Beginning Golfer Shoots Lower Score

by Jerry Stein

Golf is a great way to enjoy time with your family and friends. Whether you play a leisure round of nine holes or are able to enjoy a full round of eighteen holes, the game of golf is rewarding on many levels. The best news is every beginning golfer can shoot a resonable score.

A beginner only needs a handful of items to get started. A few lofted golf clubs, say a nine and seven iron, and a putter. If you want, grab a metal wood, but no more than a five wood. Gather some golf balls, tees, a towel, and throw your stuff in a golf bag. You are ready to play some golf!

You are probably wondering about all the other clubs and why they were left out. They are for the golfer who is ready to mix playing golf with practicing golf. If it makes you feel less awkward, take the full set of clubs with you, just use the ones mentioned until you are comfortable with your golfing abilities. Let me explain myself.

Golf is a sport. Like all other sports a score determines the winner. In golf the lowest score or fewest strokes win. Most people who play sports enjoy competition. Why not learn how to play golf to win from the very beginning. After all an early success will bring you back to the golf course sooner. And I don't know of a better place to be than on a golf course.

If you are playing with others of your same ability you need to learn how to score the lowest. This is why you are only using a few clubs for now. If you can keep the ball moving forward towards the target (the flag) instead of sideways (the direction most beginners hit towards) you will always score lower than you opponent. The clubs that are easiest to hit are the ones with the most loft, your seven and nine iron. These will never travel as far as your opponent's big dog, (their driver or 1 metal) but they have a greater chance of moving the ball in the direction of your target. So it may take you six or seven shots down the fairway to reach the green, chances are your score will be less than your playing opponent when totaled.

Making solid contact with the golf ball will always win the game. Using the higher lofted clubs will have you hitting the ball with precise contact faster than any other club in the bag, except your putter. When you can stand at address over a golf ball with a seven or nine iron and hit a good shot seven out of nine times you can expand your club selection to any other club. I use this technique when teaching beginners to play and they are my proof that it works. The confidence you gain from hitting good shots by making solid contact will show up with every other club once you master the higher lofted irons.

About the Author

Jerry and Janet Strain have been golfing for over 20 years. Both play with single digit handicaps and are fiercely opposed in couple's tournaments. Recently Janet opened an off course golf apparel store focused on the needs of women golfers everywhere. Visit Lady O' Golf for fashionable golf apparel, news, and informative articles. http://ladyogolf.com