by Pedro Miranda

Created on: June 15, 2010

Golfing, like skiing, is a sport that relies heavily on technique; unlike skiing though, there are many ways to skin a cat, or to hit a golf ball. The golf swing, Bagger Vance said, cannot be learned, it must be remembered. However, before you can remember your golf swing, you must first find it.

How do you learn it? You could grab a club and swing wildly at a ball, but chances are you would not get very far that way. The alternative is to get some lessons.

I learned golf from a gifted amateur that gave lessons. (Our club, back in Africa, had no pro) That is the equivalent of getting lessons from a friend. The upside is that this is cheap, our friend will gladly teach us in exchange for a beer or two at the clubhouse, but the downside is that an amateur friend who may be good at golf is not necessarily a good teacher, and even if he is a scratch golfer, this doesn’t mean that his swing is good, or teachable.

Does this mean expensive lessons from a pro? Far be from it. In fact, if you are a never-played beginner, or a really raw player, you might be better off with a 4 or 8 hour golf school for beginners that can be found at many municipal courses for really modest fees. After one of these sessions, you are ready to play (in a short or Par 3 course, and preferably during the week, when it is not crowded) Additional sessions on driving, chipping and putting are available and will prove invaluable.

After you have found a repeatable swing, then coaching from pros, or friends, and watching professional play (the Golf channel is available just about everywhere) will take you far down the road.

Private lessons with a reputable pro, that is good at teaching (not all of them are) will further fine tune your swing, grip, and address specific problems that will (trust me) develop in your game. Do not hesitate to return over and over to overcome the problems that will also keep (over and over) appearing in your game.

The main downside of this approach is that progress is faster and after a few rounds of play, the golf bug is likely to bite and you may find yourself daydreaming about your last, or next, game, and , if this happens at work, your boss might not be happy.

But you may be able to convince him to play a round.

God, what a great game!

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