Golf Tips For Beginners (What You Need To Know To Be A Pro Golfer)

As a sport that combines gentle exercise with strategic thinking and skill, golf attracts people from all walks of life. If you’ve been thinking about picking up a club for the first time but don’t know where to start, then this blog is for you.

It can be really overwhelming getting started with a new sport, especially when you can’t tell your birdie from a bogey. Once you start viewing golf as your next big adventure, you’ll get excited about learning all these terms and understanding exactly how the game works. Use the following nuggets of advice as starting points:

Know your clubs

Golf would be much more straightforward if you could grab any old club and use it for the entirety of the game. However, with this approach, you probably wouldn’t be performing particularly well.

Before you get on the course for the first time, you need to familiarise yourself with all the different types of golf irons and understand how wedges differ from putters. This knowledge will not only help you to choose the right club for your shot but give you a basic understanding of why you need to hit the ball differently at various points in a game.

Lots of golf beginners start by renting their clubs, but if you want to buy your own set, seek out a professional fitter. This way, you’ll know your clubs are well-suited to your build and skill level.

Learn the rules

This one might seem obvious, but too many people walk out onto a golf course and assume all they need to do is keep hitting the ball until they reach the hole. While they’re not wrong, this is a very oversimplified take on golf and doesn’t account for golf course etiquette.

For example, did you know that if the wind blows your ball backward you need to hit it from its new position rather than move it back to its original spot? Make sure you understand how to play the game properly, especially if you’re planning on playing with others.

Practice your swing before playing

Heading straight to the course when you’ve never hit a golf ball before can set you up for a frustrating day. It’s better to try and perfect your swing before attempting a real game so that you’re more likely to actually make it all the way around.

Some golf clubs will have special areas where you can practice your swing, but if your back garden is big enough, you can even get going from the comfort of your own home.

Start a fitness routine

If you’re not particularly fit, then it’s not a bad idea to start going on more walks and doing some gentle conditioning before you get on the golf course. While actively playing golf will help with your fitness, there’s no harm in doing a little extra work on the side too. If you find that your arms get tired when swinging, some bodyweight exercises will help you to strengthen the muscles.