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Give me just one tip for my first year of golf

Duffer Seamus said:
Conversely, the thought from my next door neighbor who got me into this: Don't be afraid to take the hero shots. You're in this for fun and there's nothing more fun than makin' 'em :) My addendum: Besides, you'll never know unless you try.

Now, my one spot of advice: Don't blame the club. It's almost never the club. (Spoken by a man who has done far too many club upgrades in his first six months of golf
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If the goal is just fun and you don't really care about your score, it's fun to try the hero shots. I'm a lot bolder in a round where I'm just playing for fun with no intention of posting the score, or playing in a scramble. It's also a good way to experiment with different shots and figure out which ones are low and high percentage for you. But when the score matters (tournament or posting for handicap) and/or you're trying to work on your course management skills, I'm a lot more conservative and the hero shots stay in the bag.
 
camden_kid said:
I guess one needs to focus on both equally? Ball and target?
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You definitely want to make solid contact with the ball, but your energy needs to be directed toward the target. When people focus their energy towards "hitting the ball", it introduces fatal swing flaws like casting, reverse pivoting, improper release, etc...

The video is good because it introduces the concept of a power point that is past the ball. It's easy to imagine unloading all of your power into that point past the ball; the golf ball itself just happens to get in the way of a powerful swing and good things happen (y)
 
pattyboy21 said:
You definitely want to make solid contact with the ball, but your energy needs to be directed toward the target. When people focus their energy towards "hitting the ball", it introduces fatal swing flaws like casting, reverse pivoting, improper release, etc...

The video is good because it introduces the concept of a power point that is past the ball. It's easy to imagine unloading all of your power into that point past the ball; the golf ball itself just happens to get in the way of a powerful swing and good things happen (y)
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Pattyboy's answer was pretty good stuff. Here's another way to explain it.

When you putt, it's generally taught that you focus on the starting line (direction) when you set up to the ball. Once you get aligned and set up to the ball, you should switch your focus from direction to distance. It's all about getting the ball to your target by swinging the club at this point. The ball isn't going anywhere. Think of the full swing as simply the longer swing version of this. Once you've set up to the ball properly there is no need to focus on the ball sitting on the tee or ground. It isn't going anywhere. The task is to get the ball to the target by swinging the club.

Similarly, a baseball player isn't focused on watching the ball as they wind up and throw it. Their focus is on the target and they improve their results because they are target-focused.
 
A lot of good stuff, but I'll echo those that said have fun! You will have good and bad shots, but learn and grow, and it'll come in time. But always have fun!
 
Snowman said:
If the goal is just fun and you don't really care about your score, it's fun to try the hero shots. I'm a lot bolder in a round where I'm just playing for fun with no intention of posting the score, or playing in a scramble. It's also a good way to experiment with different shots and figure out which ones are low and high percentage for you. But when the score matters (tournament or posting for handicap) and/or you're trying to work on your course management skills, I'm a lot more conservative and the hero shots stay in the bag.
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I don't normally play a round where I don't keep score. But if I did I would definitely take more risks on the course and try a few hero shots. I keep score because I want to know where I am in my progress with the game. Its my competitive nature to want to get better and beat my playing partners. Right now they're still better than me but I'm starting to close the gap. I'll never be as good as my grandson. He's broke 80 a few times. But his father and a family friend are within reach. They typically score in the mid to upper 80's. I actually beat my son in law a month ago. But it took a better than average game for me and a below average game for him.
 
If I had to do it all over, focus on short game as your priority and have more fun and worry less about technique.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
If I had to do it all over, focus on short game as your priority and have more fun and worry less about technique.
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Agreed. If you have a good short game you can avoid the total breakdown holes. No shame in double bogey as long as there aren't too many, but a snowman sure deflates you. I remember a few months ago, my son in law who has a good short game was struggling on the first two holes. On a par 5 he was hitting his 5th shot from the greenside rough on an elevated green. He chips to 6 feet. Makes bogey. Same thing on the next hole. Instead of starting out with a couple doubles or worse he makes bogey then settles down. I have to think if that were me I woulda been looking at double or even triple bogey to start the first two holes. The short game makes a difference.
 
charley48 said:
Agreed. If you have a good short game you can avoid the total breakdown holes. No shame in double bogey as long as there aren't too many, but a snowman sure deflates you. I remember a few months ago, my son in law who has a good short game was struggling on the first two holes. On a par 5 he was hitting his 5th shot from the greenside rough on an elevated green. He chips to 6 feet. Makes bogey. Same thing on the next hole. Instead of starting out with a couple doubles or worse he makes bogey then settles down. I have to think if that were me I woulda been looking at double or even triple bogey to start the first two holes. The short game makes a difference.
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Agreed. Also, there are so many cool wedges out there. It makes the short game even easier with multiple loft options.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
Agreed. Also, there are so many cool wedges out there. It makes the short game even easier with multiple loft options.
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I've gotten really comfortable with my 58 degree Titleist wedge from anything inside of 40 yards. Its been my go to wedge for a while. I'm finally to the point where chips are not causing break down holes. I might not get up and down for pars but it allows me to get on the green and two putt for bogey. I can get on a nice bogey run with the help of that club. Bogey is a good score for me. I don't hit enough greens in regulation to make a bunch of pars and break 90. Maybe one day it will happen.
 
I join the first comment have fun and enjoy the game and exercise even more and exercise my legs because it will help me develop endurance in the game. When I first played and walked about 7-8 km along the way, I was very tired and the next day my body ached.
 
“Let’s start at the forward yardage, and if we’re having too much fun and making too many birdies, we can move back one” – Scottish caddy saying
 
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