“FEELING NAKED ON THE FIRST TEE”

A Guide for New Women Golfers

Learning to golf can be a stressful event for beginners, especially women, because they often worry about what others will think.  “What will they think of me?” is actually a source of pressure for all golfers, whether at the tour level or the beginning level.  You only put pressure on yourself by considering what others will think of you.  The truth is they are probably not going to think about you at all.  Most golfers are too concerned with their own game to worry about yours.  As long as you know the rules and etiquette and can keep up, most golfers are very tolerant of beginning players.  After all, they’ve all been there!  We will help you learn the basics so you will feel more comfortable on the course when you are ready to go out and play with others.  Golf is a great game for women to play because you do not have to be young, big or strong.  Many women have a great “short game” (which means chipping and putting), and can be quite competitive with even men, because most men worry more about how far they can hit the ball off the tee (and it often ends up in the woods!).  And we get to hit from the closer tees, so have an advantage in distance, some courses more than others.

“What do I wear?”

If you are going to a fancy golf course, such as Deacon’s Lodge, they may have a dress code, which generally means a collared golf shirt and nice shorts or slacks (no jeans or cutoffs).  On smaller courses, pretty much anything goes, but it’s fun to get some new golf clothes and may make you feel more confident to dress the part.  Most courses now carry a nice selection of golf shirts for women, but if you want an inexpensive golf shirt, Kohls and Walmart have them also.  Golf shoes are not necessary when you are starting out.  A pair of tennis shoes is fine.  Most women wear a glove to prevent blisters.  Most right handed golfers wear a glove on their left hand and vice-versa.  Some women wear two gloves. 

“Do I need to buy new clubs?”

Most courses have clubs you can rent, but if you are going to get serious about golf, you don’t want to be using different clubs all the time.  Though you don’t need to go buy $900 Pings, I also wouldn’t recommend getting a 1970’s set at a garage sale.  Target and Fleet Farm carry some decent clubs that are inexpensive.  Wildwedge can order several brands of clubs at a discount if you are interested in those.  Clubs have come a long ways in the last 5 years and are making them easier to hit.  Oversized clubs are also popular and help the beginner.  Whatever you get, make sure you get a set designed especially for women, preferably graphite, as they are designed for a women’s slower swing speed and will make playing easier.  As far as balls, the best balls for beginning women are soft balls.  It doesn’t really matter what brand as long as they are soft.  Many companies design balls especially for women. 

“What does Par mean?”

When people talk about par, this is the number of strokes a very, very good player should take to play a particular hole.  Do not start out thinking you should get pars or you will get frustrated.  Even people who have been playing for years are excited when they shoot par on a hole.  Very few people ever shoot par on the entire course unless they are pros.  Other scoring terms you will often hear are “birdie”, which is one stroke under par.  A “bogey” is one stroke over par, a “double bogey” is two strokes over par, etc.  As a beginner, it is a good idea to set your own “personal par”.  Perhaps your goal is to get a score where you shoot all double bogeys, which would mean if you played 9 par 3 holes, you would average 5 on each hole for a score of 45 or a score of 64 on 9 holes on a full size course.  Or even go for triple bogeys in the beginning.  Set a realistic goal and you will be able to see improvements without getting frustrated.

BASIC RULES AND ETIQUETTE WE ALL NEED TO KNOW:

Never put your bag or pull cart on the green.  It should be left on the side of the green toward the next hole for quicker exit off the hole.  If you are using a cart, do not drive on or near the green.

Do not walk on the line of someone’s putt.  This is the line between their ball and the hole.  This used to be a bigger deal when people wore metal spikes and it left impressions on the green.  Even though it seems like it shouldn’t matter anymore, many people (namely men) are weird about this, so don’t do it.

Do not talk while somebody is hitting.  Being women, many of us like to talk while we are golfing, and that is fine and it is fun, but while somebody is hitting you should stop talking.  Some groups of women talk a lot while golfing and nobody cares, others are more serious.  Some women even prefer the others continue to converse, because that means they are not watching them hit.  Basically, be aware of other members of your group and whether they are chatty or quiet and try to fit in.

Normally, the person who had the best score on the last hole “has honors” and hits first on the next hole.  After everyone tees off, the person who is furthest away from the hole hits next and continue in this way until everyone is on the green.  Once everybody is on the green, the one furthest from the hole would putt first, and continues on until everyone is in the hole.  You may need to mark your ball if your ball is in the way of somebody putting.  Use a ball marker, often attached to your gloves or a coin or anything flat.  Place the ball marker behind where your ball is and when you replace your ball put it in the same spot in front of the marker.  Once again, these are the rules, but most people play “ready golf” and whoever is ready can hit as long as nobody is in their way.

Do not walk through the bunkers (sand traps).  If you go into a sand trap to hit out, make as few tracks as possible and rake the sand when you are finished.  This prevents the next person’s ball from ending up in a hole, which is not fun to hit out of.  Also, you are not allowed to “ground your club” while hitting out of the sand.  This means no practice swings and you cannot touch the sand with your club before hitting.

You will find when golfing with women that we are very supportive of each other.  Everyone likes to hear “nice shot!.”  However, when you get out with men and say “nice shot” because you would be thrilled to hit it that well, they may have just duffed it in their opinion.  On the other hand, the fact that you are truly impressed does help their ego.  So go ahead and say it anyway if you think it’s good.

Advice on the course is not always appreciated by everybody.  If you golf with your husband or other men, you will probably find they are full of “wonderful” advice.  If you are like most women, you may not appreciate constantly hearing all the things you did wrong every time you hit the ball.  This is why many women find they really like playing with women.  Women don’t generally go around giving advice to each other unless asked.

The most important thing you need to know when going out onto a course as a beginner is that nobody cares if you are a beginner as long as you don’t slow up play.  Many men automatically assume a group of women on the course is going to be slow, though women tend to be more conscious of this than men, so it is not usually the case.

Things to practice to keep pace moving along are:
-Play "ready golf".  Whoever is ready to hit off the tee go ahead regardless of "honors".
-Prepare for your next shot as you are walking to it.  Decide what club you need.
-Hit when ready as long as nobody is in your way.
-Don't take more than one or two practice swings.
-Keep track of where your shot goes, mark it with trees, shrubs, etc.
-Keep track of where your partners balls goes also.
-Line up your putt while others are putting, but don't disturb them.
-After finishing, go directly to the next hole before recording scores.
-Let faster groups play through.

If you are a beginner and having a hard time keeping pace or having a difficult day hitting, it is okay to pick up your ball and go to the next hole or put it on the green and putt.  Nobody is going to care and will appreciate keeping things moving.  Many beginners will even tee up on the fairway if it is a long hole just to get more practice.  Obviously, you can’t do this legally, but who cares…you’re learning. 

Relax and stay positive.  Only about 15 minutes of a 4 hour round is actually swinging the club.  Enjoy the scenery, being outdoors, getting exercise and the company of your playing partners the rest of the time.  Remember, even professional golfers have terrible days.  Every hit is a new hit and every hole is a new hole.  You will have some incredible hits even as a beginner…this is what keeps us all going.  The first time you hit your driver on the sweet spot and it goes further than it ever has, you will understand.  Before you know it, you might be addicted.

So, women, golf is your game!  It is ideally suited to your strengths.  You don’t have to be strong or tall or athletic or young.  Skills such as patience, persistence, thoughtfulness, good decision making and problem solving, attention to detail, willingness to take instruction, and practice are very important in the game of golf.  In other words, skills women are good at.  So have fun…and go for it!