what is the best way to learn how to play golf

How to Learn to Golf: The 6 Best Methods For Learning the Game

1. Taking Private Golf Lessons. One of the very best ways to learn to golf is to take private golf lessons with a skilled instructor.
2. Joining a Group Course. While private lessons can be a great option, a course you take at a golf school with other golf students can also be a great ...
3. Watching Instructional Videos. ...
4. Reading Golf Books. ...

More items...

Full Answer

What are the best golf clubs for beginners?

Sep 16, 2019 · Me and My Golf brings viewers the best content in golf coaching, golf fitness, biomechanics, travel and education to really help golfers Take Charge of their game. Hosted by PGA Golf Professionals ...

How to play golf for beginners?

Mar 29, 2017 · DO: Learn how to grip the club properly. DON’T: Try to keep your head “down and still” through impact. Let it follow through with the rest of your body. DO: Bend from your hips. DON’T: Bend from...

How to choose golf clubs for beginners?

Jun 15, 2020 · Golf Digest Best Young Teacher Jason Birnbaum says that’s the best way to gauge whether a beginner is ready for their first time on a course. And in fact, keep a bunch of tees handy even for the...

How to get started golfing?

Jul 01, 2020 · Here’s how to do it. 1. Elbows to chest In the clip, which you can watch in full below, Hogan suggests starting by making small swings, with …

How many golf lessons should a beginner take?

As a general rule beginners should take 3 to 5 golf lessons before playing on a course to help them learn the basics of the swing and rules. It is not compulsory to take lessons and only 15% of golfers seek professional instruction but they are generally viewed as one of the best ways to improve a player's game.

Can you learn golf by yourself?

You absolutely can teach yourself golf. Anyone can swing a club, play a chip shot or make a putt with a little practice. But if you want to excel at golf, or become a low-handicap player, it's likely you will need lessons with a professional golf instructor to fine-tune some of the technical aspects of your swing.Jan 23, 2021

How long does it take to learn to play golf?

As a general rule, it takes a beginner around six months to learn to hit a golf ball; this includes attending regular lessons to learn the golf swing fundamentals. When starting, it's all about building confidence in your swing and learning how to strike the ball well.

How should a beginner train for golf?

6:4410:323 DRILLS FOR BEGINNER GOLFERS - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo drill number two is a ball striking drill and that is one of the best drills for a beginner orMoreSo drill number two is a ball striking drill and that is one of the best drills for a beginner or any new golfer.

Are golf lessons worth it for beginners?

If you are a beginner golfer, Yes, golf lessons are worth the money. If you are a beginner golfer or maybe thinking of starting, you should 100% get golf lessons. Golf lessons for beginners are so important.Dec 12, 2018

Why is learning golf so difficult?

The major reason golf can be difficult to learn is because it is rarely taught properly. It is generally taught from the point of view that people naturally want to be able to be very good golfers so they are taught the perfect golf grip, stance, and alignment and shown how to swing the club “properly.”Aug 3, 2016

How often should you practice golf?

So how often should you practice golf in order to get better? Practicing four times per week at the range, chipping area and putting green will help you become a better golfer. Focus on specific drills, and practice with purpose.Sep 16, 2020

How can I get better at golf at any age?

Use these 5 simple tips to swing your best at any ageMatch your posture to your age. Christian Hafer. ... Match your stance to your age. Christian Hafer. ... Match your backswing to your age. Christian Hafer. ... Match your downswing to your age. Christian Hafer. ... Match your grip to your age. Christian Hafer.Jul 11, 2021

How far should a beginner hit a golf ball?

A 1-wood, most often referred to as the driver, should enable the golfer to hit the ball 170-plus yards for a beginner, 220-plus yards for an average player and 250-plus yards for a professional.

What does "mulligan" mean in golf?

You might hear the term “mulligan” used in reference to a second try on a particular shot, but this is a term that appears nowhere in the actual rules of the game and is only occasionally used in informal and “friendly” rounds of golf.

Can you play golf by yourself?

You can have fun playing rounds of golf by yourself, but the game really becomes enjoyable when you make new friends out on the course. Golf is a social game by nature, since most of the time during a round of golf is spent walking around or riding in a cart. If you can assemble a group of people that you play golf with on a regular basis, your enjoyment of the sport will skyrocket.

Is golf hard?

First, the game is just plain hard! There is no getting around the fact that golf is challenging, and new players will almost always struggle for a period of time before they start to make progress. Also, the cost of getting started in the game can be prohibitive for some potential new players.

Is there a rule book for golf?

There are a lot of rules in golf. The rule book itself is longer than you might expect, and somewhat confusing. Beyond that, the “decisions book” based on situations that can arise on the course is downright overwhelming. Unless you have a spare month to spend reading through all this documentation, don’t concern yourself with the finer points of the rules just yet.

Is golf a gentleman's game?

Golf is a gentleman’s game, based on honest competition and integrity (our Ten Unwritten Rules of Golf Etiquette is a good place to start). You should always follow the rules as closely as possible. However, as a new golfer, you simply won’t be able to remember all of the rules just by reading them in a book.

Is golf a good game?

In fact, many longtime players would argue that it is the greatest game in the world. Unfortunately, golf doesn’t have the best reputation for welcoming in new players. There are a variety of reasons for that reputation.

What do you need to know about golf?

It is also not a bad idea to know a few of golf’s basic rules: Familiarize yourself with the official way to drop a ball, to take relief from an unplayable lie, what to do if your ball is out of bounds and what to do if you hit your ball into a hazard.

How to putt better?

A good, basic putting posture is to bow from your hips, have your eyes over the ball and your arms hanging below your shoulders. After that, remember that your back stroke length controls distance. In other words, smaller strokes make the putter swing slower and larger strokes help the putter swing naturally faster.

What is the hardest shot to hit in golf?

Sand shots are some of the hardest for beginner golfers. And like we talked about earlier: Remember that to hit the ball up, you need to hit the ground. This means overriding any instinct you have to lifting the ball up, and commit to hitting the sand instead.

How to get a ball in the air?

The basic concept is that in order to get the ball in the air, you need to hit the ground. Get into good posture, bending from the hips, and feel like your extending both arms into the ground during your swing, like you’re throwing a ball (as you see me demonstrating below).

Can you use a hybrid golf club over a fairway wood?

Once you tee off and your ball is on the ground in the fairway, new golfers may have a comfort level with one club over the other — you may prefer your hybrid over a fairway wood, for instance.

How to grip a golf club properly?

DO: Learn how to grip the club properly.#N#DON’T: Try to keep your head “down and still” through impact. Let it follow through with the rest of your body .#N#DO: Bend from your hip s.#N#DON’T: Bend from your knees.#N#DO: Get your lead shoulder under your chin on the backswing and finish with your face , chest and hips and facing the target.#N#DON’T: Stay flat-footed through impact.#N#DO: Concentrate on the short game by chipping and putting before focusing on long irons (3-iron, 4-iron, etc.) and your hybrids, fairway woods and driver.

Who said golf is the greatest game ever invented?

In the immortal words of Arnold Palmer: “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening—and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.”.

How long has Golf Digest been around?

There’s a reason Golf Digest has been around for 70 years, and it’s because there’s no shortage of topics to cover when it comes to the greatest game there is. But best to keep it simple with some basics here first. When you’re ready for more, we’re here.

Is there a rule for golf?

It’s true, golf has plenty of rules, but you should take solace knowing even many experienced players don’t know all of them. If you’re venturing out onto the course for the first time, really the most important thing is to be respectful of the people you’re playing with and the golf course itself.

Is it better to learn golf or not?

There has never been a better time to learn golf, and if you’ve come this far, it’s probably because you’ve figured that out on your own. By its nature, golf is uniquely suited for a social-distancing world —it’s a game played over a vast outdoor space, a worthwhile source of exercise, a diversion for the mind. To truly appreciate golf, however, you need to get past all the intimidating elements that might have kept you away until now. It’s a hard game, for starters, and it brings with it an assortment of equipment and customs that might overwhelm anyone coming in cold.

How to swing a golf club?

3. Bring the club up at a 90 degree angle. Continue moving your weight to your dominant side, and fold your elbows to hinge the club straight up, 90 degrees from your arms, which are about parallel to the ground . You should feel your shoulders in an upward rotation, and more weight on your dominant hip.

How to keep track of your golf game?

You can keep track of how you’re doing throughout the game by comparing your score to the pars for each hole. If you’re consistently shooting on par or below par, you’re doing really well. In the beginning, you will probably shoot over par, especially on more difficult, 5 par holes. This is totally normal.

What is the object of golf?

In golf, the object of the game is to get your ball from the starting point, or “tee,” to the green and into the hole. The hole is marked by a flag, and you want to get your ball in it with as few shots as possible.

How many holes are there in a golf course?

A standard golf course has 18 holes, or areas with a tee, green, and physical hole marked by a flag. There are smaller courses as well, such as 9-hole courses, which are ideal for beginners. ...

What is a par 3 golf course?

A Par 3 course means that all the holes on the course are Par 3, so the distances between the tee and the hole are shorter than a standard course, which has a mixture of Par 3, 4, and 5 holes. These courses are ideal for beginners. The total par for the course is the number of pars added up from all the holes.

How to hit a golf ball with your feet?

Stand with your knees and hips slightly bent. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, with your weight evenly distributed between the centers of your feet, not your toes or heels. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward at your hips so the end of your club is reaching the ground where you’ll be hitting the ball.

How many clubs can you carry in a golf bag?

You’re allowed to carry up to 14 clubs in your bag, but you only really need a driver, putter, sand wedge, 6-iron, 8-iron, pitching wedge, and a hybrid when starting out. You can rent clubs on the golf course, or find racks of discounted and used clubs at many sporting goods stores.

How to get a good golf swing?

Elbows to chest. In the clip, which you can watch in full below, Hogan suggests starting by making small swings, with your elbows connected to your torso the entire time to give you the feeling of a starter golf swing. “Try moving your body, keeping your elbows at your sides,” Hogan says. 2.

What is Ben Hogan's 5 lessons?

Appearing on a late night talk show, he uses an exercise that was featured in his book, Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, designed to help people form the building blocks of a golf swing. Basically, it’s a three-step process, Hogan says.

Who is Luke Kerr?

Luke Kerr-Dineen. Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees all the brand’s service journalism spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.