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Hacker -- (no real handicap, but would be above 36 for men, above 40 for women) D Player -- (high handicap; 25-36) C Player -- (high mid-handicap; 18-24) B Player -- (low mid-handicap; 12-17) A Player -- (low handicap; 6-11) AA Player -- (handicap 5 or less)
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A high handicapper is between 25 and 36; for 18 holes he or she averages about 1.5 to 2 strokes over par. For the hacker, this level is an excellent goal. Once in the high handicap range, it will be more difficult to go lower than it was to get there in the first place. And to go from mid- to low handicap (less than 12) is the most difficult move of all.
Think of it this way. The worse you are the easier it should be to improve. As a hacker, it will be far easier to drop 10 strokes off your game than for the high handicapper to drop 10 strokes. The reason is apparent. The hacker really doesn't know how to play the game, how to swing the club properly, how to line up shots or to putt. These things are relatively easily taught and, when learned, scores can plummet quickly. The high handicapper knows how to do these things (at least on occasion), and the types of improvement he or she needs are more subtle, in the realm of improving swing mechanics, for example.
To get even lower, the skills become harder to learn; this is where the "mental side" of golf and the all-important short game take a front and center role. (See my "Core Reading List" below).
The mid-handicapper knows how to swing the club, but his or her level of concentration may cause subtle errors in body positioning, affecting ball contact. Heady stuff, for sure, and something you can worry about later. For the hacker, the problem is unlikely to be mental; instead, it is simply not knowing the basics of the swing or the rudiments of the game. The purpose of this book is take you from hacker-dom to a high handicap level.
Consider the pros on tour. Sure, they may look like they're having fun but for them it's a job, and a difficult one at that. Score poorly, on a consistent basis, and you can go hungry. So they work at the game, and I mean work. They hire coaches, they constantly fiddle with new equipment, and they spend hours hitting shots, refining their game. Listen to them during the middle of a four-day tournament when they are in contention. "I went back to the putting green and practiced for two hours." "I went to the driving range and hit my driver until the sun set."
Many, if not most, of the pros are innately talented for the game, but they still work hard at it. From Tiger Woods (who practices with both a personal coach and a physical trainer) to the journeyman tour golfer who has yet to win a tournament. And you should work hard, in your own way, in order to escape hacker-dom. This book will show you how.
As the first and easiest step, I recommend you immerse yourself in the game. By immerse I mean read a few good books, pick up a couple of videos at the rental store, subscribe to one or two golf magazines (Golf Digest and Golf Magazine are the most widely circulated), watch the The Golf Channel if available locally. No one book or video or TV program will matter, but in the aggregate you will come across many useful pointers, and some of it will sink in. (On the Golf Channel you will also come across many advertorials, half-hour segments that push a certain club or learning aid; I generally ignore them.)
Over the years I have assembled a comprehensive Golf Bibliography. I have read many of these books, but certainly not all. Of this list, there is a core group that I consider essential for any amateur who wants to study the game. They have helped me and I believe they will help any other late-to-play golfer trying to learn the game. I own every one of this core list, and frequently re-read them as the need arises. I recommend these books to any hacker, novice, duffer or high handicapper who really wants to improve.
My Core Reading List - For Beginners, Hackers, and High Handicappers Who Really Want to Improve
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It's not just books, of course, but golf magazines, The Golf Channel and any other sources of useful information. Yes, I know many pros and top amateurs eschew all this instructional verbiage. But remember: they learned to play by imitation at a very young age. You don't have that luxury. You need to learn in a different manner: by studious immersion. This immersion effort is designed to jump start your game, to give you information that will come in handy when you really need it. The more you immerse yourself, the more you will come across universal pointers that will gradually sink in (yes, like your putts).
The following table shows what you can and cannot learn from information in books, videos, magazines, TV and the internet. Skills in the first column require real-world practice, and it is highly unlikely that anything you read or see on TV will be translated into a useful activity on the course. Ideally, someone should show you how to do these tasks, then reinforce your movements as you practice over and over and over. However, you can also learn many important tips and information from print and visual media (books, videos, magazines, TV and the internet). Too many golfers look down their noses at print and visual media, yet I have found a wealth of information there for the taking. Examples of what you can learn from print and visual media are shown in the second column.
| Cannot learn from print & visual media | Can learn from print & visual media |
| How to make a full swing | The rules of the game |
| How to make a partial swing | The difference between a pitch and a chip shot |
| How to chip | How to grip the club |
| How to putt | How to stand to the ball |
| What clubs are best for you | Differences between graphite and steel shafts |
| How to read the break in greens | How to line up shots |
| How to play with consistentcy | How high to tee up the ball |
| How to hit a lob shot | The difference between a sand wedge and other irons |
| The distance you can hit the ball with each club | The typical distance each club can hit the ball |
| The air vs. roll distance when chipping with short irons | Rule for club selection when the green is significantly elevated above or below your lie |
| What it feels like to play well or play poorly | How to play within your level of skill |
| How to account for the wind on a given shot | Factors that make a ball slice or hook |
| Whether you can clear a tree between your ball and the green | The wisdom of trying a shot you've never accomplished before |
I will be more specific. What follows are some universal tips you will come across in a variety of books, videos and golf magazines, but that you might never learn from formal golf lessons.
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SOME UNIVERSAL TIPS 1) If your drives constantly go astray, put the driver away. Don't use it at all. Instead, use your 3-wood off the tee. A well hit drive with a 3-wood is only about 20 yards shorter than with a driver, and what you might lose in distance you will gain in accuracy; this is because the 3 wood imparts less side spin on the ball than does the driver. (Yes, I know you may have spent oodles on your driver, but put it away until your swing improves.) 2) Weak golfers should never go for the impossible shot, but instead should opt for the safe one. Thus, if your ball is in the woods with only a small opening through the trees to the green, go for the safe punch out to the fairway, even if it doesn't advance your distance. You won't be a hero, but will, on average, achieve a much better score (the heroic shot will usually ricochet off some tree and leave you worse off). In the same way, if it is 150 yards to the green and there's water in front, and 90% of your 150-yard attempts go astray, then don't go for it; lay up instead. This is simply "playing within yourself" or playing the percentages, and is a way to lower your score 3) Always line up your shots on the tee and on the fairway. This means going behind the ball, sighting the path you want the ball to take, then standing parallel to this path. Place your club down against your toes, then step back; more often then not, you will not be aligned, so make appropriate adjustments. Remember, the club on the ground should not point to your target but to the left of your target (for right-handed players). It is the ball itself that should be aimed at the target, not the line across the tips of your toes. (Think railroad tracks; only the right rail is aimed at the target; your toes are on the left rail.) 4) The rules of golf allow you to tee up the ball anywhere between the tee markers and as far back as 2 club lengths; this allows you to seek a level area on the tee box. Too often, hackers tee up their ball in an area that is sloped, hurting their chances for a good tee shot. 5) For most putts over 6 feet, distance is more important than line. It is not as important to get the right line as it is to hit the ball so it goes the right distance. If your ball travels the right distance and your line is off, you should still be able to make the next putt. If you have the right line but stroke the ball too hard, you may miss the cup by an inch only to see the ball roll further than the distance you started from, making the next putt iffy. Or, on long putts you may have the right line but stroke the ball too softly, leaving your ball so far from the cup that you will still need two more putts to sink it. 6) In a bunker, never let your club touch the sand until you swing at the ball. It is a two-stroke penalty to let your club touch the sand in any way (by mistake or intentionally). 7) For a green-side bunker shot, with the ball on top of the sand (i.e., not buried), think follow-through. You must hit the sand first, and make sure you follow-though with your swing so that the sand and ball are lifted out of the bunker. 8) For every 10 yards that the green is elevated above your lie, use one more club to hit the ball. Thus if you are 110 yards away from a green elevated 10 yards above your ball, and you normally hit a pitching wedge 110 yards, then use a nine iron. This is because a longer angle of flight will be needed to hit an elevated green. Conversely, for every 10 yards that the green is below your lie, use one less club; if you normally hit a pitching wedge 110 yards, you should use a sand wedge for the lowered green.
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Hear or read common pointers like these often enough, and you will gradually adopt them in practice. Of course along the way you may run into "information overload," including advice that will be contradictory (i.e.: don't move your head vs. move your head a little; keep your left arm straight vs. bend it a little; don't bend your wrists vs. bend them some, etc.) Don't worry. Eventually you will realize that there are some universal truths, and you will register those. You will learn to recognize what advice is subject to interpretation and private usage. No two golfers swing exactly alike, and you must develop your own individual style, within some well defined limits. So intelligent immersion is a good thing, as long as it is coupled with the other steps I will list.
Golf is a multi-billion dollar business. In the U.S. alone, there are some 25 million active golfers, with millions more in Europe and Asia, Australia and South America. There are over 2700 books in print dealing with golf, and probably half of those relate to golf instruction (the others deal with stories about golf, golf jokes, golf tournaments, course construction and golf personalities). There are several magazines with huge circulations (the largest are Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, hundreds of golf instruction videos, and over two dozen nationally-advertised golf schools with over a hundred separate locations.
The Golf Channel operates 24 hours a day, with much of the non-prime time programming devoted to golf ads ("advertorials") of up to 30 minutes in length. Everybody wants to sell you something to improve your game. No doubt about it: golf is a big business because the market is huge. Much of the advertising bombardment has a common message, sometimes blatant: 'Buy this book, this gadget or this club, watch this video or take this course, and your game will improve.' That's all there is to it, the ads blare. The more brazen advertisers even guarantee your game will improve (what do they do, come out on the course and count your strokes?).
Lee Trevino has been quoted: "It's not the arrows, it's the indian." Up to a point, this is true. Tiger Woods could beat us using a frying pan, shovel and pool cue (like the pro in The Tin Cup.) The latest clubs on the market are not going to improve your game, or at least you should not count on it. Conversely, the wrong set of clubs could make learning, and improving, much harder. I don't intend to go into the nuances of equipment, and there are many, believe me. From 'lie angle' to the type and flex of your club shaft, everything is important in golf clubs. But at our level, what's really important is: comfort (right length and weight) and durability.
The biggest mistake a committed golfer can make is to buy cheap clubs that are not comfortable or that don't have durability. (The first set I bought was so cheap the heads bent just from hitting the ball.) Over a life time, the cost of the clubs will be insignificant compared to greens fees, golf balls, etc.
There are many ways to buy clubs. Before buying, it would be a good idea
to do some investigation for prices, types of clubs available, etc., just to get
an idea what's out there. There are so many sites on the internet to do this research,
but you can start your search at
GolfOnLine's Equipment site.
There are many comprehensive on-line golf stores, including:
Golfsmith
Mammoth Golf.com
Edwin Watts Golf
But remember: buying without some assurance that the clubs are right for you is not going to work. And again, buy the best clubs you can afford; it will pay in the long run.
The simplest way to get the right clubs is to decide on the most you're willing to spend, then put yourself in the hands of a knowlegeable professional (your golf pro) or sales person at a reputable store. As a minimum they should check you for height, lie angle (the angle between the bottom of the iron and the ground) and swing speed. Then they can recommend the proper shaft type (graphite or steel) and flex (measure of shaft stiffness), and even special order clubs if necessary. Don't forget that "package deals" seldom include the putter, which will cost extra.
In fact, I recommend the beginner buy from a retail golf store, as long as the sales person is knowledgeable and you have easy exchange privileges. Avoid buying a set of discounted clubs from the local K Mart. The money you save could be wasted if they're not the right clubs for you. Similarly avoid buying clubs on the internet or from a catalog unless you are sure of what you're buying. If you know exactly what you want (which transcends just knowing the brand, of course), then buying on-line is fast and easy.
Also avoid buying a particular brand because some pro endorses them, or uses them. The clubs the pro uses are completely different than what you will buy, even if they have the same brand name and look the same. All pros use custom fitted clubs, given by the manufacturer and hand-tweaked to fit the pro's game. You can also order custom-fitted clubs, but generally at your level this is not necessary.
Finally, one last recommendation. Don't buy just a few clubs -- buy a complete set.
It is a mistake to buy "half a set" to save money. For hackers and
high handicappers, a complete set should include the following,
in my opinion:
That makes 12 clubs. You certainly won't need a 3 iron or a 2 iron. If you
know how to hit with these difficult clubs you are not a hacker! Anyway, the limit
you can carry is 14 clubs (USGA rule);
you probably won't need that many, but if you want to spring for two more
clubs, I recommend the following: