If You’re New To Golf, Stop Trying To Do These 5 Things

Golf has a way of becoming complicated very quickly.

You start out just wanting to learn how to hit a golf ball and, before long, you’re hearing about launch angle, spin rates, swing paths, premium golf balls, club fitting and exactly how far your 7-iron is supposed to go.

Most of that information has value. I just don’t think you need all of it when you are learning the game.

If I were starting golf today, I would make things as simple as possible. Learn to make contact. Get comfortable on the course. Figure out how the game works. There is plenty of time to obsess over everything else.

Here are five things I think new golfers should stop trying to do.

Stop trying to understand all the golf technology

Golf technology has advanced and it feels like it changes every day. That doesn’t mean you need to understand all of it from day one.

If you’re struggling to make consistent contact, knowing that your driver is spinning 3,200 rpm isn’t going to be the thing that suddenly makes golf easier. The same goes for attack angle, club path, face angle and many of the other numbers you’ll see on a launch monitor.

Eventually, these things can help you understand your golf swing and your equipment. They can make practice more efficient and help you figure out exactly where you’re losing performance.

For now, learn to hit the golf ball.

Work on a decent grip and setup. Start making solid contact and you can add in the technology piece later.

Stop playing a different golf ball every hole

I completely understand why beginners don’t want to spend a lot of money on golf balls.

If you’re losing two or three (or more) balls during a round, buying expensive balls isn’t a great investment. Even if testing tells you that a premium ball performs best, there’s a practical side to this that matters when you’re new to the game.

Find a decent affordable golf ball and stick with it.

It doesn’t have to be the best ball on the market. What you’re looking for at this point is predictability. You want your putts to have a similar feel and your short-game shots to react in roughly the same way from one hole to the next.

Stop trying to hit every club as far as you can

One of the first questions new golfers seem to ask is, “How far should I hit my driver?”

I wouldn’t worry about that yet. Instead, I’d look for some consistency in a single club. If your 9-iron seems to go about 100 yards, that’s a start. Start looking for consistency in yardage as opposed to trying to max it out.

Speed can come later. First, figure out how to make reasonably solid contact and keep the golf ball somewhere on the golf course. Don’t swing easy or slow things down; make an aggressive move that keeps the ball in play.

Stop worrying about your score and start worrying about pace

I don’t think beginners need to be overly concerned with keeping score during their first rounds of golf.

If you shoot 115 instead of 118, does it really change anything?

These early rounds are about learning how to play golf on a golf course. Learn where to stand, when it’s your turn, where to leave the cart, what club you need and how to be ready when it’s time to hit.

More importantly, learn how to keep up.

If you’ve hit three balls into the woods, pick up and move forward. Drop one near where your playing partners are and finish the hole from there. If everyone is already putting and you’re still 150 yards away after seven shots, there’s nothing wrong with picking the ball up.

Eventually, you can start keeping track of every stroke and trying to shoot a number. Until you’re consistently keeping the ball in play, I think learning to maintain pace is much more important than what you shoot. You’ll also have an easier time finding people to play with you!

Stop trying to build the perfect golf swing

This may be the most important one.

It’s incredibly easy for a new golfer to watch a few swing videos and suddenly have eight different thoughts running through their head.

Is my takeaway too far inside? Are my wrists in the right position? Did I turn enough? Am I shallow enough? What are my hips doing?

Meanwhile, you haven’t even figured out how to hit the center of the clubface consistently. You don’t need a perfect golf swing to play golf.

Give yourself some time to develop a swing and then spend the rest of your life trying to make it perfect. Just like the rest of us.