Golf Tips For Beginners: 11 Tips To Begin Your Journey

Welcome to our best golf tips for beginners that will guide you to begin your journey.

I spent the whole day researching the best tips for you to begin and enjoy your journey.

Most beginner tips focus more on golf techniques. The priority here is to make you understand the fundamentals of the sport and answer questions such as: which equipment is essential for a beginner? What to wear as a beginner? The key rules of the sport? How to start playing the sport? Which type of courses to enter as a beginner? And give you advice according to your stage as a beginner.

Always check with your coach and your golf course.

Keep reading to discover the best tips to make your journey great.

Playing with the right equipment will always contribute to a golfer’s performance, there can exist a variety of equipment available on the market,  however, every golfer needs to know its stage and know which type of equipment to use on this great journey.

1.      Know the clubs you need as a beginner

Golfers are allowed to carry as many as 14 clubs in their bag, however, it is important to begin with the clubs you need as a beginner. In the beginner stage, it is key to start with a driver, a putter, a sand wedge which is the club that has an ‘s’ on the sole or a loft of 54 to 56 degrees. Additionally, in this stage you can also add an 8-iron, 6-iron, pitching wedge and fairway wood or a hybrid with 18 to 21 degrees of loft.

2.      Understand and take the advantage of clubs for beginners

It is important to take advantage of clubs for beginners because some clubs are easier to hit than others. For example, a beginner is better off with hybrids instead of 3-, 4- and -5 irons.

3.      More loft is better

More loft means that it will be easier to get the ball in the air and can contribute to the reduction of sidespin and shots will fly straighter. Go for drivers with a minimum of 10 degrees of loft and fairway woods that begin at 17 degrees.

Advice for you

• Do: Try before you buy it, as a beginner you can go to a larger golf shop or driving range and ask to try different clubs.

• Don’t: Just buy any, choose the right equipment to start the game because it will save you money.

Choosing a golf ball is not complicated, however, if you are a beginner you should buy balls on a scale that is based on how many balls you lose in a round.

1.  Buy balls that will cost you $20 a dozen.
2. To compare brands you should put a few to see how they feel coming out of the putter’s face.
3. A beginner should only consider the $40 a dozen when losing less than a sleeve in a round.

Advice for you

• Do: Buy the balls for the beginners, it will connect with your stage as a golfer, and don’t forget to test them.
• Don’t: Buy the $40 balls a dozen at the beginning stage.

For further details, read our best balls for beginners review.

This is probably the hardest part for all beginners, a golfer should be able to identify the reason to play this sport, is it for fun? Is it to become a professional golfer? Is it to work in the industry? Because it will all fall on how much work ethic you will put into, how much time you will put into investigating how to improve and what resources you will need for your specific goal. It is very important to know because it can also help you save time and money.

In this section, we will share tips for you to learn how to play.

1. Learn the fundamentals

The right stance

This is the first you will need to know, a proper stance. You need to make sure that your feet are shoulder apart and your knees bent in an athletic position. For clubs such as driver or fairway woods, it will require a wider stance to compensate the clubs because they are longer.

The right posture

When your stance is good and ready you will need to develop a good posture, try your best to have a back flat, tilt your hips, bend your knees and keep your head back at address.

The right grip

If you are new to golf, you should start with the neutral grip, however, you should always make sure your grip matches your swing.

2. Take lessons and have range routines

Lessons

Taking lessons will allow you as a beginner to understand the basics of the sport, as a beginner you might have a relative that will provide some tips, however, it will never be something equal to a PGA professional that will provide knowledge and direction of the sport.[1]

Range routines

As a beginner it is safe to start by hitting one of your short irons and wedges, this will warm up your golf muscles with half swings.

3. When in doubt go back to basics

If you have any doubt regarding the sport while the journey is ongoing it will always be satisfactory to go back to the basics and the fundamentals, they will allow you to have a broader vision and understand better what you are supposed to be doing.

Advice for you

• Do: Concentrate and practice short games by chipping and putting.
• Don’t: Worry about anything else but improving your game, everyone was once a beginner.

1. Choose one coach

Choosing one good coach is very important, he will drive you through the process for your objective. So, find a coach you like and once you do, stick with the coach.

Advice for you

• Do: Work with a PGA professional that will help you get a proper swing foundation.
• Don’t: Allow your relatives such as your spouse to become your primary coaches, it is often a recipe for disaster and can drive you away from the game (possibly).
• Following these golf tips for beginners will make you stand a chance of building consistent performance.

When you have developed knowledge of the basics and clubs chosen to begin your golf journey, you can go ahead and test yourself on a golf course.

1.  Start small

As a beginner, it is important to start small on a par 3 or ‘executive’ course before going to try an 18-hole championship course.

2.  Choose the right course for your stage

As a beginner, you should start with a flat, short without many hazards or forced carries.

3. Maintain your pace up

Keeping your pace up will keep your game consistent.  A good way to maintain your pace is to limit yourself to a definite number of strokes per hole. 

(Suggestion: maximum of seven per hole)

Advice for you

• Do: Always be ready when it’s your turn to hit and play as quick as you can.
• Do: Tee it forward so you can follow the small steps.
• Don’t: Pick anyone’s ball, even if you don’t see anyone around you.

It is important for every golfer to have the state of mind under control because this sport requires details and concentration.

1. Getting nerves under control

Take a proper warm-up, it will prepare you mentally before a round.

2. Don’t let anger get in your way

You have to take control of yourself, if you take a bad shot and get angry it won’t allow you to be mentally ready for the next one. Always try to remain calm and don’t focus on the negative shots because they are a part of becoming a professional golfer.

(Remember that even the worst players take bad shots)

3. Improve concentration through the play

• Pay attention to what it’s in your control.
• Clear your mind when taking a shot.
• Developing a pre-shot routine will help you put the mindset on to hit the ball as you wish.

Advice for you

• Do: Focus on the present.
• Don’t: Focus on the score during the game.

Mastering your tempo early will allow you to improve the speed and rhythm on which you swing on the golf club.

• A good tempo is 3:1, which means that the backswing should take 3 times longer as your downswing.
• If the backswing takes 3 seconds, the downswing should take 1 second.

It is important to understand etiquette in golf because it will allow you to play anywhere and with anyone with the same conduct.

1. Be ready to play.
2. Know where to stand.
3. Take care of the course or play occurring.
4. Wait for your turn.
5. Respect the rules and regulations.

Advice for you

• Do: Take your time to learn the golf rules and etiquette.
• Don’t: Ignore the rules and etiquette, follow them everywhere you play or practice.

Understanding basic golf rules it’s a ‘must’ for every beginner player.

1. Do not move your ball unless you are putting on a green.
2. Always play with your own ball, do not switch.
3. If your shot makes a landing in another fairway, you can still play as long as it’s not out of the white stakes (bounds). However you should not interrupt the players on that particular hole, you will only go first if they give you permission to go first.
4. Do not take too long looking for your ball, take a maximum of five minutes.
5. Always play inside the golf course.

Advice for you

• Do: Mark your ball on the green so that it can help you to identify it.
• Don’t: Ignore the rules outlined in the play or course.

For further details, read our 10 Golf Rules article.

One of the reasons the tour pros are tour pros is because they built strong hip muscles, flexibles hamstring, and a stable back. This allows them to make a powerful, correct, and efficient swing because their body allows them to do it.

Here are some tips on how to get fit in golf:

1. Walk more than anything else instead of always going on a cart, if possible carry your clubs when you can.
2. Always stretch the right way, and do some dynamic stretches that will prepare your muscles for the golf swing.
3. Choose foods that are lean protein such as chicken, turkey, and carbohydrates such as cereal and banana.
4. Eat before going on a round to maintain energy.
5. Train the muscles under your knees and chest.
6. If you are sore after a round, you can apply ice for 15 minutes per hour to reduce swelling.

Advice for you

• Do: Always hydrate.
• Don’t: Eat most of the food given on the golf course because they are mostly burgers, hot dogs, granola bars, and chips.

For exercises ideas, read our Best Home Workout.

Apart from knowing how to play, it is important to know what to wear in this sport because most of the golf courses have a dress code, you will be spending at least four hours outdoors and it’s good to look organized and according to the sport.

Here are some tips on how to get the ideal apparel:

1. Pick the right shirt, most of the courses require men to wear polo and women to wear a collared top.
2. Wear khakis, they are the most comfortable pants to play with and golf courses allow it.
3. To shield yourself from the sun, wear sunglasses that have lens blocks UVA and UVB rays and wear a baseball cap.
4. To shield yourself from the rain, wear a good rain jacket and carry a  towel that will help to keep your grips dry.
5. To shield your skin from the sun, apply a sunblock every 30 minutes before your round.
6. There’s no need to rush for the purchase of golf shoes as a beginner until you get serious about the game, wear sneakers.

Advice for you

• Do: As a beginner before entering the golf course, know what’s allowed to wear and what’s not allowed, follow golf tips for beginners ideas.
• Don’t: Wear any type of jeans.

For further details or apparel ideas, check our best golf apparel ideas.