I’m about to be 52, I work in finance, and I live practically next door to Mo Willie, so I’ve decided I’m finally old and boring enough to play golf.
Here’s where I’m at: I can’t hit a ball off the tee. I’ve played maybe 45 holes in my life, including a couple times around the Butler Pitch and putt. I have never played an 18 hole round. I’ve spent some time at the driving range in fits and starts, with no plan, getting worse with every ball.
My goal is to break 100 by the end of the year.
I took a lesson at Golf Galaxy last week to get feedback. Based on her assessment my balance, mobility, and strength are all far above average. My swing mechanics aren’t terrible, but my swing is super inconsistent and striking is a mess. Not great, but she gave me some clear things to work on and it helped. I also watched some Danny Maude videos that were incredibly helpful.
As of now, 9 days later, I’m striking irons cleanly and straight around 60% of the time, but loft and distance are inconsistent.
Here’s my plan from here, looking for feedback.
1) Swing mechanics - Daily practice for 5-10 mins with no ball, paying special attention to rhythm, feeling the weight of the club head, and approach angle.
2) driving range 3-4X per week. 20 balls each PW, 9, 7i.
3) When I’m hitting the ball well 80% of the time, add 5 iron on the range and play the 9 hole par 3 course at Penick campus when time allows.
4) practice putts 20mins, 1-2X/week. Hit out of bunkers 1X/week.
5) When I’m no longer confusing myself with the above, take a lesson focused on hitting from a tee, and work on tee shots with driver and 5 wood at range after warming up with irons.
6) once tee shots are straight 80% of the time, Play 18
Feedback on all of the above is welcome, here are some specific questions for the golfers:
1) does this plan seem sound?
2) should I buy a rangefinder?
3) my clubs are possibly shit. I bought them from a guy who made them in his garage in Cedar Park during the Covid era, because I couldn’t find any left handed clubs and wanted to buy clubs for some reason. Should I try to improve with these or start fresh new ones?
4) How irritating is it to play with a beginner on a public course? I’m very open to advice but I know people like to be helpful. My concern is that somebody I’m playing with might feel obligated to coach me up on their afternoon off, and that’s not fair for them.