I've Never Played Golf — Where Do I Even Start?

I hear this question far less than I’d like to, and probably a lot less than you think a golf coach would. I think that is because we have become dependent on Google and AI as our go-to source for knowledge, but that's a conversation for another day... :)

But when I do get that question, and thank you for asking it, here’s how I reply. 

I ask a question: “Do you want to know how to start hitting golf balls, or do you want an even higher level overview of how to get involved in golf?”  

Most of the time I get “both” as the answer. So I made the Introduction to Golf for Absolute Beginners lesson series to get you "both." It’s FREE and it walks you through everything from making a tee time to the difference between a driver and a wedge. It’s a great look at how to get started. Go take a look at that. 

Let’s use the rest of this blog post to focus in on how you start to hit golf balls. 

Do you remember your experience learning to read, and by extension learning to write? It’s been a while for me, but I remember learning first to recite the alphabet. My older sister and my parents taught me that. Then I was taught what each letter looked like, and what they sounded like, and how to write them (mom helped with that too, but so did pre-school and kindergarten). Joining a few letters together to make simple words came next, words like “cat” and “sat” and “mat.” Those words grew into simple sentences, and from that came longer words and sentences with more words.

And it all started with A-B-C. Learning small, repeating often, growing skills, gaining confidence, making mistakes, dealing with tricky spelling or pronunciation, persevering, and becoming proficient. 

Learning golf is going to follow that same pattern:

  • Start small

  • Repetitive practice 

  • Grow skills 

  • Gain confidence 

  • Make mistakes 

  • Deal with tricky or difficult situations 

  • Persevere 

  • Become proficient

So where do you start? What are the A-B-C’s of hitting a golf ball? 

The most important thing any golfer can learn to do is to control their golf ball. That fact implies that the golfer needs to learn how to control their body movement so that they can control their golf ball. My teaching philosophy is based on the truth that Movement Matters. 

As a beginner golfer, you need to learn how to control small things before you can learn to control big things. I know you want to hit it far and straight, but that is the equivalent of trying to write a Shakespearean play without knowing the alphabet.

As a beginner golfer, you need to learn how to control small things before you can learn to control big things. I know you want to hit it far and straight, but that is the equivalent of trying to write a Shakespearean play without knowing the alphabet.

  • A is for: Rolling A Short Putt 

  • B is for: Making A Short Shot (Chip)

  • C is for: Hitting a 50-yard shot

A. Rolling A Short Putt

Here’s a video of the drill you need to learn and get good at. Don’t be overly concerned about your technique. Focus on the task and the outcome of the task. I call this practice exercise the “Sticks Drill” and the purpose of this exercise is to give your brain a goal to accomplish, or a puzzle to figure out, and to let it do that. The goal to accomplish in this drill is to roll the ball down the middle of the “highway” and into the hole. You are about 3 feet away and you’ve chosen a straight putt (meaning there is no slope in the ground that would cause your ball to curve as it rolls due to gravity).

As you learn this drill you will start to identify some or all of the following: 

  • You don’t need much effort to roll the ball 3 feet

  • Keeping your arms relatively straight and “teeter-tottering” your shoulders is a simple method for creating movement

  • The ball rolls in the direction you point your putter

B. Making A Short Shot (Chip)

Here’s a video that shows you how to make a short (chip) shot. For now you are not chipping towards a hole; you are learning to take the movement skills from the Sticks Drill and applying them to a different situation. I suggest learning how to chip with a wedge that has a loft anywhere between 50 and 60 degrees

Things that transfer from putting to chipping are: 

  • Arms stay relatively straight

  • Your shoulders make a “teeter-totter” movement to move the golf club

  • The clubface determines the start direction of the ball

I have two rules for chipping: 

1. The clubhead slides under the ball (watch the videos).

2. The backswing and forwardswing, especially the follow through, must match the chip shot you are attempting. Most players instinctively are okay in the backswing, but not so much in the follow through. Watch the videos as many times as you need to until these two rules become a part of you.

The goal of a chip shot is to get your ball on to the putting surface. If you are chipping, and your next shot is a putt, you have succeeded. 

C. Hitting a 50-Yard Shot

The 50-yard shot is a key step in your golf development. If you can do this, then you can almost immediately hit it 75, 100, 125, 150 or more. But you must start with 50 (or something close to 50).

Here are the videos on how to hit a 50 yard shot. Your chipping skills transfer nicely over to this part of the game. It’s a similar movement, just a little bigger and with a different club, I recommend using an 8-iron or a 7-iron. 

Now you know where to start. I hope this has been helpful.

The video below is Lesson 31 from the Introduction to Golf for Absolute Beginners. It's the lesson that teaches you about hitting the 50-yard shot.

First start here with the Introduction to Golf for Absolute Beginners. And then use the putting, chipping, and hitting videos in this post to help you learn to control your ball.

If you are not an absolute beginner but are still struggling to reach your golfing potential, take a look at movementmatters.golf and let's start working together.