What’s the best way to learn to play golf?

Is there a better time to learn to play golf?

I get asked this question all the time: what is the “best time” to take golf lessons? Before I answer it, let me give you the reality check.

Beware of bad starts!

Too often, golfers initiate their friends or relatives to golf, without having the skills. Yet a golf amateur is not a golf professional. No more than a lover of good wine is a professor of oenology. What I mean here is expertise and pedagogy.

From their first round of golf, beginners thus initiated struggle to play. They then suffer the wrath of the golf marshal charged with enforcing the playing time. Frustrated and humiliated by the failure, sometimes even angry at their friend or loved one, many give up. That’s too bad!

As for beginners who persist without professional help, they develop bad habits. These bad habits will haunt them for the rest of their golfing lives. That’s a shame!

What do you need to do to learn to play golf?

Get a qualified golf teacher. The sooner the better. That way, you’ll learn the basics and proper golf techniques you’ll need to have fun playing golf.

Then ask your golf instructor to join for your first round on a golf course.

To speed up the game, adopt the Scramble formula (best shot of both players). That way, no marshals will be bothering you.

If the prospect of playing on a real golf course scares you, play a few rounds on a golf simulator first.

The shortest and safest way to learn to play golf

Finally, there’s no better time to learn golf, but there’s a nicer way that will save you time and money: take lessons from a worthy golf instructor. This will quickly put you on the right track and confirm when you’re ready to hit the real golf course, with or without a golf pro.