If golf seems like an intimidating sport to you, then congratulations, you’re not alone. Golf may seem that way at first only because of the intricacies of the sport itself. However, the more you familiarize yourself with it, the easier it will become. It’s all about understanding the rules and learning the techniques. Of course, these two aren’t enough to prepare you because you also need to practice these techniques before your first real game of golf. Another important thing is to learn about the equipment and familiarize yourself with the lingo of the sport. By the time you’re done with all of that, you’ll be ready to play golf on a professional level.
Equipment
Almost every beginner assumes that they’re going to need fancy equipment when they’re just starting. Unfortunately, they spend a lot of money on gear that they didn’t need in the first place. Golf is a sport with very pricey gear, like balls, gloves, clubs, and so on. However, these expensive tools are mostly for professionals who know why they need this expensive ball or club. Golfers who have been playing for a while know the techniques by heart, and so to level up, they need tools that will take them there. Beginners, on the other hand, have no use for these tools, which is why they need to learn about the correct equipment and buy the ones that they need at this stage.
Positions
New golfers usually take a while until they’ve learned the positions and know how to do them correctly without any help. These golfers usually go to the field, not knowing about these poses, and so their learning journey and training takes longer than others. However, other beginners take the time to learn and practice these poses by themselves, so by the time they’re on the field, they know what they’re doing. For instance, the top of back swinging is one of the most basic and famous positions. It’s fairly easy, and a lot of beginners master it quickly. You can also try different ones like the Club Shaft Parallel With Ground On Takeaway and the Lead Arm Parallel With Ground on Downswing.
Know your Range
One of the most challenging things to master is your range in golf. New golfers get excited about shooting the ball and getting it to cover a long distance. This is understandable because after they master some of the positions, they finally get to swing the ball and watch it fly over. Here’s the catch, though; swinging that far can throw them off their game, and it can make them out of sync, especially that golf isn’t about how far you can swing, rather the restraint and flexibility that you have that can get the ball into the hole. This is why it’s vital that you practice your range, know how far you should shoot your ball, and see how far it’s going to go.
The Lingo
Another thing you need to familiarize yourself with is the language of the sport. You’ll notice that other people use very specific technical words and phrases when they’re playing the game, which is why you need to get used to the terms to use in golf before you start practicing with others. The last thing you want to happen is to pause the game or ask someone what a term means just because you don’t know. The best thing to do here is to familiarize yourself with all the different phrases that golfers use to understand other players so you can be on the same level as them.
Techniques
Just like any other sport, golf has its own techniques and methods that players practice and use. There are a lot of techniques to choose from and practice. This can be a bit overwhelming for new golf players because there are many things to learn. If you’re a beginner, try to resist the urge to learn everything at once and start with the basics first. Understand how to adjust your grip, the “V” shape that you need to make with your fingers when you’re holding the club, the “L” that’s created by your elbow when you’re swinging, and many more details that really do make all the difference. Make sure that you cover the easy stuff before you get into the more complicated techniques.
The Rules
If you’re really passionate about golf, then you wouldn’t mind studying its rules in more depth before you start playing. There are around 34 golf rules that you can learn. If it sounds like a lot, then try to begin with the easy ones first. For instance, you’re only allowed to have 14 clubs in your bag. You can only clean your ball from twigs and dust, but you need to place it in its exact place. You should also only play within the tree premises.
Set a Goal
The final thing that you need to know about before officially playing golf is that you can’t head into the field without setting a bunch of goals first. Sure, practicing the sport is necessary, and it’s the only thing that’ll enhance your performance. However, you shouldn’t just play golf blindly without having any goals to govern you. If you’re aiming to play professionally, then you need to set goals that will reflect your professional aspirations, and that will take you to where you want to be in this field.
If you’re passionate about this sport, then nothing should stop you from approaching it and learning everything about it. It might be a bit challenging, but that’s a good thing because otherwise, it’d be flavorless. Besides, there’s nothing that can stand in your way if you persist in learning and practicing. You need to remember that there are certain things that you need to learn about before you start playing. For instance, make sure you’re familiar with the lingo, the postures, the types of equipment you need to buy, and the techniques you need to learn.
