I am teaching myself golf. I was curious if I should learn to drive first, or to learn with irons.?

Question

also please offer any websites that are helpful to beginners. thanks fellas.

Answer 1

Leave your driver at home this year.   Tee off with a 3 or 5-wood, hybrid, or 3, 4 or 5 iron; any club that you can hit the fairway with.

GolfDigest.com has lots of good instructions for golfers of all skills.

Answer 2

I would definitely say start with the short game, and work your way to the long game.  Short game is most important first of all.  

The long game shots are basically based off of short game shots.  For example, if you can chip a ball, then you are allready on your way to hitting an iron shot.  If you can hit your irons, then you are on your way to being able to drive it.

For beginner golf tips, check out: http://www.golfenthusiastic.com/beginner...

Answer 3

Your swing will be the same regardless of the club you are holding. So you need to get that straight and the rest will come with time.

Answer 4

Congratulations for taking action and wanting to learn!. You should be proud of yourself man. Just to make it easier for you I will give you 3 important tips.

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Start with your irons. The driver is the hardest club in the bag to hit.

- Focus on your posture. It's the single most important part of the swing. Most people bend to far forward. You want to stand tall to the ball.

-Let your hips start the down swing. Not your arms. Your arms just go along for the ride. You turn your torso when you swing.

- OK...and here's a fourth tip. A good swing isn't one that feels good or looks good it's one that repeats. There's 14 clubs in your bag a 1 swing.

Good luck to you! and practice, practice, practice. It's fun!

Answer 5

Learn to play your irons to start with and also become accurate with your putter. Start using your woods once you have achieved a solid and reliable swing pattern with your irons. Learning to chip and pitch accurately will hold you in good stead.

Answer 6

Learn to drive first - you've got to get to the course or you can't do anything.

Answer 7

short game.....chipping, pitching, putting.......then go to the irons, and then driver.....but focus on the short game.......drives for show, putts for dough

Answer 8

I've only been golfing for about 9 months. I got a set of hand me down clubs and bought a Wal Mart driver. I can break a hundred once in a while. I went to the range and just hit as many balls as possible with each and every club. As soon as you feel you can hit most of your clubs straight, go play. Then you will truly learn which club is most important to your game. I have now purchased some Adams clubs and am looking for big time improvement. Good luck.

Answer 9

Learn to put first, putting is the most important part of anyones game.  You drive for show, but you putt for dough.

Answer 10

start by chipping and putting, then go to the range with only pitching wedge and 8 iron.  Then gradually increase to your mid and long irons, and then your driver.  If you think about it you hit your driver about 15 times per round, but you need to be able to get the ball close to the hole to make birdie, and you need to be able to up and down it for par if you miss the green.

Answer 11

I would learn to drive because getting around in the golf cart is pretty important! if you can't get to the ball it doesn't matter what you can do with your irons

Answer 12

I disagree that one should learn to putt first. Putting though most important, needs the foundation of a good swing. Without a proper swing, you won't be able to putt anyway. Learn the short irons first. Try to be able to confidently hit 8, 9 or PW first, before moving on to the longer irons or the driver. The reason is that the short irons are lighter and easier to control. They will be excellent for building up your swing. Also, try to get a friend to teach you some of the basics. Its hard to learn from scratch on your own.

Answer 13

Obviously, opinions vary far and wide about this topic: how to learn golf.

This is my opinion, you have to learn all aspects of the game, and be comfortable with the club you are hitting at the moment.

When you go to the range take your driver, two irons, maybe a 5 and 8 iron, a wedge, pitching wedge or sand wedge and a putter.

As a beginner, I would just play and practice with these clubs. Get comfortable, you don’t need 8 irons in you bag. It has always been my opinion that the driver is a critical part of the game; you must learn to hit your driver!

Range work should, go like this: take ½ your balls, hit some easy wedges, harder 8 irons, firm 5 irons, some nice big drivers. Take the 2nd half of you balls to the short game area, practice short shots, inside 10 yards onto a green. Try to get you ball up and down, meaning, pitch you ball onto the green and try to make the putt. This is the hardest skill to lean in golf, to be honest, most “golfers” suck at it. Hit the whole second half of you balls in the short game area, then pick up the balls (shag your balls) and return to the range. Repeat the same wedge to driver progression.    

Spend a lot of time at the range before you actually play golf. You need to build golf muscles and ingrain a decent swing.

Websites for golfing beginners:

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/ usually has some good free videos.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=C80TQtE203Y  I love this vid. youtube.com is another good place for video lesions.

Honestly the best place for lesions is books, go to the library. Get a subscription to Golf mag and Gold Digest.

Good Luck!

Answer 14

I'd say go with Irons, (obviously putting is very important so work on that in your home (cup/putter/ball/carpet) but once you hit the driving range start with your irons. As it has been pointed out, the majority of your shots will come from within 120 yards of the green, plus you can hit your longer irons off the tee to start if you aren't comfortable with your driver, but you can't hit your driver out of the sand.

Answer 15

If you choose to take lessons (which you should) they will most likely have you learning with a 6 or 7 iron.  The reasons are simple, it is a good multi-purpose club and is one that you will most likely use rather frequently on the course.  Somebody said the swing is the same with any club you use, and I have to say that is not true.  The woods are longer shafted and thus require more of a sweeping strike angle.  The irons are shorter and thus have a steeper angle when coming down to strike the ball.  Putting is also extremely important as that is where you can pick up the most strokes in any given round.  My suggestion, take at least 5 lessons before ever stepping on a course.

Answer 16

In my personal opinion this is what you should do if you really want to learn the game of golf.

1.)  Start by learning how to get the ball in the hole first.  Whether it's putting or chipping from the fringe or pitching from 60 yards and in.  Most golfers out there can't get down in two when they're 60 yards out from the green.  Work on this first.  You're short game is the most crucial part of your game.  You will shave the most strokes off your score if you have a good and reliable short game.  You can use a variety of clubs during this period of your learning...you can use the sandwedge, pitching wedge, 9 iron, 8 iron and sometimes the 7 iron..Work with them all from many different situations,  changing your lies, moving the ball back in your stance, up in your stance, etc..Plus, the short game is also the building block for  your mid and long iron game;

2.)  Once you have gotten your short game under control go to your wedges and short irons...meaning your sandwedge, pitching wedge, 9 iron and 8 iron.  Remember that when using your short irons these are meant for accuracy not distance.  Pick a flag or a green on the range and aim for them.  Swing under control and don't guide the club to your target, trust your swing and let the club do all the work;

3.) Now it's time for your mid irons...7 iron, 6 iron and 5 iron...these are the clubs that most people feel very secure in hitting because the shafts are a little longer and the club faces and sweet spots are still relatively big.  You most likely will enjoy hitting your 7 iron the most out of the three...it will become your go to club when playing on the course....try to put yourself in your 7 iron distance to the green as you will be the most confident in hitting it to the green...remember that as a beginner your objective is not distance yet...you're still working on making solid contact with the ball everytime, during this time you will find out where you need to put the ball in your stance in order to make good contact...for now...put it in the middle of your stance to ensure good contact;

4.)  Your long irons are next...4 iron, 3 iron, and if you're smart you won't have a 2 iron....these are your distance irons...but rememeber...don't over swing on these irons as the club faces and sweet spots are the smallest of all your irons...you want a smooth, controlled swing....picture in your mind Ernie Els or Fred Couples when swinging these irons...nice and smooth....play the ball slightly forward in your stance and trust your swing and let the club do all the work...at first choke down on these clubs as it makes them easier to hit...then move your hands to the end of the grip once you've built up some confidence;

5.) Now your're ready for the 5-wood, 3-wood and the driver....At first leave the driver in the bag and tee off with either the 5-wood or the 3-wood...these are going to be your biggest distance clubs...Again swing under control and don't try to kill it.....swing through the ball and not at it....and maintain your balance...Once you feel like you've gotten somewhat consistant with those clubs you can bring the driver out of the bag....It's the hardest club in the bag to hit....Now I want you to make the same swing as you do for your 3-wood with your driver....do not swing harder...that will only throw off your timing....just swing smoothly and let the club do al the work...

6.)  Now that you've worked yourself through your full set of clubs..hopefully not all of them in one day.....start all over again and start from the beginning....this is a game the requires constant practice and determination....AND REMEMBER THIS LAST PIECE OF ADVICE......PRACTICE DOES NOT MAKE YOU PERFECT....PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES YOU PERFECT (although no one is perfect in this game)...Have fun and enjoy yourself above all else...it's a game for a lifetime....and no matter how good you get or think you've become....you can always get better...

Answer 17

Everyone from the golf lesson will start with either 7 or 6 iron. Don't worry about going for long driver. Trust me, at the real tournament, you don't use driver too much unless you cannot hit the ball with reasonable distance. There are many fundamental elements in golf and you should start from there. The "swing" fundamental remains the same for all clubs except for putting. Find a goof pro to help you would reduce your try and error time. Try me, you may think you are doing one way, but you really are doing something else. Unless you can have a camera recording your swing all the time, it is very difficult to coach yourself without someone to look at your swing.

Answer 18

ok first of all you should start putting first, then you should start with irons. I would recommend starting with a 8 iron then moving to a 6 iron.

you should find that it is easier to hit the 8 iron, once you have sorted out your iron swing then you should move to the 5 wood or 3 wood. Then eventually the big stick.

The wedges are also very important, 75% of your shots will be within 120 yards of the pin so you should work on wedge game as well. Hope this helps

Answer 19

wedges and putter. then move to your irons, then move to your driver. You need to first learn how to get the ball into the hole. then you learn to get it there. Out of order means a long learning curve. Good luck

Answer 20

You should truly seek a few lessons , this is the perfect time to do so and you will save yourself a lot of heartache and frustration , and you will be happier in the long run.

Answer 21

MY .02 cents worth is this:

1. Start with your wedges.  For MOST these are the easiest clubs to hit.  (Most people want to start with their driver, not knowing that the driver is one of the hardest clubs to master...they then get discouraged and quit the game.)  Work on your fundamentals.

2. Then start with your 9 iron and work your way up the iron set (keeping in mind that you may spend several days on 1-2 possibly 3 clubs)

3.  Once you've somewhat mastered your wedges and irons, then move up to your 5 wood...spend some time on that for awhile...like on a range, and YES even tee the ball up.  Then move on to your 3 wood, and then lastly move to your driver.

*NOTE* when you tee the ball up for your 5, 3, and driver...a good rule of thumb is this:  The 1/2 or a smidgen less of the golf ball should be above the top of your woods/driver.

I hope this helps.  Good luck with your Game!