[Armaan]

Hi all,

At the prime age of 31 I've decided to look into taking some golf lessons - played a little in my youth but nothing really recently.

Looking at a local centre in the West Midlands for lesson - Walmley Golf Academy - but open to suggestions if anyone is in the area and has had tuition.

What kind of clubs should I be looking at and from where? Nothing too expensive, but I know they can run into the thousands.

Any tips and suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance,
Armaan

[gr4z]

Professional lessons are always good. YouTube is great for some advice but specific lessons always better.

2nd hand clubs from eBay work for new players. Ask your pro after your lessons what they suggest.

Practice makes perfect-ish. Driving range, chipping green and putting. Don't just get the driver out and smash it. Start around the green if you ask me, short game always a priority.

[Lynxi2k]

My advice, don't take advice from anyone but a pro. You can get stuck in a wormhole in Youtube, and amateurs giving you advice is not going to help!

Find a pro with a golf course, don't buy any clubs before having a conversation with what you want to get out of the lessons/golf in general and ask them to advise you on clubs etc. You will probably find that they will have some clubs they can give you lessons with and fit you for clubs based around your swing after a number of lessons to stop you wasting money on clubs you later want to change. I say with a golf course, as you will want on course lessons as driving range and the course are very different, also course management is as important as the swing.

Most importantly, have fun!

[MashinBenzin]

Tip - at 31 you are still in your youth

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Tip - at 31 you are still in your youth

But you should really have started at 4, grandson is having lessons already!

[KRS_SN]

golf to me is (mostly) old men dressed in funny clothes standing and chatting swinging a stick occasionally and chatting occasionally.The lack of physicality in the sport is off putting. I'd rather take up chess.

[flashollie]

I'm not a golfer but I've been sports coach over the years to beginner level. Tennis and White water kayaking but coaching principles are transferable.

Defo get lessons. On a course whenever you can as mentioned above you need to learn in the environment of where you will use the motor skills.
Get a coach who understands you and works with what you bring and you want to work with them. They should be setting things to work on outside of the time they spend with you.
Video analysis is really powerful and very easy these days to see what your doing. I'd expect any modern coach to offer that in a technical sport like golf.
Practice makes permenant not perfect. You have to pratice the right way to hit the ball. Unlearning bad habits is a major cause of slow progression in adults. This is the primary reason toget coaching from the outset.
Do it to enjoy it. If you not enjoying being coached don't carry on. Likewise for golf game with your mates.

I've no idea about what clubs.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by gr4z

Professional lessons are always good. YouTube is great for some advice but specific lessons always better.

2nd hand clubs from eBay work for new players. Ask your pro after your lessons what they suggest.

Practice makes perfect-ish. Driving range, chipping green and putting. Don't just get the driver out and smash it. Start around the green if you ask me, short game always a priority.

As I found out the hard way, no it doesn't! In my experience practice makes permanent rather than perfect so IMO you really do need to get the basics right before you start hitting lots of balls on a driving range - if you don't you just engrain the wrong things which then become really difficult to change (and yes, I've got that T-shirt!).

Lessons with a good professional is a sensible place to start but I wouldn't dismiss some of the better online tutors either - Me and My Golf are pretty decent and offer a 7-day free trial (see link below). They're also in the UK and, from the OP's perspective, I think they might even be based in the West Midlands if he wants lessons in person (at one time they worked out of The Astbury although I'm not sure if that's still the case).

https://meandmygolf.com

[Lynxi2k]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

golf to me is (mostly) old men dressed in funny clothes standing and chatting swinging a stick occasionally and chatting occasionally.The lack of physicality in the sport is off putting. I'd rather take up chess.

It's always good to get the opinion of the last century...

[Armaan]

Thanks all! Really appreciate the input and having done martial arts for 15+ years, I'm well aware that bad habits can lead to poor practice and technique.

I'll look into the above tuition and will probably go down the route of lessons to start, then regular ones to ensure my technique is correct on a ongoing basis.

Armaan

[Armaan]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

golf to me is (mostly) old men dressed in funny clothes standing and chatting swinging a stick occasionally and chatting occasionally.The lack of physicality in the sport is off putting. I'd rather take up chess.

Appreciate its not for everyone, we are all individuals after all. My aim is to do something I think I'll enjoy with my brother and some friends/colleagues in the future.

Not sure I'm making the PGA tour, but I'll be stopping if I don't enjoy it at any point.

Armaan

[Lynxi2k]

Originally Posted by JNW1

As I found out the hard way, no it doesn't! In my experience practice makes permanent rather than perfect so IMO you really do need to get the basics right before you start hitting lots of balls on a driving range - if you don't you just engrain the wrong things which then become really difficult to change (and yes, I've got that T-shirt!).

Lessons with a good professional is a sensible place to start but I wouldn't dismiss some of the better online tutors either - Me and My Golf are pretty decent and offer a 7-day free trial (see link below). They're also in the UK and, from the OP's perspective, I think they might even be based in the West Midlands if he wants lessons in person (at one time they worked out of The Astbury although I'm not sure if that's still the case).

https://meandmygolf.com

I can second this from a coaching perspective. As a football coach and studying sports science, practice makes permanent. When you start to play with friends and members they will all be fighting some quirks in their swing that don't work for them, so start with the basics with a coach, once they are locked in you can practice away. Regular coaching in between will check it is having the desired effect.

Online coaching can be a great tool as long as the issue is diagnosed first. To give you an example I watched loads of videos to see how to correct a slice, only to find out it wasn't a slice but a push cut, so going more from the inside made things worse not better.

Once you have the basics, play as much as you can as was mentioned above there is no reason why your short game(putting, chipping, pitching) can't be as good as a pro so spend as much time here as you would on the range as there are easy wins on the course.

Depending how fit you are, 300 yard drives may be out of reach unless you are willing to get in the gym and get fit. Any good coach should be looking to get your speed up as soon as possible so you can play your best golf.

Whether you are good or terrible you can enjoy golf, thanks to the handicap system, so as before just make sure it is fun! Its an obsessive game and will always win, so don't beat yourself up!

[Armaan]

Originally Posted by Lynxi2k

I can second this from a coaching perspective. As a football coach and studying sports science, practice makes permanent. When you start to play with friends and members they will all be fighting some quirks in their swing that don't work for them, so start with the basics with a coach, once they are locked in you can practice away. Regular coaching in between will check it is having the desired effect.

Online coaching can be a great tool as long as the issue is diagnosed first. To give you an example I watched loads of videos to see how to correct a slice, only to find out it wasn't a slice but a push cut, so going more from the inside made things worse not better.

Once you have the basics, play as much as you can as was mentioned above there is no reason why your short game(putting, chipping, pitching) can't be as good as a pro so spend as much time here as you would on the range as there are easy wins on the course.

Depending how fit you are, 300 yard drives may be out of reach unless you are willing to get in the gym and get fit. Any good coach should be looking to get your speed up as soon as possible so you can play your best golf.

Whether you are good or terrible you can enjoy golf, thanks to the handicap system, so as before just make sure it is fun! Its an obsessive game and will always win, so don't beat yourself up!

Thanks, agree 100% given my post ^^

[JR1664]

Great idea about the lessons. I took up golf at about 30 and never had a lesson to start with. It took me years to formulate anything that could remotely be described as a semi competent golf swing (despite me thinking otherwise)

My brother took the game up a few years later but started with a set of lessons and then continued. That was well over 20 years ago, we play weekly together and he is by far the better golfer I hate to say

He also takes the game far more seriously than me I must add. More important than the competitive element is the fact that we meet every week, catch up, have a great laugh when ordinarily we probably wouldn't. Notwithstanding a golf course can be a beautiful place to be, we get plenty of wildlife on ours and some of the course just looks stunning at different times of year.

A set of second hand clubs should absolutely do you fine to start with. Perhaps get a decent name so you find them easier to move on eventually.

[JR1664]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

golf to me is (mostly) old men dressed in funny clothes standing and chatting swinging a stick occasionally and chatting occasionally.The lack of physicality in the sport is off putting. I'd rather take up chess.

A good walk ruined you mean? I'm surprised to hear this from a medical professional however but doubt you're serious.

12,500 steps yesterday. You might want to prescribe that to some of your clientele

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Armaan

Thanks, agree 100% given my post ^^

Just on the point of fault diagnosis, the better online tutors offer swing reviews as part of their service. You video your swing from both in front and down the line on (say) your mobile phone, send it off and usually they'll come back to you within a working day telling you what they think the faults are together with some recommended drills to help you try to cure the problem(s). That's not to say face to face lessons with a professional are a bad idea (quite the reverse if you find a good one), it's just you're not necessarily on your own and left to figure things out for yourself if you go the online route!

[Alscoob]

There's golf or there's social golf, but the starting point is the same as others have said, having lessons with a pro.

I subscribed to the camp of social golf, which basically was bacon roll / coffee, 18 holes at a leisurely pace & a few beers afterwards, which would take up most of the day. Playing at either the local club or at some other, with a rota of a car driver. Thoroughly enjoyed that, downside was not being focussed /comitted to the game and as such the level played was a bit average.

Others I knew would squeeze in 9 holes on an early sunny morning before work or even a late 9 on the same day and play / practice regularly. Their game was far superior to mine. On reflection I should have taken their stance and would, I suspect, have enjoyed the game far more at a much better level.

I can agree that practice doesn't make perfect! Having taken lessons a good few months before a trip to Portugal for a lads week of golf and worked and got things to a reasonable point, was feeling excited at the prospect of some new skills on the course. - First day was disappointingly average and put this down different climate etc - Second day, I played like a pro, highest points on front and back 9, pars on many & a 1 under par on 18th....everything was straight and true, fantastic I thought, cracked it. Next day up early looking forward to another superb round... wish I had sayed in bed !! Absolute tosh, couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo as the saying goes, was all over the place ....as the week continued similar but not so bad rounds occured......

....strange game but generally you get a good walk and there are some nice views..

[NotGotABimmer23]

I used to play golf a lot when I was in my teens and was pretty good (low single digits), tried to get back into it but found it frustrating.

It's a difficult sport to get into at an older age, will be helped if you play any other sports requiring good hand eye coordination, tennis, cricket etc.

On the club's front just look on eBay, there are tonnes or decent iron sets for a couple hundred quid, go for something forgiving to begin with. Golf equipment tech hasn't materially changed in the last 10 years (regardless of what the manufacturers tell you) so getting a driver from 2010 vs a new one isn't going to change much for a beginner.

Definitely start with a series of lessons, at least to set you on the right track. You can Google some of the basics like the grip so you feel comfortable holding the club. In terms of scoring well chipping and putting are crucial, I've seen plenty of people who hit the ball pretty poorly shoot decent scores by having a strong short game, it is more difficult to find practice facilities for though as you really need to be a member of a club.

Overall though starting at 30 plus and not taking it on as a full time job you are going to struggle to become a good golfer, so if you get to a point where you enjoy playing that's probably the main thing.

[sahajesh]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

golf to me is (mostly) old men dressed in funny clothes standing and chatting swinging a stick occasionally and chatting occasionally.The lack of physicality in the sport is off putting. I'd rather take up chess.

Because chess is more physical? :

[Tengocity]

Great to hear of folk taking up golf still. I'd read that it was struggling as a sport, with many men giving up the clubs to become MAMILs.

I've played a fair bit on and off over the years since I was a kid, and have accepted my mediocrity!

It's been said by plenty that lessons are critical, and I can't back that up enough.

Once I move back to Scotland I'll play a lot more , as lots of my old friends play regularly, and we utterly spoiled for choice of fantastic courses near Perth, many of them remarkably cheap to play too.

Walking down the first fairway with friends, knowing you've got 4 hours of peace and quiet, with no phones or interruptions is one of life's simple pleasures.

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by Armaan

Appreciate its not for everyone, we are all individuals after all. My aim is to do something I think I'll enjoy with my brother and some friends/colleagues in the future.

Not sure I'm making the PGA tour, but I'll be stopping if I don't enjoy it at any point.

Armaan

that sounds like an ideal reason to play. Best of luck.

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by JR1664

A good walk ruined you mean? I'm surprised to hear this from a medical professional however but doubt you're serious.

12,500 steps yesterday. You might want to prescribe that to some of your clientele

just being a bit cheeky. Would be even cheekier if I tried suggesting golf to my clientele(deprived inner city).