First Thoughts

Many of us are first exposed to the game of golf as we tag along with dad, teen age friends, or a husband or wife for 18 holes of errant shots and lost balls. Many do not survive the shock of that assault on self image or the harangues: "keep your: head down, arm straight, and eye on the ball".

Those who get a more gradual introduction to golf, or who can see the sense of a stepwise path to competent play, accept the notion that "first there is the swing " and then "there is golf, the game".

See My Philosophy for an overview of our approach to learning to play.

Yes, first there is the swing. The student must understand and think through the fundamentals of the golf swing. Through repetition, that thinking becomes ingrained - reliably sending the ball where you want it to go without really thinking about the elements anymore. Just remember that in the beginning 'to learn the swing you must think, but when you think, you stink!

This will only be in the beginning. Soon you will have a "no think, no stink swing" Now you are ready to think about how to play golf, the game.

See About the Swing, for ways to think about it during the learning process.

As a new golfer, you may not have thought much about or are even aware that there are rules for the use of the following tools involved:

• Your golf ball
• Your golf club
• Your body

See Instructions and Rules for the use of the tools for details on how they interact to form the golf swing.

While I have attempted to present important concepts on these screens, I won't be able to teach you the swing or the game here, but I certainly can in an interactive session with you that will incorporate a number of other helpful tips and ideas designed to refine your swing skills and course management such as:

• The importance of weight transfer and how weight shift is not weight transfer.
• The three D's of the pre-swing routine for short shots, Direction, Duff and Distance.
• The only two things you need to know to become a phenomenal putter.
• Know who your friend is in all sand hazards.
• How the application of modern technology can help turn your whole game around.
• How the eyes lie during the setup routine while preparing to hit a golf shot.