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How long did it take you to get "good" at golf?

clidefr0g

clidefr0g

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Im looking for low handicappers here, around 0. How long did it take you to get there? What were the hardest thresholds to overcome?

Ive been playing golf for only about 3 months, My first game out I shot like 117 or something, next game was 101, then 100 101 99, then I took a jump again, to 94, 94, 96, a 40 on 9, then a 92 and I just hit my best last weekend an 86 that could have been a LOT better had my little brother not been annoying the ever living **** out of me.

I know this is a lofty dream, but as I was doing random golf research I came across a clip that essentially said "if you can score an average 72 you could be a millionaire" then went into describing that you could keep pace on the tour with a 72 average, you may never win but you will make a good living playing golf. So obviously that sounds like an attractive goal to shoot for.
 
Shooting even par on what we do/play is nothing like shooting even par in a PGA Tour event.
The worst player on even the smallest mini tour is still better than a scratch golfer in almost every case.

But good on you for picking up the game, and enjoying it.
 
Where to start... Golf is hard? If you are young and have all the time in world to devote to getting better, the skys the limit and chase your dream. If you're 30 and just started 3 months ago might need to wait untilt eh senior tour if ever. Either way playing with the pros isnt easy.
 
JB said:
Shooting even par on what we do/play is nothing like shooting even par in a PGA Tour event.
The worst player on even the smallest mini tour is still better than a scratch golfer in almost every case.

But good on you for picking up the game, and enjoying it.
Click to expand...

This. I played high school golf with a guy that played d1 golf and went on to the mini tours. He said in his first event the winning score was like-23 after the three rounds. It was Zach Johnson.
 
Being "good" at golf and shooting low scores is hard.

Enjoying golf while shooting a high number is hard, but much more doable.

I enjoy being outside golfing. I enjoy either being on a course with my thoughts (it gets quiet), or being on the course with friends or family. Sometimes the jokes and stories told are more than enough to get over a bad shot. Learn to laugh at yourself and you will enjoy golf so much more.
 
Here's a guy who started a couple years ago, determined to put 10,000 focused hours of practice in. He had never played before he started this journey. He is just over halfway to 10,000 hours, and he recently got his index below 4 for the first time:

http://thedanplan.com/
 
Going from 90 to 80 is quite easy, relatively speaking. Going from 80 to 75 is 10x harder than anything you've done before. Going from 75 to under par....well I'm still working on that and it's been 10 years with lessons and coaches.

To be totally honest, I've found it best to keep it to myself what my goals are when it comes to golf. Naysayers pop out of everywhere to tell you it's highly unlikely and even impossible to reach pro status.
 
How long?

No idea.....I'm still trying.
 
Erky said:
Here's a guy who started a couple years ago, determined to put 10,000 focused hours of practice in. He had never played before he started this journey. He is just over halfway to 10,000 hours, and he recently got his index below 4 for the first time:

http://thedanplan.com/
Click to expand...

How have I not heard of this. This is my lotto dream right here.
 
Hell, it took me 4+ years to break 100 consistently. I was ages 10-14 at the time, but still, 4 years of practicing a lot seemed like quite a bit of work for even that milestone.

I get crazy impressed with people who can get to single digits after only a few years.
 
Still trting it will always be a goal to be good at golf but as you get better your standards get higher as well
 
Good is relative, but I think I'm pretty good in the circle of my friends that I play with. It's always fun playing with a college golfer or someone who tried to make it on tour. That's when you realize you're not as good as you think you are.
 
well thanks for all the.. uh.. encouragement? :p I know it is not an easy thing to do, and may never even get close. I am really enjoying golf, I use it as a stress reliever, to forget about some of the ****** things in life for a few hours. It just seems like I am naturally decent at the game and or understand the game well, it seems to give me a confidence of sorts. All I can do is keep playing and see what happens, im hoping to be single digits after a year or two of practice.
 
You shot 86 after only 3 months of playing? Man I have no advice then hahaha perhaps you should be helping me : )
 
I'm still trying...



I think it took about a year to get around a 10hdcp. It's been much harder since then.
 
Sounds like you're doing very well already. Some people do have a natural talent and can become quite good pretty fast, with effort. Becoming scratch is pretty rare even for the most dedicated. I'm not sure I'll ever be as good as I'd like to be.
 
OP, the fact that you consistently improved over 3 months with no setbacks is a pretty remarkable. Usually, people will regress a little on some rounds as newer golfers tend to be inconsistent and/or trying new swings/equipment. I would just continue to set reachable goals for yourself and not stress out about how good you think you might be someday. You might take some of the fun out of playing.
 
I started playing at age 12 and easily took 15 strokes a year off my score the first few years to become a 3 index at age 15. It took another 18 months to go from a 3 to a 0.0 and I didn't make it to a +1 until I was 19 and I was able to play and practice 6-7 days each week for 6+ hours each day. I don't think most golfers understand how difficult it is to go from a 3 index to a +1 or +2 and that the good college players and mini tour guys are way better than a +1. The tour players are in another league all together. To average 72.0 on the PGA Tour courses you would have to be about a +4 to +5 under tournament pressure and there are only about 90 Americans each year that are good enough to finish in the top 125 on tour and keep their card. To put that in perspective, there are over 1,800 American NFL players each year, or about 20 times as many.
 
There are tens of millions of golfers worldwide that will never ever shot par......

Just buy lottery tickets. Better chance cashing in there.
 
I'm still trying......30 years and counting.
 
Im 33, dabbled on and off for a while, started taking it seriously this year. Went from shooting 110 to mid 80`s in a couple of months too. If i could just hit the ball 270 yards off the tee id feel comfortable entering a local tourney. But my drives are 230 at best and i have a 110 swing speed. My problem is i have learned to hit straight by compensating in the wrong ways. Been trying to take lessons but the local pro is alwaya too busy so onward i push.
 
I started playing at the age of 12 or so. A country club opened in the next town, and my parents thought that this would be a great opportunity to expose us (me and my brother) to the game of golf...God love 'em! We started caddying back then (in 1958), and have never looked back. Through the years I've won 17 assorted club championships at 2 different clubs, and hold a course record (63) that's held up since 2002. At age 68, I still have a 3.6 index, and play roughly 3 times a week. My brother hasn't done too badly, either. He's won 2 U.S. Senior Opens (2005 and 2006), 3 Nike Tour events, and 11 Champions Tour events. Prior to turning pro, he was on 3 Walker Cup teams (1989, 1991, 1993), 3 World Cup teams (1990, 1992, 1994), and won the Georgia Amateur 6 times, the Georgia Mid-Amateur 5 times, and the prestigious Sunnehanna Amateue 4 times. Anyone know who he is?
 
I started taking lessons when I was 10 I think? By the time I was 12 I was down to about 14 and it deployed to as low as +1 when I was 19. It came easy and quickly to me luckily.
 
I will let you know when it happen
 
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