because the ball was not suitable for the situation. If the right golf ball is not chosen, the overall result is eventually a bad one, which discourages a learner.
There are 3 types of balls used in golf, viz. Balata, Two-piece or a combination of both.
The two aspects of choosing a ball are,
- Spin or Distance?
For getting the distance, use Two-piece. These are hard balls, and hard cover creates negligible back spin.
- Surroundings
For e.g., on a rainy day, it is better to choose a ball which can travel far and produces less spin
On a hot, sunny day, softer balls with spin are best suited.
Now that we have the golf clubs and the golf balls, let’s see the ideal position to place the ball.
The best position of a golf ball would be between the centre of your stance and heel targeting the side foot. It is a self preferred area, and as a beginner, one can try out various positions until optimized position is achieved.
Getting started
Never get to a golf course without getting a few lessons, as it can be very frustrating if not one shot goes right. It can further be embarrassing and annoying to others who are waiting for their turn. It is advisable to start from a driving range where a few lessons can be obtained before going to the 9 hole golf course and finally to an 18 hole golf course.
To sum it up, remember the key points,
- Do not throw away money for buying expensive clubs,
- Do not go to a golf course without reaching a basic level of competency,
- Do not get lessons on golf from people other that professional trainers,
- Learn the Basics, and
- Keep Practicing.
