Posted: 5/27/2004 12:03:00 PM EDT
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Not that I have money to burn, but I've been considering taking up the sport. I have an inexpensive set of clubs that I picked up a couple of years ago, but I haven't swung a club (regularly) since grade school. Should I seek lessons (and what can I expect to pay)? Or should I just let what little knowledge I have of the sport suffice and hope for improvement through regular playing or what? I know there have got to be a few golfers here. Help me out! |
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to me golfing is alot like both fishing and bowling. The drunker you get, the better you are and the less you care. You would probably do fine, but most community colleges offer a beginners golf course. Just for the basics to get ya started. Just remember to have fun, too many people get stressed about such a relaxing hobby. |
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Most courses will have a pga gertified teaching pro... God bless my grandfather he is pushing 90 and still works as one! Anyway many places will offer a beginners package of 6 or so group lessons and a course pass good for non-busy play times to practice. I would imagine for around $100 you could get in on something like this. |
| Amen and its harder to unlearn bad habits... you know that from shooting, same applies to golf. Muscle memory is a key factor, so learn it right the first time. I haven't played much in three years, I plan on hitting the course for a couple refresher lessons before teeing off again. |
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And here it is; this is how you play golf... faxworldcom.com/lgweap/ad_sheets/gfa.htm |
Oh Crap...don't show me that!! Where's my foil hat? |
| Golf is a great game that I don't play any more. When I played I enjoyed it very much. The problem I had with golf was the logistics of it. The public courses here are crowded. You can play alone but that is a little hard to do when there are foursomes all around you. Basically you want to play through and they don't want you to. I also found it difficult to find others to play with. Coordinating schedules etc. Maybe I could have joined a league or something. Oh well. Instead I got into going to the gun range and shooting. It's perfect for me because I can do it by myself. Who needs friends anyway.:) |
you make golf sound so dirty.  |
| Take lessons and find a par 3 course in your area to play at until you become proficient enough to play a regular 18 hole golf course. A round of golf at an 18 hole course will run between $30 -$65 with cart. A par 3 course will cost about $10 and for that, you can play all day at most of them. |
After you've taken lessons, you will need to hit a SHITLOAD of balls to start improving...once a month ain't gonna cut it. I would hit balls in my townhouse for an hour every night off the shag carpeting...I put a blanket over a doorway and let 'er rip. This way, there were immediate consequences for shanking a ball...like a broken window, picture, or a hole in the drywall.  Then I'd play at least twice a week, and hit the driving range as well. Once you get a little better, try to find a place in your town that will make you some cheap but custom fitted (a la Ping) clubs. Virtually no pro uses off the rack clubs...they al have them custom made for club length, shaft angle, and grip size, among other things. There was a place around here that did knock-offs of all the famous clubs for about $350 a set...Irons and woods. I'm sure they won't last 20 years, but the custom fit will do more to improve your game than anything else you can do after lessons. The only down side to golf is it gets you outside and away from the wife...oh, no down side to THAT lol. It does take up a lot of time, though...you can figure at least 5 hours for 18 on a public course on weekends, for the most part. I've heard of some places having a time limit, but they don't enfore that around here, that I'm aware of. One some weekends at the club I used to belong to, 6 hour rounds were not uncommon on weekends. Getting out on the course with 3 of your buddies is a great thing, if you have friends that play golf. That's half the fun, for me. |
Unless your 80 years old CARTS really are for pussies. My 73 year old grandmother doesnt use a cart. |