Improving Your Game For Beginners

Golf is a difficult game when it comes to improving your skills. I wish I could say going to the driving range and hitting golf balls a couple times a week was enough to improve your game, but if that were the case we would all be good by now. We are all guilty of either not working on our swings enough, or not focusing on a deliberate goal when we do finally practice.

My advice is to first accept that golf is probably one of the most difficult games you will ever play for various reasons. If you’re a former athlete, let’s use basketball, then you probably couldn’t even estimate how many reps you’ve taken on the basketball court. That’s partly because accessibility to practice basketball is quite simple between playing on public courts or at a local gym. Imagine having to put as much time into anything you’re currently good at, and replicate that process with golf. Are you willing to do that?

The main thing I hear from players is they “just want to be more consistent.” Seems like a simple enough goal, right? If you managed a restaurant and your cooks were turning out an inconsistent product, would you want them to train their skills 1 hour a week, 2 hours per week, 5, 10, 20, 40, or more? Would you believe that if a cook took 6 months off, winter for golfers, they would comes back and be as sharp as ever? What if they needed to learn a completely new menu, new golf course, when they came back? How much time would you expect them to work and how much training would you expect for them to be proficient?

I would define a beginner golfer, as someone who puts 10 hours or less a week into their golf game. An Amateur Golfer would be 10-20 hours per week. A Professional would be 20-30 hours per week, and a Tour Professional would be 30 to 40 hours per week.

You could trust an employee that works 20-30 hours a week to be consistent. You could trust an employee to do minor tasks efficiently if they put in 10-20 hours per week. Your employee that works less than 10 hours per week, is probably sweeping the floors and you probably have to double check their work afterwards.

This is the reality of the amount of time and effort it takes to consistently improve. It may not be possible based on the time you have to get as good as you want.

My advice then would be to start with much simpler fundamentals like learning how to Putt. There’s plenty of technique elements in putting that translate to other parts of your game. Distance control, Aim, Direction control, Reading Greens, etc. You have to train yourself to practice effectively and that means being aware of how to play the game intelligently. Don’t be overconfident to the point you don’t think you have to practice what good players do. Golf is hard because we make it hard.

If you’re unwilling to practice as much as needed to improve consistently, then just try and enjoy yourself when you play. Celebrate the good shots and move on. It’s just a game. If you want more out of it, then you’ll have to become a golf addict lol.