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Interesting, and I can see why everything will feel completely different. Your previous grip was a so-called "weak" grip, which would tend to present an open clubface at impact. A "stronger" grip corrects that, but will give a shut clubface at impact. You're moving from a greater likelihood to fade or slice to a draw or hook.

I can find myself getting on the inside too much as well, which can then lead to the shanks, as the heel of the club tends to come at the ball first.

With a new set-up, it's really worth practising on the range to help groove things.

All being well, I'll get 18 holes in tomorrow afternoon.

I have always had a strong grip. Need to weaken it if I want to improve. Although a strong grip helps me smash it longer. The room for error is far greater and my bad shot really can be bad

By strong do you mean strong right hand, rather than throttling a chicken neck?

I guess your bad shot is the duck hook?

Go down the range and try weakening the grip, it will feel totally weird. Have the grip in your fingers rather than the palms and hold the club like an open tube of toothpaste. Strong enough that you wont let go of the tube, but not so hard that the toothpaste comes flying out.

With the more relaxed grip you will hit the ball harder as relaxed muscles work better than tight ones. Although, it takes ages to get used to and once you get into a round and get a little nervous, the chicken strangling will come out to play again.

A tour pro takes around 10 secs to get his grip right before addressing a shot, if you're anything like me it takes around 1 second. Clearly I am 10 times better than a tour pro (or just doing it wrong, n'ah).

first 18 for the year an thought I was going to break the magic 1ton

Played the course back to front, back nine first for those wondering
Dont ask me why,I have no idea

anyways shoot 49 for the back woot woot ...my best score yet

then the wheels fall off for the next 9 holes 59

108 not bad considering

Wondered if any of you seasoned players had any tips for someone considering taking up the game. Any of you got any recommendations on the following.

1. Clubs. I've seen a set of 'hybrid' clubs (whatever that means) for £99 on amazon which seem suited to a beginner, biggest driver head etc but slightly heavier than graphite.

2. Other than balls and tee's is there anything else I should buy?

3. There is an 18 hole council owned club near me which has a driving range as well. I'm not worried for now about getting good straight away so would you suggest a few buckets at the driving range first or getting a lesson or two from the club pro before hitting the course?

Any other suggestions for a beginner are welcome. I have a strange work pattern and have my days off on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so i'll be playing alone to begin with once or twice a week on my days off so won't be playing with anyone else who can show me the ropes or give tips on what I'm doing wrong so tips for a complete beginner would be good!

Just off for 18 myself.

If you are an absolute beginner and don't have mates clubs you can beg borrow or steal, then I would suggest going to your local course and getting a couple of lesson first. They will have clubs you can borrow and more than likely some 2nd hand clubs you could buy on the cheap.

As a beginner you need game improvement clubs. Ones that help get the ball in the air, that is done by the club head and flex points on a shaft, a club pro will sort you out with that. Obviously if you are 5'6" or 6'5" you'll be needing a different set of clubs, getting a "static" fit would be good. It is not just about your height, but arm length etc.

The range is where you get better, the course is where you have fun, just try to get the right balance. Until you start playing you wont know what your faults are and what tips we can give you.

Biggest beginner error:

Irons, beginners think you have to scoop the ball to get it in the air. You actually have to hit down on irons, the club head angle will make the ball go up.

Another tip:

Don't count at the beginning. Don't get worked up at the beginning about breaking certain numbers, like breaking 100, 110 or 120 for a round. You'll only get wound up and play worse. Just play for the fun, don't bother counting, just practice shots and enjoy it. You'll get better faster that way.

I will not really care what I score today, being winter I just want to hit a few decent shots with a variety of clubs. If putts go in then great, if not doesn't matter. For me it is about being ready for the Spring, I have been changing masses of things about my swing this winter and it is starting to come together. Biggest thing is getting the grip right, I am trying to weaken my right hand and is paying massive dividends, feels unnatural but working great.

Important beginner tip:

Get you set up right. i.e. posture, stance and grip. Will feel really weird at first and unnatural, but get this bit wrong and you're doomed from the start. Go to any range and you can spot a good / bad golfer just by how they address the ball, you don't even need to see them swing 90% of the time.

Biggest tip: Enjoy it! The better you get the more frustrating the game gets, so don't get too worked up about going low.

As the weather has started picking up down here in the Southwest I think I might dust off the old bag...clubs I mean.



Its been like a really nice summers day down here today, and after going for a brisk walk this morning past my local golf club, and seeing a few people teeing off early doors, it got my juices going to go for a game, probably this wknd.

My biggest issue is teeing off, I cant get my head round when teeing up with the 1 wood, the size of the head scares the living daylights out of me, and usually slice it badly, so I normally just use a 1 iron. Ok, it does not get the distance you would like compared to the 1 wood, but I always land it on the fairway, when using the 1 iron.

Any tips to get over being totally petrified of the 1 wood?

Started very badly today, got better after around 6 holes, but was never good. Missed a 4 foot putt for a turkey (three birdies in a row) but the course is short off the front tees, so sounds better than it is.

Still was a great day to get out there.

If you think you'll hit it badly, then you will. Likewise if you think your 1-iron is great, you'll more than likely hit it better.

I can't hit a 1-iron to save my life, 4i is the longest iron I carry and I am not a huge fan of it.

The driver swing is very different to irons. You're trying to sweep the ball off the tee, ideally hitting the ball on the way up with the golf swing, which is very different to irons.

I love my driver, I am better with it than my 3-wood, so I rarely play safe as a result. Not taking a driver is a big handicap to being able to go low. I like the saying "the driver will determine how high a score you hit, your putter how low". If I drive well then I have the chance to go real low, if the driver is not working, then it can get ugly.

Had another go at getting under my age for fourteen holes on Wednesday. To do this, I need to play those holes in 8 over.

1st hole - (long par 3) topped tee shot and a lucky thin to 20 feet. Bogey 4
2nd and 3rd holes - both pars
4th - (tough par 4) - poorly played and scored a double bogey
Deferred the 5th as a bloke in front was playing three balls for practice, and time wasn't on my side, having started at 3:15.
6th - good second shot, and two putts for par
7th - misjudged the second - bogey
8th - (easy par 4) - chipped quite close but two putted for par
9th - (hard par 4) - on the green with driver and hybrid for par

+4 for the front nine, but with the 5th still to play, so needing two pars in six holes, and they are all quite tricky

10th - horrible second shot, but a good third to save bogey
11th - (long par 4) - quite close in two, but fluffy third, leading to a double bogey, so now needing three pars in four holes
12th - (long par 3) - just short of the green, up and down for par
13th - rather like the 10th, good third saving a two-putt bogey
14th - (par 4, playing long) good drive and 4-iron, but still 10 yards short of the green. Chip sticks in the fringe and just hobbles on. But in goes a 30 footer and the game is still alive!
I play the 15th, as the 5th tee is right by the green, and just miss a birdie.
5th - longish par 3 with a big green, trouble on both sides, and a big hump that catches many a mi**** shot. Par 3 needed to beat my age for fourteen holes.
4-iron, and I try to swing slowly, but start the downswing too early and it's a nasty dragging-left shot into the remains of the bracken, leaving a 40-yard pitch, with the pin at the front of the green. Still hope. and the pitch is slightly fluffy, and dies a few inches short of the green, leaving me with another 30 footer. Struck well, it looks for a little while as if it might have a chance, but it misses by two inches, and runs six feet past. Somehow, I get this one in, so although I've not beaten my age for fourteen I've equalled it for the first time over that distance.

3 clubs + putter challenge coming up at the weekend.

I have previously won this competition and come second, both times beating my actual handicap. It did eave me wondering why I bothered lugging all the clubs around afterwards.

Done a lot of work on my swing over the winter, so will be interesting to see how it holds out.

Which 3 clubs would you guys take?

I will probably go:

Driver - got to smash it as far off the tee as you can, then work out what to do next

6i - good club for multiple distances and low punches out of the trees!

PW - I love my 56 deg club, but think PW will give me more options (distance)

I'd go with

3 wood - Hit it nearly as far as my driver but better off the deck
7 iron - 150m or less is covered
Sand wedge - I just like my SW

Good choices...

3 wood is sensible, but I hit my driver so much better, both longer and more consistent. Never got on well with 3 woods. Off yellows I should be able to make every par 4 in 2 and par 5 in 3 anyway (1 or 2 may be touch and go).

7 or 6 iron is a dilemma for me. If you have the 3 wood, you can take a 7i, not sure I can with the driver.

Sand wedge, is my go to club from 100 yards and in, I just think it might not have enough distance for me.

Shortest par 3 will be 150 yards, so 7i can do that job, but longest will likely to be 180-190 off the yellow... could really step on a 6i and hit front of green, 7i will be short.

Yeah, I think thats my main issue. Ive never had an issue using the irons in my bag, so dont fear them and usually hit a decent shot when using them. But like you say, Im almost pre-empting a bad shot off my driver and so it happens.

Would be nice to get out at the wkd but the weather down here is terrible atm, so looking forward to the summer !!





1 Iron [lol ofc]
6 or even maybe 7 Iron
Putting wedge

It is the old joke about what to do in a lightning storm, hold up the 1-iron 'cos even God can't hit a 1-iron. I get scared just looking at one!

Played today, think I need to get my SW (56) into my 3 clubs, I hit it so often...

Driver, 6i or 7i and SW

hhmmmm

A cheeky cheat to help stop slices with the driver.

Tee up the ball as you would normally do (ball on your left heal etc) then move the clubhead back 4-5 inches, so you are addressing an imaginary ball further back from the real one. Concentrate on the imaginary ball and pretend that is what you are hitting. Now sing as you would normally do. Works a treat and it is what I do on a round. If I am slicing I move further back, if hooking move closer.

I suggest you try it at the range first!

Might give that a go. I play with what i like to describe as a "controlled fade". Sounds so much netter than a slice

Power fade, sounds even better!

Should have said move your hands back as well as the club head. You are pretending to hit a ball further back than it really is. Revolutionised my driving that tip.

Going back a few posts, I've played in a few 3 clubs and putter comps, and always been happy with driver, 6, SW and putter. Nailed 42 points the first time out with those!

You should just play with those 3 clubs, so much easier just lugging 4 clubs round.

I am starting to lean to that set up. Wish I knew the yardage of the 4 par 3s before I started.

I will go to the range this week and practice hitting different distances with different clubs. 100 yards and out, since 56deg covers 100 yards and in.