Five #Golf Tips for Practice Without an Instructor

Golf for Beginners knows that there is no substitute for taking instructions from a professional golf instructor but, what happens when you want to hit a few but you're not taking a lesson?

Practicing on a driving range is good - proper practice is essential! No one wants to ingrain bad habits into the golf swing or into your round; they're so difficult to break! Instead, when you are alone with your golf clubs and no pro in sight, practice your lessons and keep these tips in mind:

1. Just because you are practicing on a range doesn't mean you shouldn't first warm up your body - stretching before you begin will help improve the fluidity of your swing and, chances are, you won't pull a ligament or tendon.

2. Get your tempo down before you start swinging - practice tempo either with a training aid or think "1, 2, 3" (like a waltz) to the top of your back swing and then again "1, 2, 3" to the finish. Also, try holding your position at the top for a sec before your downswing -  this will slow you down and improve your rhythm.

3. Practice a comfortable hold on your grip - if you're holding on too tight it can cause a pull hook and callouses on your fingers. If you have problems with your grip pressure, there are grips that you don't play with but can help properly align your hands and fingers.

4. You're not John Daly so don't practice with a "grip it and rip it mentality"- there's no need to take a mighty swing every time. Instead, start your routine with quarter and half swings to improve ball contact. And, since golf is a target sport, pick the smallest specific target you're aiming at before you take your practice swing. Practice your visualization - how you look at a hole and the course.

5. Make sure you spend some time each session on the putting green - practice your putting stroke which is the beginning of your golf swing so you can see and hear the ball fall into the cup.

What practice tips can you share? Share on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on this golf blog.

photo: en.wikipedia.org, Golf for Beginners

The Golf Shots You Need To Practice to Score Low

To score well, there are some golf shots that are just more essential to learn than others - ones you need to practice to lower your handicap and make you want to come back to the course time and again.

Legendary golfer Ben Hogan believed that your shot off of the tee was the most important shot in golf,

"You've got to hit the fairway before you have a good chance of putting the ball close to the pin. You can be the greatest iron player in the world, but if you're in the boondocks it won't do you any good."

Players like Dustin Johnson rely on their long drives to move them down the fairway and into position for an easier approach shot. At the 2018 WGC-Dell Match Play event, DJ smashed a drive a quarter of a mile (although it included hitting a cart path, this was still a "wow" moment).

Some golfers would argue that the most important golf shot in your bag is the approach shot because, if executed properly, you can get on the green in regulation and make possible birdie or par.

Other golf gurus, such as Dave Pelz, state that it isn't your putting which should consume your focus but, rather, you should work on your wedges, "Putting is not the most important part of the game – it’s your wedge game. Putting is the second most important because you do it half the time."

PGAprofessional.com states, on the flip side, that the "importance of putting cannot be overemphasized",

"If there are 18 holes on a golf course and each green is worth two putts that means that par for putting is 36. The majority of 18-hole golf courses are par 72. That means that half of par is putting."

Read: Three Smart Ways to Lower Your Golf Score

One question to consider is..."What is more important for your game... to start each hole well or to finish strong?"

As for my own personal game, I add strokes to my round on my approach shots and through lack of feel on the greens - hybrid clubs, mid-irons and putting are where I need to strengthen my game.

Titleist believes that hitting greens in regulation is a basic statistic which players should track, "golfers play more shots to the green than from the tee. The higher the score, the more shots that have been hit to the green."

Everyone's golf game is different and we all have our "pain points", so, it is necessary to practice all shots in your bag, identify weaknesses in your game, decide where you need work and focus on those shots.

What are the shots you need to practice? Comment at the bottom of our Golf for Beginners golf blog and tag us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

Why You Should Play Golf Without a Driver

If you find your driver to be erratic at times (and who doesn't), the next time you play a round of golf why not consider leaving that new Nike Covert VR S or Callaway X Hot Pro at home? Why not just tuck it away in the trunk of your car you may ask? 


Swinging well at the driving range and feeling super confident, you just might be tempted to grab the Big Head instead of sticking to a plan and playing your round with the other thirteen clubs in your bag, maybe adding another hybrid or wedge to the mix.


The great Ben Hogan said, "Golf is not a game of good shots... It's a game of bad shots." He further commented, "You only hit a straight ball by accident. The ball is going to move right or left every time you hit it, so you had better make it go one way or the other." 

With a driver in hand, the chances of hitting your shot more wayward than intended could mean the difference between edge of the first cut of rough and being in the woods so, why take the risk during every round?

Whether you are a golf beginner or more experienced amateur, regularly hitting wayward shots with a less-than-reliable club doesn't enhance your time on the course and allows negative thoughts to creep into your mind and into your game.

Instead of attempting to regain composure after hitting a bad driver shot off of the tee, Golf for Beginners offers a few benefits to leaving your driver at home.


1. A better chance to get ball in fairway:
If your driver is erratic, you certainly don't want it to cost you strokes during a round of golf...and it will! If your three, five-wood or even  longer iron gets you into the fairway, practice with your driver off-course and play with your go-to clubs during the round.

When Tiger Woods was asked after his second round on Muirfield how many times he used his driver up to that point in The Open he exclaimed, "I hit about eight to 10..." finishing his deadpan comment with, "on the range." The result was a tie for the lead going into the weekend and with Woods being "in a good spot."

2. Confidence booster: You have to admit that, when your golf ball lands safely in the fairway, you feel ready, and eager, to tackle the next shot...you look forward to it!

3. Chance to Practice Longer Approach Shots: With the driver out of your bag, you will be pressed to use different golf clubs to get down to the green. A three-wood on the tee will leave a longer approach shot so dust off the hybrids (which are easy and fun to hit!)

4. More fun: Playing golf should be fun, whether you are out in a foursome or in a tournament. Wouldn't it be great to beat your buddies knowing that you didn't need your driver to win? It's also a great talking point for the 19th hole!



Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on Facebook.

photo credit: Golfweek.com, 123rf.com