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I’ve Never Played Golf. Where Do I Start?

You start by booking one lesson. Everything people tell you to do first is usually wrong.

Start with a single lesson — a $40 Swing Evaluation. Do not buy clubs first, do not go hit a bucket alone to “get decent enough for a lesson,” and do not watch forty videos. A beginner practising alone is rehearsing mistakes that take months to undo. One 30-minute session with someone watching will save you a season, and you need nothing to attend it.

Skip These

Three Things Beginners Do That Cost Them a Year

1. Buying clubs first

It feels like the responsible first step. It is the most expensive way to guess. You do not yet know your swing speed, your miss, or whether you will even enjoy this — and a fitting after a handful of lessons will tell you more in twenty minutes than a shop can tell you now. Borrow, rent, or say so when you book.

2. “Getting decent enough for a lesson first”

This is backwards, and it is the single most common thing beginners say. Every hour you spend alone on a range is an hour spent making one swing more automatic — and if that swing has a bad grip in it, you are not practising, you are installing. Instructors are not judging you. Bad swings are the job.

3. Learning from the internet

There is genuinely good golf instruction online. The problem is that it is not about you. A video that fixes a slice caused by an open clubface will make a slice caused by an out-to-in path worse, and you have no way to tell which one you have. That is the thing a person watching you provides.

What the First Few Lessons Cover

Most beginners want five to ten lessons over a couple of months to reach the point where golf is fun rather than stressful. More on how many you need →

What It Costs to Find Out

Swing Evaluation — your first session$40
Private lesson after that — 30 min$50
5-lesson package$225 $45 each
Group clinic — 4–6 players, 60 min$35 per player

Forty dollars is the whole risk. If you decide golf is not for you, you are out $40 and an afternoon — which is less than a set of clubs you would have stopped using.

A group clinic at $35 is worth knowing about too: some people find a first lesson far less intimidating with a few other beginners standing next to them.

Questions

Common Questions

I have never played golf. Can I take a lesson?

Yes, and it is the best possible time to take one. Beginners who take a lesson before developing habits progress far faster than those who spend a season teaching themselves. You need no clubs, no golf shoes and no experience — a first Swing Evaluation is $40 for 30 minutes.

Should I buy golf clubs before my first lesson?

No. Wait. You do not yet know your swing speed or your miss, and a fitting after a few lessons will tell you what to buy far better than a shop can today. Say you need clubs when you book and Tyler will bring some.

Should I practise before taking a lesson?

No, and this is the mistake almost every beginner makes. Practising alone makes whatever you are doing more automatic, including the parts that are wrong. Come as you are — instructors are not judging your swing, they are reading it.

How long does it take a beginner to get decent at golf?

With five to ten lessons over two or three months plus practice in between, most beginners reach the point where they can play a round without stress and enjoy it. Getting genuinely good takes years, but getting to 'this is fun' is much faster than people expect.

Is a group clinic a good way to start?

It can be, and it is cheaper at $35 per player for 60 minutes. Some beginners find it far less intimidating alongside other beginners. The tradeoff is less individual attention, so if you have a specific problem, a private lesson is better value.

Start With a $40 Swing Evaluation

Thirty minutes, one-on-one. We find the two or three things costing you the most strokes and build your Game Plan — and you keep it.

Book Your Evaluation