How Can I Teach Myself Golf?

Taking up a hobby is far from easy. As you paddle up with the gears and outfits, you need to have much more than just passion so that you go about the right way. Passion may fuel your drive, but if you don’t have the right teachers, you may adopt practices that are not correct. Hence, it is only ideal to get professional help to guide you through the training sessions. However, if you still want to start with the basics, here is a guide to know what is what so that you have the upper hand at the next beginners’ sessions!

Get the right set of equipment!

Golf is an expensive game. You have to invest if you want to keep improving your game as the accessories never end. But for a beginners guide (or if you are taking it up as a hobby), you don’t need a 14-piece set. And anyway, you won’t be using all of them in the long run too. As your game progresses and you get to know your favorites, your clubs would eventually come down to five or six essential ones.

However, the sets usually include many types of clubs, so either invest or you can start practice sessions with a used set to know what and where to invest.

But, sadly enough, the investment doesn’t stop at the clubs and balls. You must have other gears like tees, balls, a divot tool, and a golf bag. With these basic things, you can start focusing on improving your game without worrying about the tools.

Swing around with the clubs

Let the initial curiosity ride you and enjoy the days swinging the clubs and getting the right feel instead of diving into the hard and fast rules of do’s and don’ts. Don’t burden yourself with even hitting the ball right in the starting days, as long as you can swing and hold the position. Then, once your body gets acclimatized to the swinging and the force, look forward to fine-tuning your positions and grips.

When you are trying to learn it yourself, there is no better teacher than the visuals. Take a look at the videos and clippings of professional golfers and trainers on how they perform the swing. Observe and replicate them in your sessions.

Truthfully speaking, there is no standard way of going about it. The basic dynamics of swings are tweaked here and there to accommodate the wielder’s strength and weakness. Professional assistance helps to identify and work on them. However, when you are on your own, the trial-and-error method will help you understand what works better where!

Find yourself a practice range and start from the very basic. Yes, from the way your hands wrap firmly around the club to the position and height, don’t overlook any of them because correcting wrong learning takes a lot more time than learning new things.

The basics

Here is theoretically how you should match up your postures and grip.

The correct grip

Grip might sound too basic to start with. After all, how much can you go wrong with holding a thing, right? Well, you need to know a correct hold is the foundation of the sport. The grip determines how you swing the ball, and much force is converted into action.

The below guide is for right-handed people.

1. Grab the club with your left hand

   Ensure that the club is held using the grip of your pads rather than the palm. Stretch the fingers and position the club such that your fingers can wrap around the club with the tip resting on the pad. Place the thumb facing down the shaft.

2. There are three kinds of grip you can use:

   • Ten fingers:

     Overlap your right-hand fingers on the club next to your left hand. Make sure the grips are tightly pressed against each other without any gap. Though many professionals don’t recommend this grip, you might find your beginner days more comfortable using this grip. As all your fingers touch the club, you have better control and power over the club.

   • The overlapping grip:

     Here, the pinky finger of the right-hand overlaps the left hand. The pinky fingers either sit on top of the index finger or is lodged in the groove between the index and the middle finger. The latter one gives additional security.

   • Interlocking grip:

     A more advanced style, the interlocking allows you have additional security. For example, the pinky finger of the right hand and the index finger of the left hand are interlocked.

3. In addition, each of the clubs has a different positioning. After mastering the basic hold, look up how to hold a driver and putter.
4. Double-check for any common mistakes that many of the people make regarding the grip. Avoid gripping up. If you cannot see the tip of the club while holding it, it is most likely that you are holding it too up.
5. Make sure the grip is held together close to each other. Avoid having gaps between hands.
6. Holding the grip too tight might result in calluses. Therefore, find a middle ground or consider gloves.

How to position the club and the body

The next thing to look after grip is to hold the club right. Here is how to hold them correctly.

1. Ensure that your club is straight. The clubhead should sit behind the ball. Fasten the club with a grip you desire.
2. Get width of stance such that the ball occupies the center position.
3. Your distance from the ball depends on where the ball is and how much space you have for the swing to take place. An efficient strike requires you to have a space between the club and leg so that the swing can deliver the force.
4. There is a perfect posture for golfers, wherein they are wanted to have a straight back leaning their body towards the ball, with a little bend at the hips and knee. In addition, the longer your club is, you are expected to see a slight stretch in your arms. However, the key is to be comfortable and not let your swing get limited.

When to move from the practice range to the golf course?

The practice sessions on the range will help you better your swing. However, replicating the success on course will take a long time. In the range, try to learn the different types of shots with different sets of the clubs.

However, don’t limit yourself just by practicing the airborne shots in the range. Try to accommodate the off-line shots and improve the game. Once you feel confident enough with the shots, you can move to the golf course and try out replicating your learnings on the course.