The Worst Advice for New Golfers

If there is anything that new golfers get a lot of, it’s advice. Advice on their swing, on short game, on gear — on things you never thought they would receive advice on, and from people who they would have never expected.

Most of the time the advice is probably well intentioned, though I think it is fair to say that every new golfer, especially if you are female, has received “advice” from that guy at the range who wants to feel like a big shot or who had ulterior motives (and don’t come for me about this; if you are offended by that statement then you are probably guilty of the above).

For every piece of good golf advice, there is probably five pieces of bad golf advice. While most of it will be brushed off and ignored, there are certain categories that can hang around in our subconscious and make us question our game and our progress. I am not a coach or a pro, but in the time that I have been playing golf I have received a lot of advice, most of which was counter to the advice that actually helped my game. Based on my experience, these are the the worst types of advice for new golfers.

Equipment Before Technique

It is true that playing with ill fitting equipment can be a detriment to your game, but the answer to improving your swing is rarely (if ever) dropping hundreds of dollars on new equipment. I started my golf journey with hand me down clubs that are arguably too long for me, and the irons in my bag are still the ones from that original set. So far I have replaced my putter, my driver and my 3 wood, and added a 5 wood and a 52 degree wedge. However, on the advice from my coach was that I should wait to be fitted for irons until I was more consistent with my swing. Now, I am not saying that this will be true for everyone, and if the disparity between “proper” equipment and what I was using would have been greater this may not have been the case, but the fact is that new irons were not going to solve the struggles I have had in my mid range play, and as my swing develops, what I need to be the most effective player may change. The more you can figure out your swing and make it consistent, the better prepared you will be to purchase equipment that best fits your style of play.

Your Need To Slow Down Your Swing

I am guilty of this one, both in saying it and in the actual practice. However, the problem has never been that I swing too fast, it is that I do not rotate my body in one smooth motion. My hips get ahead of my hands which opens the club face when I strike the ball, which sends my shot off to the right and usually into trouble. I also tend to drop my shoulder like I’m sending a softball into right field, a visual that my husband has capture in slow motion multiple times.

Swinging fast is fine, as long as the swing motion is correct. Swing speed generates powers, which when paired with solid contact generates greater distance.

Advice From The Range Guru

This as a category is probably the most prevalent in golf, and also encompasses the widest variety of tips and advice that a new golfer will encounter. I will preemptively add the caveat that there is sometimes good advice, or a trick or drill that is shared at the range by s stranger that can help. However, and it is a big however, the person that is giving you advice is unlikely to be a trained coach, or someone who has watched your swing over time, or even knows what you are working on that day at the range. I mentioned this in my best golf advice for new golfers blog, but one of the greatest advantages of working with a coach is that they see the evolution (and sometimes regression) of your swing and can identify not only the areas to work on first, but also what types of feedback and training is most effective in improving your game.

Golf is a game of constant feedback and evolution, and learning to distill the different types of feedback that you receive is as key to your improvement as your time on the range or on the course.

Drop me a comment and let me know what is the worst golf advice that you have received.

Until next time,

Fore!

Katherine

This post originally appeared on The Birds and the Tees