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Easing my wife into playing...

justincredible

justincredible

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My wife is receptive to the idea of learning the game now that we've joined a club. She has very little golfing experience, her only little bit being a golf class we took together back in college 15 or 16 years ago.

Does anyone have any recommendations on the best way to go about getting her into the game? I'm not sure I want to drop the money on a full set of clubs in case she ends up hating it. I was considering piecing together a set of clubs LTech clubs from Golf Works. Maybe start with a putter, then a hybrid, and see where it goes from there. She's very short (4'11") so we might have luck with kids clubs as well.
 
The only thing I can say about this, is I would suggest heeding Penick’s advice and not try to teach her how to play yourself. Let someone else do it.

My wife is still up in the air about playing but we were lucky that my family still had my moms old set. So it’s in the garage just waiting for my wife to start using.
 
My spouse comes with me to the range, but doesnt really want to play a round together unless we are on vacation or schedule a foursome with another couple she enjoys hanging with. That's fine. I think her competitive spirit will have her wanting to play more as she improves a bit.

I definitely do NOT try to teach her. I offer up only tiny brief tips when I see something obvious but never force the issue and I stop offering tips immediately when I sense frustration or get one of those looks telling me to back off.

I'm hoping to do a 3 day trip to a golf resort that includes a lesson for each of us and a few rounds. She'd do well with that I think. Especially if there is a spa visit involved.

A 9 hole par three course is a good ease-into-it option as well.
 
I can definitely understand the suggestion to not attempt to teach her myself. My plan was to just go over the basics to start just to see if there is the potential that she might enjoy it long term. Our club has a couple's scramble in June and July that we're planning on doing with her brother and his wife. With that format she can basically just hang out and putt. Maybe take a shot now and then from the fairway near the green.
 
Easing my wife into playing...

As for clubs, you should see if your club has loaners. My club has a couple full sets of Titleist that are free to borrow for a round (maybe practice, haven’t asked). But if they have a set, she can just use those for the time being that way you don’t have to go out and buy her some.

Hell, she can swing/hit a club or two of yours at the range to find out if she truly thinks it’s something she wants to do. Or worst case scenario but her a driver, an iron or two and a putter. I personally don’t see any reason to go out and buy her a full bag when there is a chance that she will not like the game.

As for the hybrid, I wouldn’t go that route. That may be too hard for her to hit, and have her trying to help the ball up. The driver is good because it’s already tees up and it’s the biggest face.
 
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slimjim32 said:
As for clubs, you should see if your club has loaners. My club has a couple full sets of Titleist that are free to borrow for a round (maybe practice, haven’t asked). But if they have a set, she can just use those for the time being that way you don’t have to go out and buy her some.

Hell, she can swing/hit a club or two of yours at the range to find out if she truly thinks it’s something she wants to do. Or worst case scenario but her a driver, an iron or two and a putter. I personally don’t see any reason to go out and buy her a full bag when there is a chance that she will not like the game.

As for the hybrid, I wouldn’t go that route. That may be too hard for her to hit, and have her trying to help the ball up. The driver is good because it’s already tees up and it’s the biggest face.
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Not sure she'd be able to hit any of my clubs given her height. I will check with our club, though. I do know they have plenty of demo clubs.
 
I am sure somebody close to you has a set for her to try (I would if you were on the left coast) during her LESSONS. Let me repeat, LESSONS. In case the uppercase is bothering you, I will try this, lessons. My wife just started golfing and is totally hooked, but it took lessons to get her motivated. Nothing is more frustrating then hitting the ball 20 feet to the right every time. She is worth it, believe me. Sorry to rant, but I love golfing with my wife and it sure makes it easy to buy stuff when she is on board.
 
justincredible said:
Not sure she'd be able to hit any of my clubs given her height. I will check with our club, though. I do know they have plenty of demo clubs.
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Yeah, my bad. Re-read the original post after you said this and thought 'you dummy, he said she was short'
 
Find a group lessons class specifically for women. Your chances of her taking to the game go way up when approaching it this way...and for so many reasons.
 
leftshot said:
Find a group lessons class specifically for women. Your chances of her taking to the game go way up when approaching it this way...and for so many reasons.
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That's a good idea. I'll see if I can find anything like it in our area.
 
You could give TopGolf a shot too to see if she enjoys smacking some balls around at targets.


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BuckNasty said:
You could give TopGolf a shot too to see if she enjoys smacking some balls around at targets.


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She actually did take our niece and nephew to TopGolf a few months ago and enjoyed it. I forgot about that.

Also, we did secure a set of clubs to borrow. We thought her mom had gotten rid of her old clubs, but she luckily still has them.
 
My wife has taken (4) lessons so far this spring and it has improved her game night and day. She's getting the ball in the air off the ground more times than not now. That's coming a long ways from mostly topping.

If you're talking full length regulation course I'd expect it will take your wife considerable effort to get her game into shape to be comfortable playing it. My wife's just about ready now to start playing the executive course and feeling good about herself.

Dave
 
My bride & I started lessons together some years ago & she took to it pretty well.
Now, I practice & play a lot more than she so I get to see her frustrated when she’s not playing well. I don’t say a word


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Check garage sales for clubs, also goodwill. Also check to see if a Junior set may work for her. Ask your local pro if they know of beginner clinics in your area.
 
At first glimpse I thought your thread read as “Easing My Wifes Pain”, I’m glad I don’t have to come and offer my sympathy.

I’ve eased a few people into the game, I have three sons, and a couple sisters in Real Estate that wanted to learn so they could broaden their relationships/potentially pick up clients.

I played a lot of scramble format, until they were at least capable of hitting decent shots. It takes a long time to go 400 yards 15 yards at a time so giving them the chance to hit from a decent place most holes keeps it fun.

That and when they contribute to the score, lots of smiles. My middle son still talks about his “eagle” the first time we played on a big nice course. I had us almost to the par 5 in two and he pitched in from 30 yards short and left of the green.

I’ll still play a few rounds a year in this format with the kids. We usually are anywhere from even par to -5, our best 3-some scramble score together is -7. It’s fun to not have to play your very worst shots, and I’m not a bad putter if I’ve seen it twice (and don’t have to worry about 3 putting).

TL/DR-play scramble format until they’re making somewhat consistent contact.
 
When I met my wife, I was a fairly serious amateur tournament golfer. She was pretty athletic, and had played a good bit of racquetball. When I first introduced her to the game, it was with my mothers old clubs. She actually began with a fairly natural swing and always made contact, and quickly grasped the etiquette of the game. I always enjoyed playing with her, and always treated her like a golfer, not my squeeze, when we played. She got good enough to break 100 a few times, and pretty consistently stayed in the low 100's. I mostly taught her to try to get a par putt as often as possible, but her swing while rhythmic was not powerful, so about 150 was her max drive. She actually for about a year and a half got a job as a starter at our course, but that maybe turned out badly, because then the golf course was hr place of work, not her place of recreation, and she never played much after that stint. Still, I will never forget the time she drove it in a fairway bunker, took 3 to get out, and then holed a 130 yard 3 iron for the greatest bogey ever made.
 
Buy a Ladies Ping 8 or 9 iron off eBay with a flat lie(since she is short). and have her do small swings back and forth to feel the clubhead brush the grass. Swings that go out a foot or two forward and backward. Do this with no ball. Then after she has that down(it takes a while), put a ball down and let let pitch balls onto a green. Once she does that, take the ball away and have her do bigger swings(now hinging the wrists a little), but only a foot bigger.
I did this with my wife who could not hit a ball to save her life. Once I had her do this, she was hitting solid shots and loving golf
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone. Once we get a chance to put some suggestions into practice I'll check back in on the thread and give an update. Hopefully it's with the good news that she's taken to the game.
 
Ply her with booze?
 
This weekend had a lot of couples playing. I saw three or four groups playing where women (wives or girlfriends) were just riding along in the cart. Same for kids. They had lunch or dinner and tagged along.
That might be a good introduction if your wife is receptive.

The local track I play isn't fancy by any means, but they do have people come just for the bar/food, stop in from the airport, and for a few social functions unrelated to golf.
 
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