Apr 21, 2022

How to Get Started with Golf this Summer with Justin Klemballa

beginner golfers golf tips and tricks on the course

The beautiful thing about golf is that it is never too late to get started. Whether you are looking to take up the sport for health or social reasons in middle age, or you want to spend more time with your husband in retirement — golf is a great beginner’s sport for women of any age.

If you started playing golf within the past two years or you are curious about how to spend your summer getting started with golf — we have tips for YOU!

Recently, Tori spoke with one of our favorite golf instructors and one of Golf Digest’s Top Instructors, Justin Klemballa.

Keep reading to learn step-by-step how to get started with golf and get answers to some of the most common beginner golf questions. By the end of this article, you’ll feel more confident about getting onto the course.

 

What are the first steps to getting started with golf?

As a beginner golfer, it can be so intimidating to get started with golf, especially as a middle-aged woman. It can feel like everyone else has been doing this their whole lives, and you feel like you stick out like a sore thumb. But it doesn’t have to feel this way!

Let’s break it down into steps.

Where is the best place to buy beginner golf clubs?

The first step is getting your clubs. But how do you go about buying a set of golf clubs? How much should you spend on beginner clubs? And where do you go to buy them?

There are two options when it comes to buying beginner clubs.

If you can, we strongly recommend you start by getting fit for clubs. This will be more expensive than just buying a starter set, but it will be worth it if you think you’ll stick with golf for any period of time.

During your fitting, you can ask to be fit but for beginner equipment to keep costs lower. That means that they’ll use whatever they have in stock, rather than custom ordering them. 

At a fitting, they’ll consider everything from your height to your hand size, to the distance from your wrist to the floor. They’ll help make sure that you get the right length and everything to make you feel comfortable and optimize your game.

To start, you don’t need every club. You’ll probably want about 7 clubs, including a putter, sand wedge, pitching wedge, 7 wood, 8 iron, 6 hybrid, and a driver. This will cover all the bases. The cost for all these clubs plus the fitting is usually around $1000–2000.

If you have a smaller budget or don’t want to make that big of a commitment to start, you can also get great women’s start sets at any golf store like Dick’s Sporting Goods or PJ’s Superstore. These will be sufficient to get you started on the course for more than $500–800.

Having the perfect fit set of clubs helps but it doesn’t have to be the highest priority. Instead, regardless of what clubs you use, beginners should focus on working on proper technique.

This brings us to step two...

Where do you get started on the golf course?

The best place to start is to ask around the pro shop about beginner clinics. You’ll be around the area to buy your range balls and make your Tee time appointment anyways, so this is a great place to get information.

Once you are on the course, it is important to note that you don’t have to start at the tee box, especially if you’re worried about holding up play or feeling embarrassed in front of others.

Instead, you can start closer to the green. We recommend starting to keep the score from 25 yards.

We love the Operation 36 method for beginners. With Operation 36, you work on shooting 36 or better for 9 holes from 25 yards. If you shoot 36, then next time you play from 50 yards. If you shoot 36 from 50 yards, then you graduate to 100, then 150, then 200, until finally, you graduate to the tee box.

Justin says to think of learning golf like learning math. Starting from 25 yards is like learning to count, 50 yards is like learning addition, then you learn subtraction, multiplication, and division — until you work your way up to a full algebra equation (the tee box).

Using this metaphor, golf beginners are often asked to do an algebra equation when they don’t even know how to count. They have no chance of success! Even if they have high ability and can fly through each level, they still need to go through each level and work their way up.

Many beginners want to spend all their time in full swing, hitting balls off the tee for hours, but that’s not what golf is. Using your driver can be the most fun, but it won’t help get you out there and it can be more embarrassing when you miss. Instead, it is best to get out onto the course and learn through more realistic scenarios.

If it helps, you can even tee up every shot. This isn’t how most players do things, but it can help make learning easier and build your confidence. If you’re not recording your score yet, then all that matters is keeping up your pace of play, which teeing up and using the Operation 36 method can help with.

Experienced golfers always say if they could do things differently, they would have focused on their short game more in the beginning.

And of course, have fun, enjoy the game, and appreciate your time spent outside and with loved ones.

Other common questions for golf beginners

Now that you are out on the range (congrats!) you may have a lot of questions about unspoken golf etiquette. It can be hard to learn these things as a beginner! So here are some common questions we’ve received from beginners and the answers, so you don’t have to figure it out. 

At a public course, do you take a bucket of range balls with you when you go chip?

Range balls are typically used for full-swing applications, so they are often cheap, poor-quality balls. They won’t be as reactive as other balls.

So, you can use range balls to chip, but we recommend using your own balls. Use the balls that you would normally be chipping and putting with. That way, you get the most effective practice and can learn how those balls will feel out on the range.

But if you are a beginner and maybe don’t have your own balls to use, you can use range balls if you want.

What do you do if your driving head flies off and on the range?

First, don’t be embarrassed! This actually happens all the time. It even happens to professionals sometimes!

It has nothing to do with the quality of your swing. Instead, it has to do with the design of the driver. If the head comes off, it means that the epoxy holding the club head onto the shaft has come loose.

If your head comes off, let people know, wait until it is safe, and then go retrieve your driver.

When chipping or putting, can you target the same hole as someone else?

In chipping or putting etiquette, you should avoid targeting the same hole as someone else. Instead, it is best to go for another hole, especially if there are only a few other people on the green.

If all the holes are taken, you can put a tee or ball marker down and use that as the hole instead. Since a tee is so small, this can actually be a great way to practice.

Of course, if you are at a shotgun event with tons of people warming up on the green, targeting the same hole is inevitable.

Do you leave your range balls on the putting green when you’re done?

This shouldn’t be a question because you should not use range balls on the putting green. They’re such bad balls to practice with! Instead, use your own balls.

Range balls are really just meant for full swing and driving range applications.

Putting is so important to winning tournaments, so you should practice your putting seriously and get a feel for it with good putting balls.

Learn more

We are so excited for you to begin your beginner’s golf journey! Hopefully, these tips and answers are helpful and will help give you the knowledge and confidence to get started.

If you’d like a little more of an introduction to beginner’s golf and golf course etiquette, you can connect with Justin on Instagram or watch his videos on YouTube. You can also sign up for his amazing online course from BFore Golf: Your Fast Track Guide to Getting Started with Golf.

Download the bestselling practice program, Short Game 100 for more practice!


Resources

Tori:
Instagram@tori_totlis
TikTok@tori_totlis
Website: CompeteConfidenceGolf.com