Taking My Turn at Golf

[Buckeye33]

Like I've mentioned before, I'm very new to golf. I'm getting ready to schedule some lessons but also am in a buying mood. I just bought my own '10 TM Burner Superfast driver, I have tried 3 different drivers before trying this one and I hit it more accurate and at least 25-30 yards farther than anything else I've tried.

My real question is being a newbie, should I be looking to get a graphite shaft or steel shaft in irons? I have an old set of Titelist DCIs that are heavy and hard for me to hit. I'm looking at picking up some Callaway X-20s off eBay but am not sure if I should wait until I get the lessons and get "fitted" for irons.

Thanks

[Redhook]

Like I've mentioned before, I'm very new to golf. I'm getting ready to schedule some lessons but also am in a buying mood. I just bought my own '10 TM Burner Superfast driver, I have tried 3 different drivers before trying this one and I hit it more accurate and at least 25-30 yards farther than anything else I've tried.

My real question is being a newbie, should I be looking to get a graphite shaft or steel shaft in irons? I have an old set of Titelist DCIs that are heavy and hard for me to hit. I'm looking at picking up some Callaway X-20s off eBay but am not sure if I should wait until I get the lessons and get "fitted" for irons.

Thanks

Don't buy until you take at least 2 lessons. Your pro will help you with your purchase. I'd recommend Jeff Olson at Scioto Reserve. Great guy and a pretty good golfer too. Tell him I sent you to him and he may kick it up a notch for you too.

[Homer Bailey]

Don't buy until you take at least 2 lessons. Your pro will help you with your purchase. I'd recommend Jeff Olson at Scioto Reserve. Great guy and a pretty good golfer too. Tell him I sent you to him and he may kick it up a notch for you too.

+1.

Jeff gave me the only three lessons I've had in my life, and that was almost ten years ago. He's affordable, and a great guy. I think he's also the pro at Kinsale.

[Redhook]

+1.

Jeff gave me the only three lessons I've had in my life, and that was almost ten years ago. He's affordable, and a great guy. I think he's also the pro at Kinsale.

This year, he switched to Scioto Reserve as the Head Pro. He was at Kinsale for the past 2 years as the Director of Instruction. That being said, Kinsale and Scioto Reserve are part of the same company so he may still teach a bit at Kinsale.

[Homer Bailey]

This year, he switched to Scioto Reserve as the Head Pro. He was at Kinsale for the past 2 years as the Director of Instruction. That being said, Kinsale and Scioto Reserve are part of the same company so he may still teach a bit at Kinsale.

Yeah, I meant to imply that he was the pro slash teaches at both courses. My Dad is a member of Scioto Reserve, and he said that Jeff oversees the golf side for both courses. I'll have to mention you're name when I'm back there next month.

[bigredmechanism]

Well I've recently decided to try my hand at golf. So far, I've broken three clubs, a driver, and both of my woods. They were very old clubs, and I'm sure my inexperience contributed as well. However, this has left me in a pickle. I'm not quite ready to dedicate any large amount of money to the sport. I purchased a driver off of Amazon, for around thirty dollars. It had a lot of great reviews as being a great value buy. However, I already would like to step up my game to a better driver.

Golf for me is as much about competition as it is the actual joy of the game. My friends and I are always looking to out-drive eachother, and I'm sure that a new club would put me over the top. Is there anywhere I would be able to find a good driver at a reasonable price? I'm going to be paying for college shortly, so 80-100 dollars would even be a reach. But I'm willing to look.

Drive for show; putt for dough. (That's what they say, at least)

I was born lucky: 6 foot 6 with long arms. I drive ~280-300 consistently. It doesn't help me as much as I would have expected it to. Honestly, you'll be better off by practicing wedges and putting, as boring as it sounds. On an average round of golf, you'll only use the driver ~12-14 times, so it's not worth spending too much time on. You'll be putting most likely 30+ strokes.

As for your question, if you really really want to get better with driving, look at what redhook said and probably go with a 10.5 driver.

edit: Aaaand as I read the rest of the comments, I see mine are completely redundant. Sorry.

[Boss-Hog]

All,

I don't mean to sidetrack this thread, so forgive me if I am, but I find myself in a somewhat similar situation (though even more of a novice than the OP). I've only golfed a handful of times in my life and been to the driving range a few times, so you can imagine the results. I did take two lessons five or six years ago, but since I never used what I learned, that's all but forgotten now. Anyway, since I've never shown much interest in the sport, I've never owned any clubs, but recently, my cousin was nice enough to give me an old set that just needed a few more clubs to complete the set and I picked those up at Play it Again Sports. At this point, I'm interested in learning the basics and seeing if the game appeals to me, so if anyone has any tips on getting started or can recommend someone in the Cincinnati area for lessons for a true beginner, I'd certainly be interested in giving it a shot. Thanks for any input you can provide.

[15fan]

BH -

You might call around to some of the area colleges to see if any of the assistant or head coaches teach lessons. We've had some good success doing that on some things for our daughter (tennis & swim lessons), and I took my lessons from a womens' coach at one of the area schools.

[Boss-Hog]

Thanks for the advice, 15...I appreciate it.

[Redhook]

BH -

You might call around to some of the area colleges to see if any of the assistant or head coaches teach lessons. We've had some good success doing that on some things for our daughter (tennis & swim lessons), and I took my lessons from a womens' coach at one of the area schools.

Good advice.

UC's Communiversity has a bunch of classes on various topics that they offer year round. We teach beginner and intermediate golf classes through them at Sharon Woods in the spring, summer, and fall.

[bucksfan2]

Boss I give this advice to anyone who wants to get into playing golf. Play. I wouldn't be against taking a lesson or two to get the basic fundamentals but you gain the most from playing. I can't speak for Kyle, but I don't think you get much out of a lesson when you are just starting out as opposed to a year or so later when you have developed more of a golf game.

Play and practice. If you want to become a better golfer hit that practice green quite often. And then when you get the hang of it and have a good understanding of the game you can take lessons to take you to the next level.

[Boss-Hog]

Boss I give this advice to anyone who wants to get into playing golf. Play. I wouldn't be against taking a lesson or two to get the basic fundamentals but you gain the most from playing. I can't speak for Kyle, but I don't think you get much out of a lesson when you are just starting out as opposed to a year or so later when you have developed more of a golf game.

Play and practice. If you want to become a better golfer hit that practice green quite often. And then when you get the hang of it and have a good understanding of the game you can take lessons to take you to the next level.

Thanks for the advice - that's exactly what I intend to do. I'm going to the driving range after my first lesson while the instruction will still be fresh in my mind.

[Redhook]

Boss I give this advice to anyone who wants to get into playing golf. Play. I wouldn't be against taking a lesson or two to get the basic fundamentals but you gain the most from playing. I can't speak for Kyle, but I don't think you get much out of a lesson when you are just starting out as opposed to a year or so later when you have developed more of a golf game.

Play and practice. If you want to become a better golfer hit that practice green quite often. And then when you get the hang of it and have a good understanding of the game you can take lessons to take you to the next level.

I agree. Once you learn some of the key fundamentals of the game, it's imperative to play on the course. I tell people all the time to play as much as possible. Hitting balls on the range is fun and effective, but playing on the course is where you learn how to play the game.

[SunDeck]

Play and practice. If you want to become a better golfer hit that practice green quite often. And then when you get the hang of it and have a good understanding of the game you can take lessons to take you to the next level.

It's amazing what 30 minutes around a green can do. When I was starting to play I learned by trying to get that "click" sound on chips. Then I realized it's the same thing I needed to look for in other shots. Chipping- hitting the ball first and seeing the results in accuracy, consistency, spin, etc.- is a remarkable teacher. And the real plus is that you learn how to get up and down, which is huge for the high handicapper.

[GoReds33]

So I need to update from the past couple weeks. I have been going a few times a week to the local range with a driver I purchased from Amazon for around 30-40 dollars. I have yet to have any problems with it, and it seems to hit as far as the R7 did, if not further. My golf game is streaky at best right now, but my drives have become much more consistant. A 220 yard drive with good accuracy is no problem. I can now push it to 240-245, but I lose much of my accuracy.

This is a random question, but what is a golf scramble?