As a beginner golfer, it can be quite overwhelming where to begin. We have so many people wanting to give us advice and so much content on Youtube or Instagram that seems so beneficial. It can be a minefield out there in understanding how to progress in this seemingly complicated game. The top five mistakes that beginners can make is: Listening to friends who haven't played long themselves, trying to do it alone, applying the next tip you see on Youtube, using clubs that are completely not suited for you and lastly trying to practice too much.
Listening to friends who play can seem harmless but if they're players who are not experienced, it can hamper your progression. If your friend is for example saying to keep your head down, it can start to condition bad habits as the body needs to freely rotate through the ball instead of remaining rigid at impact. When you're beginning your body is like a sponge where it can quickly form a certain action. You want to make sure that you ingrain the correct habits early. Secondly trying to do it alone is a very difficult task. I tried this once before by using a book as a guide. It helped a little at the start but then I fell into a hole because even though we may think we're doing the correct action, if it were placed on video it usually shows up different. Enlist a golf coach early and book in a lesson every fortnight to help you condition the correct fundamentals. The coach will also keep you focused on what you have to work on right now rather than you thinking about 100 different things.
Thirdly getting tips on Youtube or Instagram can seem beneficial and in some cases it can be if the player is very experienced. However as a beginner you can start to think that golf can be solved by doing one simple tip. Sometimes it can in fact make you play better but before too long, you will fall into another hole again as would not be experienced enough to know exactly what you need to work on. Be careful using this as your source as you will go from tip to tip and never really forming the correct fundamentals of your swing. Fourthly using clubs that are not suited for you can be quite detrimental to your progress. If you're someone who has a slower speed swing, using clubs that are too stiff and heavy can be very difficult. It will not only be hard to lift the ball up in the air as you need a certain speed through the ball to elevate the trajectory, but it will discourage you from the game as well. Try at the beginning to go into a shop and at least buy 0ne to two clubs that are somewhat suited for you.
The fifth error that beginners can sometimes fall into is practicing too much. Practicing too much especially without proper guidance can condition bad habits. Once you have an experienced coach that can guide you through the beginning stages, try and stick to just two buckets of balls per week. This amount will keep you focused on exactly what you need to work on. Overdoing it even with seeing a coach can make you form bad habits as you wouldn't have been experienced enough to know whether you're continuing the right action.
If you'd like help in guiding through the beginning stages of learning golf, just contact myself at David Waters Golf located at Emerald Lakes Golf Coaching Centre.
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