How to improve your golf game as an amateur

 

As I played more and more golf, my drive to get better was more important than anything.  I was playing golf about twice a week on average during the summer.  I noticed my self getting better and having much less missed hits.  I also had much better shots as I continued to play.  Towards the end of the summer, I really wanted to know what I needed to do in order to improve my golf game and have the type of skill some of my friends had.

The first thing I found I should do (and what every amateur should do) is get lessons.  These lessons should be with a certified professional.  Lessons will help you with everything you need to know in order to improve your golf game.  Begin with how to properly hold the club.  During lesson, a professional will also show you what you are doing wrong when you swing and how fix those mistakes.  Next, they will provide you with drills to help work on having a better golf swing.  These drills will come in handy for when you want to go to the driving range and work on your game.

After that, I started watching YouTube videos of different golf instructors giving out lessons and tips to improve your swing.   All these different videos helped me gain better control of my golf swing and provided me with drills to work on.  There is a lot to learn about golf, and it’s important to know where to start.

After you have gotten lessons and have found the proper ways to practice, it’s now time to practice, practice, and practice some more.  The only way to get better is to put in the hard work.  I have made it to the indoor driving range at least once a week and will try to double that, as the weather gets nicer.  For myself, I enjoy the game more if I can be competitive at it.  I hope these tips will help you get started on improving your golf game.

 Below are some links to golf video I used to help get a better golf swing.  Also a link to where I got my golf lessons from.


 http://indoorgolfclubofmichigan.com/


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NLsgwPF0pE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJSuNOOJNNY 

My Golf Outing to TreeTops Resort

One of the most fun experiences that I have ever had was on a golfing trip at Tree Tops Resort in Gaylord Michigan.  After I started really getting hooked on golf, my friends asked me to be in a golf outing trip to Tree Tops that very next month.  So of course, I said yes.  I wanted to play as much golf as I possibly could, and from what my friends had explained, this sounded like a blast. 

The first thing I asked them is, “What is a golf outing anyways?”  They explained to me that it is a group of golfers together at a specific location.  You pay an entry fee, which covers you or your team’s (depending on the format) round(s) of golf, raffle prizes, and a banqueted dinner.  There are many other raffled items to bid on as well.   This sounded like so much fun to me.  Golf, food, friends – What more could you want in the summer?  The format I participated in was a 2-man scramble.  A scramble means that each player hits from the starting spot, and then you use the best shot out of the two teammates.  This continues for the whole round of golf.  It’s nice, because if you have a bad shot, you still have a chance that your partner will do better.

The golf outing was on a Friday and Saturday in July.  Myself and three other friends drove together and went a day early on Thursday to play Tree Tops world famous Par 3 course.  This course was breath taking.  The views were awesome and the hole design was like nothing I have ever seen.  It was so much fun.  The next two days were filled with golf.  We played 63 holes of golf that weekend, and it is a fond memory that I will have forever.  I highly suggest going to a golf outing!

Below are photos from my trip to TreeTops Resort.  These are pictures of their world famous Par 3 course.  There is also a video from their best hole on their Par 3 course with over 150 feet of elavation.

Starting Golf as a Beginner

By the start of summer all I could think about was golf.  However, I quickly realized that there is a lot that goes into getting started as a beginner golfer.   The clubs I was using were old hand-me- downs from my dad.  I knew I needed to buy new clubs that were individualized to my swing and my needs if I wanted to get good.  

First, I needed to do as much research as possible to figure out how to buy the right the equipment and how I could save money doing so.  There are so many things that go into buying golf clubs.  A standard golf club set is made up of woods, which are your driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, and 7 wood.  You don’t need to have all those different woods; it is really just your preference.  After you buy your driver, you also need to know what kind of shaft flex you need.  There are two different kinds: regular and stiff.  Regular is for people who don’t swing the club that hard, and stiff is for people who swing the club really hard.  The harder you swing the club the more the club flexes, and if your club is still flexed while you are making impact, it can cause your ball to go all over the place.

The next step is buying irons. These are made up of 4,5,6,7,8,9 and a pitching wedge.  The same flex applies to irons as well with regular and stiff options.  After buying irons, I also had to buy wedges.  These clubs are used when you are close to the green or if you are also in the bunker.  When deciding on wedges, you have to keep in mind that the clubfaces are extremely lofted so players can get the club under the ball and get the ball high up in the air.  The different lofts separate wedges; 50 degrees up to 60 degrees are the standard wedges people will purchase.  Last to buy is a putter.  There are so many different types of putters. 

All of this was a bit overwhelming for me, but I was able to find helpful articles and good information from friends and family on how to find the right equipment.  Almost every golf retailer will allow you to demo the clubs you are interested in to see if you like them and hit them well.   I chose Carl’s Golf Land to practice and find the right clubs for me.  After all of my research and using the clubs first hand,  I chose to buy last year’s Nike golf clubs.  (Buying an older model saved me half of the price!) I also chose clubs designed for beginners.  I’m sure as I practice and get better, I will have to get a new set that is accustomed for my abilities.

This is an article from golfsmith that helped me with buying the right clubs http://bit.ly/1V9AoLH

Another article that really helped me was from learnaboutgolf.com  http://bit.ly/20fEPrP

Below is a picture of my current golf clubs.  I have recently bought a new driver and also a new putter. 

How I got hooked on golf

Golf has always been around me for as long as I can remember.  Since I was a kid, my dad and my grandpa loved to play golf.  My dad would go on golfing trips with his friends and was constantly practicing.  At least a couple times a year my dad would take me golfing with him.  I remember always getting so excited to go, just to spend time with my dad, but then being bored after 9 holes.  I always remember thinking how can people play 18 holes of golf.  Playing 18 holes of golf takes on average about 4 to 5 hours.  For a young kid, this was hard to stay entertained for that long.

As I got older I found myself liking golf a little bit more.  I had a few friends that also liked to golf, and we would go now and then when we were in high school.   As time went on, I didn’t grow any more interested and found golf be quite frustrating.  I understood I had to practice in order to get good but did not have the patience to do so.  Also golf is expensive!  So as the years went on, I found myself playing less and less each year. 

Last year I was determined to give golf another chance.  As I got older the people around me got more and more into playing golf.  Friends and family members were going on golfing trips each year and sharing how much they enjoyed playing.   So my friends and I, who were also interested in picking up the hobby, decided we would start going weekly at one of our local courses.  Right away, I knew I was going to get hooked.  There was something so relaxing about being outside and the quietness of a golf course that was soothing.  Golf can be quite nerve racking at times, especially when you are first starting out.  I knew this as a kid but never knew how to take the edge off.  Well as an adult, my friends and I were able to enjoy some adult beverages, which took the edge off and allowed us to enjoy ourselves even more.

I didn’t even realize that my summer was about to get completely dedicated to golf.   As I kid I never understood people’s passion and enjoyment of the game.  As an adult I can see it very clearly.  Life is hard, between working full time, going to school, social life, relationships, bills and all the other stressful things that come with being an adult; golf gives you a break from that.  It is hard for me to get out of my own head, but when I am golfing for four to five hours, I am just enjoying the out doors while focusing on hitting the best shots I can hit.