If you’re not one for high-intensity team sports or lengthy solitary pursuits like running, golf is a great way to get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors.
It’s a sport that’s enjoying a surge in popularity, with England Golf reporting a rise in golf club memberships over the past year, by almost 90,000.
Taking up golf can seem like a daunting prospect; there are new techniques to learn, expensive equipment to buy and memberships for which to pay.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. We’ve made it easy to understand how to get into golf in just a few simple steps below.
Golf Clubs
You won’t be able to start playing golf without any clubs.
If you decide to start with a few lessons, find a trainer that provides the clubs so that you can get a feel for them. You can then use this as a basis to inform your decision when it comes to getting a set for yourself.
Should you need further help, there are plenty of articles online comparing the best sets for beginners, so a bit of research should help you to find what you need at a reasonable price.
If you want to save a bit of money on your first set of clubs, check eBay and Facebook Marketplace for cheap used sets. That way, if golf turns out not to be right for you, you haven’t lost out on as much money.
Find A Club
Wherever you live in the UK, you’ll probably be surprised by the number of golf clubs that are nearby.
Before committing to a membership, though, see if you can play a round as a member of the public. This will help you to get an understanding of the course and whether it’ll provide you with the right challenge.
You don’t want to go somewhere too tricky as it could put you off playing, but somewhere too easy will make it harder for you to improve.
Becoming a member of a club will keep your playing costs down and in some cases can also provide other benefits like golf insurance.
Developing Your Game
Once you’ve joined a club, you’ll have access to a multitude of facilities to help you to improve. You could work on your approach play by heading to the driving range or fine-tune your putting on the training greens.
Some clubs even boast indoor studios that use technology to analyse your swing, with PGA-qualified professionals on hand to provide you with tips on any tweaks that you can make.
Of course, better facilities likely mean a higher membership fee, so you’ll need to think about what aspects are essential to your decision and what areas you’d be willing to forgo if a compromise needed to be made.
