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Tossing it out there - why unlike other sports does golf seemingly NEED instruction ?

inthehole

inthehole

Holly Sonders Caddie
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Just opening a friendly discussion ... I've played tennis, basketball, baseball, football, and I never felt like I needed personalized instruction. Sure there was limited coaching through scholastic programs, but nothing near the extent of what people expect when they take up golf. I know people that are hesitant to even try golf because it's their impression that costly and time consuming lessons are a necessity when learning the game. Always struck me as odd, this preconceived notion that many have that lessons are required to enjoy golf. I guess it's partly the complexity of the golf swing & somewhat un-natural stationary posture during an otherwise athletic swing (meaning, can't step into a golf swing like you do in baseball or throwing a football or even jumping in basketball) ... or is it the inherent difficulty in hitting a quarter sized ball with a 3 ft stick as hard as you can to a spot guarded by hazards far longer than a football field away? Discuss ?
 
I think the fact that the ball does not move until you hit it makes the sport very difficult. It is much easier to be "athletic" when you are reacting to something.
 
Golf is hard.....
 
I have never had a lesson and I play decent golf. Its is not needed to enjoy the game just might be for some people who arent as inclined towards the sport
 
well to me its like any other sport... you can be "decent" at it without instruction, but if you want to get any good, you need to put the work into it
 
Tossing it out there - why unlike other sports does golf seemingly NEED instr...

Tossing it out there - why unlike other sports does golf seemingly NEED instr...

It all depends on how good you want to be. I played baseball and football and had lots of instruction, from teams of coaches....

Guys who can reach the top of this sport without it are few and far between.
 
You don't NEED instruction to play golf but the vast majority of people need it to become better. You also don't need instruction to play any of the above listed sports but you need coaching to become better. It all comes down to how much better you want to be and the effort you are willing to put into that. There may be limited coaching in early levels of sports but as you progress the level of coaching become more and more intense.
 
I don't think lessons are a prerequisite to play this awesome game. My horrifying swing is proof of that fact.
 
Just look at how every sports GREATEST players invariably end up golfing and being humbled by it.

Jordan
Gretzky
Elway
Etc, etc, etc.

So other sports athletes usually take up golf since it's a sport that is very very difficult to master, and since the golf swing is anti-natural, in that the swing goes against what athletes naturally want to do in trying to hit a ball, instruction is usually the only way for a person to end up being able to master hitting a golf ball. Sure occassionally a home made swing finds it way onto the tour, but 99% or more of pga pros had serious golf instrution along the way.
 
In other sports we compete against other people. Their skills deteriorate with age and other stuff too. Most other sports are set up so we compete against like skilled people. We get a false sense of accomplishment by having this as our measuring stick.

In golf we are always competing against Mr Par, and he's a tough bugger that never changes. So the gap between our skills and our objective is always evident.
 
Because everything in golf is backwards. Swing to right field to make the ball curve left? Hit down on the ball to make it go up? Aim left because you slice and the ball goes further right? Not much in golf makes sense at first.
 
I enjoyed golf for many years without lessons, same in a number of other sports, my desire to improve my golf game is sufficient that I take professional instruction, I don't *need* it to enjoy the game.
If I wanted to improve at say badminton or pool, I'd take lessons/get instruction, but I don't, I'm happy at my level so don't bother.
 
Awkward silence said:
I have never had a lesson and I play decent golf. Its is not needed to enjoy the game just might be for some people who arent as inclined towards the sport
Click to expand...

same here - thats kind of what got me thinking about this ...
 
In my opinion, golf is the toughest sport. Although, I think you need instruction in any of those sports listed to be good.
 
How many years did it take you to get to 15?

With instruction I was able to birdie the third hole I ever played and I was scratch within 2 years.

I still say I stink, since I know how great real tour pros are since I've played with many.

I wouldn't say I was decent at golf until I have a major trophy in my case. hehe

But in the words of Ben Hogan, you are not playing anything resembling golf until you are at minimum a BOGEY GOLFER, so yeah, you are decent according to Ben's line.

Good job being bogey or better without instruction...

Come on, someone or a book had to show you a grip or posture or address...

Or do you skip those posts even in this forum.

haha
 
impactswing said:
How many years did it take you to get to 15?

Come on, someone or a book had to show you a grip or posture or address...
Click to expand...

I'm an online lesson youtube junkie, watch the golf channel practically every night, read the S&T book .... I learned everytihng I can about the golf swing by just doing homework. I'm not opposed to lessons, just took up golf too late in life (started at 46, been playing 3 years) & know I will never be really good, so I just play a whole heckuva lot with the body I have left ...
 
It's not mandatory to have instruction/lessons to play golf or any other sport for fun. Golf like any other sport a person plays needs instruction to be the best they can be at it with a few exceptions.

Every other sport I've played has had coaching of some sort from tee ball, baseball, basketball, soccer to now golf.

Not all of that coaching/instruction was by someone who had an extensive background in that sport but had at the level I played them it was not needed.

The golf swing unlike the movements in other sports is not natural IMO there is no other sport that requires you to stay in one spot and hit a ball that is still as hard as a player does. This requires a ton of coordination as well as ability to do it with any repeat-ability and accuracy.
 
Bullitt5339 said:
Golf is hard.....
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I think it is the stationary tiny ball that can just feel impossible to hit at times. I have played other sports and usually catch on fairly quick until I reach the limits of my physical skills. Also, the mental side of golf feels much more pronounced than the other sports.
 
I think part of this too is that most of these other sports are things we get group coaching at (not individual lessons) by playing in leagues growing up, or at least have an idea about through other sports. As an example, the baseball swing and the tennis swing are at least similar concepts in that you are hitting a moving ball with a stick. A lot of people pick up golf much later in their adult years when any physical skills are harder to learn.
 
I took a lesson from a teacher once and he said his best students were usually good at billiards, ping pong, bowling or tennis. He said they understand spin and how to use it to control the ball.
 
I think it is just like the other sports. You can play anything and get by without instruction, but to really improve and succeed, guidance is needed. Does a shortstop just know the proper footwork to help turn a double play? Does a tennis player know when it's a bad time to charge the net? Does a golfer know how to impart less spin off a wedge? Golf does not need instruction, it's just a lot more glaring when you haven't had any.
 
It's a ball, a club, and a hole. No instructions really needed to get the ball from the tee to hole. Instructions are helpful if you would like to do it in the most efficient way possible.
 
Every sport needs instruction.
Every sport has coaches and teachers.
 
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