Preparing for Your First Golf Course

This article was written by Amanda Walters, an experienced freelance writer and regular contributor to Huffington Post. Follow her here: @Amanda_W84

New golfers will surely get excited when they learn about the Las Vegas golf specials being offered not only to pros but to beginners as well. However, before they book any deals, they need more time on the range to practice their swing and get to know about bogeys, bump-and-runs, and birdies more intimately.
Playing golf on the best courses in Las Vegas can be a life-changing experience, especially for someone who is still new to the game. But this question needs to be asked first: Are you ready for the challenges of the golf course?

Practice does make perfect

Professional golfers worked on their game for years to reach the status that they currently enjoy. A tour pro’s life is not carefree. Rather, it is governed by strict practice sessions of three to four hours each on the short game and the full swing. Even beginners realize at the outset that golf is so much more than swinging clubs and hitting balls. Every minute of practice is purposeful. That’s how the pros do it and that’s why they have attained the level of proficiency they possess. A serious golfer on the range is not merely hitting balls or rolling putts blindly. He or she is improving a particular aspect of their swing.

What are the areas that need to be checked, corrected, and perfected during practice sessions? There is a good reason behind the use of props such as yardsticks and shafts so that golfers can check their putting path, swing plane, and their alignment. There is also a good reason why it is important to have somebody else, preferably a more experienced player, present to witness practice sessions. The extra pair of eyes is there to provide feedback and suggest areas of improvement to the player. Having a golf instructor and later on, a buddy, can be a lot of help when starting out.

What the pros do

If a novice golfer wants to be absolutely ready for his or her first golf course, then it pays to practice like a pro. The first thing to do is to set up station at the range. With a few shafts or clubs, a novice player can start developing better alignment. The coaches of the best pro players say that the alignment shaft must be placed along the heels instead of their toes. The ball position must be checked by a shaft that is perpendicular to the target line. If a novice wants to determine whether one’s swing is on plane, a shaft must be placed on the ground by the side of the body at an angle similar to the clubshaft at address.

Getting ready for the course

It is important to have the ability to focus on mechanical improvements and this may be done by drills. In order to enforce concrete changes in one’s form and technique, it is also critical to practice for the short game and the long game alternately. It is also important to set attainable goals with a very specific timeframe. Given adequate practice, any new golfer will be ready for the golf course in time.

Do you have a golfer in your life?