7 Simple Pieces of Advice Every Beginner Needs To Hear

Advice is a dime a dozen in golf. Advice that actually makes sense and works is priceless. 

People aren’t trying to lead you astray, they’re just relaying what has worked for them. Unfortunately, what has worked for them probably won’t work for you and probably isn’t what they should be doing anyway! 

We aren’t going to reinvent the wheel with our advice. Everything we put down here is simply advice that has been told to us and is beneficial in improving your golf game. There will be no swing tips here, such as keep your head down or turn your toe out or swing left, instead they will be general pearls of wisdom that you can keep with you throughout your golfing life.

1. Learn the basics/fundamentals

Basics, fundamentals, foundations. Whatever you want to call them, they are more important in golf than most sports. Before you go swinging for the fences, learn the basics. Learn the correct grip, posture, alignment, ball positioning. 

It sounds dull and it can seem tedious at the start, but the proper fundamentals will provide the base upon which you can build a strong golf game.

2. Get lessons

Like we’ve said, advice is cheap in golf. Good advice is not. Go to your local pro or a teaching pro near you and get some lessons. You would be amazed at how quickly you can improve under the watchful eye of an expert.

And this comes with a sidenote too, online teachers are useful and they usually give out some great advice, but they are designed for the masses. They won’t deal with your swing specifically or the very issues unique to you. Having a one-on-one lesson with a professional who knows their stuff can be game-changing.

3. Practice the short game

A 300-yard drive is worth the same amount of shots as a 10 yard chip. Yet most people will only practice their driving. We understand it. After all, it’s a lot sexier to hit that high draw so far that any onlookers will ooh and aah than it is to hit a chip to a solid 5 feet and bang in the putt. 

The short game demands practice and respect. Put the hours into honing it and you will have a distinct advantage over most of the players you come up against.

4. Putting is the most important part of the game

Putting is the single most important part of the game. If you play a par 72 course and shoot 72, then roughly half your shots will be putts. 36 movements with the putter. By contrast you might hit 14 drivers and the other 22 are a combination between your fairway woods, irons and wedges. The stats don’t lie.

Rolling that rock is the single most important part of the game and a hot putter can turn a weak golfer into a very good scorer. 

5. Focus on every shot

It can be really easy to let your head drop if you’re playing badly and to just whack the ball aimlessly into the ether. But is that really benefitting you? Just because it might make you feel better at the time, doesn’t mean it is better for you in the long run.

Focusing on every shot and trying to get the best possible outcome will build up resilience and teach you how to focus on good shots even when things aren’t going your way.

6. Keep the pace

Not so much a piece of advice that will benefit, although we reckon that if people did speed up their play they would probably see improvements in their game. Sometimes we spend too much time taking practice swings or thinking about a shot when it would just be more beneficial to pull the trigger. 

But the main reason to keep the pace up is simply that you won’t annoy your playing partners or the golfers behind you. If you asked golfers what the worst thing is about golf, a good number of them would say slow play. 

Keep the pace. Don’t be a slow player.

7. Shout Fore

Again, not a piece of advice that will benefit your game but it will keep you out of trouble. If your ball goes offline or you lose sight of it or something happens where you think there is a danger of someone getting hit, shout FORE.

If you’re watching the pros on the PGA Tour, a chunk of them might not say anything when a ball goes offline into the spectators. That’s dangerous and fines should be handed out for not shouting. 

And don’t be the person either who mutters FORE so low that even his playing partners can’t hear it. Everyone hits shots offline. No one will hold that against you. They will be pretty angry though if a ball lands near, or even worse, on them, with no warning shout.

For all you beginner golfers out there, we hope this helps and that you put this advice into practice. Not only will you see your own game progress, but you will also make it safer and more enjoyable for others! And as always, if you liked this then please feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with all our latest news and updates.

Good luck with your golf!

Halpenny Golf