[Dale Frischknecht]

When my dad was teaching my brother and I to play, we would get to hit a wood 3 or 4 (we didn't have drivers) from the ladies tee.  He would pick the ball up and drop it in the middle of the fairway at whatever our 7 iron distance was and we could finish the hole.  It worked well for us, we got to tee off but didn't have to take 5 or 6 shots to reach the greens.

[jeffwarne]

When my dad was teaching my brother and I to play, we would get to hit a wood 3 or 4 (we didn't have drivers) from the ladies tee.  He would pick the ball up and drop it in the middle of the fairway at whatever our 7 iron distance was and we could finish the hole.  It worked well for us, we got to tee off but didn't have to take 5 or 6 shots to reach the greens.

This is excellent, and exactly what I tell my newer players when they accompany better players and are expected to maintain normal pace.
"Skip the MIDDLE of the hole" if they hit a poor second or third. But don't just pick up.
But always tee off-and always play the last part of the hole-at least putt out, and preferably hit a pitch or a chip and a putt.
The WORST advice is to pick up your ball to a beginner-because they never get to use their short game or putt. Hit 3, 4,5 shots whatever and keep pace-they don't have to be consecutive.


There are many ways to start new players, and I deal with teaching new players all the time.
It is VERY common for our members to write a check, then start golf-as adults.
A 45 year old reasonable athletic man isn't hitting a wood from 25 yards or 50 yards.
Sure that's great for a 5 year old, but few adults want to walk 350 yards between 25 yard shots.
If someone else has had success with that, more power to them.
I can't imagine teaching that way-seems very time inefficient on a walking course.


All newer players are different, as some are aged 4,8,12,25, 45, or 75, but they ALL want to experience different shots on the course and see what it is all about.
I take nearly all my brand new players on the course by the second or third lesson, to dangle the carrot and let them see what the property, challenge and intrigue is all about.
There are many ways to introduce people to golf, but it has to be fun and engaging to all levels of athleticism.
Hitting a ball 25 yards x 9 holes may make sense to some(if you're 6), but definitely not in my 40 years of teaching and introducing golf to players of more advanced ages.


Now I'm not knocking a short course or courses, I'm just knocking ONLY playing from 25 or 50 yards on EVERY hole(by walking to that point).
Not using a driver at all on the course until they manage "36" as their score may lead to a phobia about hitting a driver on the course later on.
Why neglect one area(full swing)while becoming reasonably proficient at another(25 yards and in)?


In a perfect world you'd have an Old Barnwell-like setup with a kids course that even adult beginners can use, or a Holiday course like they are building later.
At The Bridge we use our range target greens to set up a dedicated kid's course for events, but it's impractical to close the range very often. Perfect for 2-3 young junior events per year.
We also have a par 3 course, but it's just too hard for most beginners. And the scale is only wedges for a strong adult beginner-seems simple until they skull or chunk one-way harder and more demanding on precision than hitting a teed driver for a beginner. A great asset but can really be frustrating for an unskilled wedge player.
The big course provides the most variety of shots and the most room-certainly for adults.
A regulation course can work fine and new players can work on ALL kinds of shots, just only hitting 3-8 shots per hole from various places-not just from 25 yards.

[George Pazin]

I think I personally would try to cultivate an atmosphere of friendly match play, played at a brisk pace, for my club.


But I'm weird like that. I'll go back and read others' responses!

[Wayne_Kozun]

Just as a reminder and to offer some perspective (and not to hijack this thread too much ), be aware that in Germany a golfer needs to demonstrate a certain level of proficiency to obtain a license to play a golf course.

https://internationalpga.com/you-need-a-license-to-play-golf-in-germany/     

Note that I am not endorsing this, but it would certainly be interesting to know how this impacts the growth of the game there.

Sweden as well and I think this may be the case in other European countries  https://urbanpilgrim.wordpress.com/2010/09/26/playing-golf-in-sweden-you-have-to-get-certified/

[Mark_Fine]

Jeff,
As you say there are all kinds of ways to teach golf.  In basketball we played a scoring game called high school where you started with making a layup on each side of the basket (that was first and second grade) then moved to half way between the foul line and the basket (third grade) then on to the corners of the foul line (forth and fifth grade) and worked your way around till you finished with a shot at or beyond the top of the circle which was 12th grade.  If you missed a shot along the way you had to either stop and wait for your colleagues to shoot or you could challenge and take one more shot from that position and if you made it you continued on to the next grade but if you missed you had to go back to the layup shot (first grade) and start all over.  What a great way to learn how to get the ball in the basket, to put a little pressure on yourself and to have fun at the same time.  You could do this drill by yourself or as competition with others.


This Operation 36 concept is just another way to teach the game (especially the scoring aspect of getting the ball in the hole) while at the same time getting new golfers exposed to the real game of golf. 


A beginner might only play from the 25 yard mark one time and immediately graduate to 50 yards 100 yards and beyond in one or two tries.  If so, great for them.  For those who don’t, this gives them a goal to accomplish and they can practice elsewhere as much as they like before they make their next attempt. 


Why many here are so obsessed with the walking between holes is beyond me??Get in a cart and drive if you can’t or don’t want to walk.  Or get some exercise and/or use all that walking as an incentive to hit your scoring goal (36, 45, set it to what you want) so you can graduate to longer tees and “walk” less. 


By the way, I feel sorry for all the golfers who hit it 300 plus yards off the tee and have to walk all that way to their ball till they can hit another shot.  What a waste of time!  Maybe we should let them hit four or five more shots along the way just to keep them busy like many others playing from those tees have to do 

[Mark_Fine]

And by the way, there isn’t a golfer on this site that wouldn’t benefit from playing every one of the holes on their home golf course from these shorter distances and seeing what they could shoot.  Frankly their games and scoring ability would improve if they did. 


Nothing like taking your “range” game to the real golf course and seeing how you preform.  Many can’t do it.  I wonder why 

[jeffwarne]

By the way, I feel sorry for all the golfers who hit it 300 plus yards off the tee and have to walk all that way to their ball till they can hit another shot.  What a waste of time!  Maybe we should let them hit four or five more shots along the way just to keep them busy like many others playing from those tees have to do 

Bravo-I did get a chuckle at that paragraph.Well done


As far as teaching new golfers, I wouldn't recommend you quit your day job.
I would give a lot to see you tell one of the Masters of the Universe they can tee off after they score "36" on 9  25 yard holes.


we're going to have to agree to disagree that that "every club should do this"
It's one method that may work for some golfers.

[Jason Thurman]

we're going to have to agree to disagree that that "every club should do this"
It's one method that may work for some golfers.

+1. I've been trying to understand how this is something every club should do, as opposed to one option among the many that can and should be considered when introducing beginners to the game.

[Mark_Fine]

Jeff,
No problem.  We can agree to disagree.  Maybe I should have titled the thread, Every club should “consider” this 


By the way this is not my idea.  This is just one that is taking off around the country.  Our club as I said just started it and it is getting lots of interest even by some Masters of the Universe.


I will admit there are far more women vs men signing up but then again, most women don’t have men’s egos    I learned that as a tennis instructor years ago. 

[Thomas Dai]

And by the way, there isn’t a golfer on this site that wouldn’t benefit from playing every one of the holes on their home golf course from these shorter distances and seeing what they could shoot.  Frankly their games and scoring ability would improve if they did. 
Nothing like taking your “range” game to the real golf course and seeing how you preform.  Many can’t do it.  I wonder why 

Would indeed be interesting to see how many golfers could shoot level 3’s on each hole of their usual course if they played each hole from 25 yds out. I suspect some might be a wee bit embarrassed. I suspect some might deliberately not even want to try.

Atb

[Niall C]

And by the way, there isn’t a golfer on this site that wouldn’t benefit from playing every one of the holes on their home golf course from these shorter distances and seeing what they could shoot.  Frankly their games and scoring ability would improve if they did. 
Nothing like taking your “range” game to the real golf course and seeing how you preform.  Many can’t do it.  I wonder why 

Would indeed be interesting to see how many golfers could shoot level 3’s on each hole of their usual course if they played each hole from 25 yds out. I suspect some might be a wee bit embarrassed. I suspect some might deliberately not even want to try.
 
Atb

David


What you and Mark are basically saying is practice the weak points in your game until you become better at them and by doing that you become a better player. Not sure many would disagree with that but why on earth would you want to walk from green to green and miss out 90 to 95% of the hole in the process just to practice your short game ?


Would it not make a lot more sense to practice your short game on the practice ground, or when the course is quiet drop a few balls round a particular green rather than setting up some imaginary 18 hole par 3 course with very long walks between the holes ?


Niall

[David Harshbarger]

I would have to think many adults just starting the game would greatly appreciate this model.


Many if not most adult beginners are painfully aware they don’t have the skills to play a full sized course the right way. As adults they are also more likely to value adhering to norms of behavior.


Having the club appreciate this dynamic and take the time to formalize a way of playing that is scaled to newbie skills while situated along with the compentently skilled players would be a godsend. The short course within the long course offers opportunity to play with those who are competent and enjoy the social aspects of the game.


Because the club has endorsed the model, that also places the novice golfer within the norms- they have been given permission to play, they have a challenge scaled to their skills, they can engage in real golf (fun!).


This seems like a great on ramp, particularly at private clubs. There is no shortage of people who have “won at money” who didn’t play or have access to or a cultural connection to golf before, who at some point want to pick it up as one of the trappings of success.


Providing structure for playing for these folks seems like a huge win.

[Mark_Fine]

Nice post David.  You get it 

For those who just can't get over the long walk, please just take a cart until you move to longer tees. 

And as I said earlier (only half joking), the players who hit it 300 yards off the tee don't seem to complain about that long boring walk between golf shots and they have to take that long walk on potentially 14 holes during an 18 hole round.  These players are only playing nine holes so essentially have half that amount of walking with not hitting a golf shot. 

And for goodness sakes, once players get to the longer tees this is NOT just about the "short" game.  We just added a new forward tee on our one hole to reduce the carry over the stream to 75 yards because MANY of the players can't carry the ball any further than that in the air to safely make it over.  When they get to the 75 and 100+ yard tees, many will be hitting driver.

[Niall C]

I played the nine hole course at a well known golfing resort over the weekend and that brought this thread to mind. The course is a very fine one that usually isn't overly busy. Neither is it very long with more par 3's than par 4's but still not a push over. The green fee is £30.


When I got to the first tee there was two guys in their twenties, and an older man who was clearly not playing. They were quite happy, and indeed keen, that I go out in front of them because they were beginners and didn't want to hold anyone up (or have someone see them slashing about !). The two players were both toting entry level equipment that may have been borrowed or bought on ebay.


Half way up the first hole was a young family with father (playing), mother (not playing) and two very young kids playing with their plastic clubs and balls. The father was gently giving them encouragement and pointing them in the general direction of the hole as they flayed away with great delight. I'm fairly sure no one was keeping count.


I was waved through and exchanged some chat on the way by. I met with them again about an hour later at the 8th where they'd cut over after the second. The two kids were still happily swiping away and chasing after the ball. It reminded me of my own introduction to the game, following my mother round hitting my cut down niblick !


I suppose my point is that there are many ways to be introduced into the game that don't involve great expense or any formalities or programs.


Niall   

[Mark_Fine]

Niall,
Great post.  I agree as I believe all here do, there are many ways to introduce new players to the game.  If they find it fun and not too intimidating they might stick with it.

[Tim Gavrich]

It seems the hidden issue here is that the vast majority of golfers - especially but not limited to beginners/novices - don't appreciate the importance of the short game, particularly chipping and pitching. Anecdotally, over my quarter-century of playing golf with different people, golfers are actually getting worse at shots around the green, if anything.


Why? I think one reason is the vast majority of golf facilities send the message that chipping and pitching are unimportant skills by serving up either a tiny, terrible chipping green or no chipping green at all. I can't tell you the number of courses I've seen that have large driving ranges and afterthought-at-best putting and chipping greens.


With the rise of TrackMan Range, TopTracer Range, etc., I wonder if there are any courses that will be so bold as to get rid of 90% of their existing driving ranges and instead set up nets + screens with a virtual range where people can bang balls into the net but see the results on the screen. This would free up multiple acres for actually good short-game facilities.


Eventually there's going to need to be a conversation about the design of short courses and who they're actually for, but we're not quite there yet.

[Craig Sweet]

How much do you charge someone that only plays from 25 yards out from the green?  How often do you move the 25 yard tee markers to avoid excessive wear? Who fills in the divots at 25 yards?  Is this area (I'm assuming it's in the approach area to your greens) mowed with riding mowers or walk mowers? How has this affected the pace of play for folk that are playing a regulation 18 holes?


For generations kids and adult beginners teed off from the forward tees, learned to hit every club in the bag, practiced on the range and putting and chipping green, and nobody thought any different because it worked.  But now we have to coddle a new player and start them 25 yards from the hole?  How about we start them 10 feet from the green in a simulator?  Or mow target greens or  a short game course on land currently used as a driving range? 

[Charlie Goerges]

How much do you charge someone that only plays from 25 yards out from the green?  How often do you move the 25 yard tee markers to avoid excessive wear? Who fills in the divots at 25 yards?  Is this area (I'm assuming it's in the approach area to your greens) mowed with riding mowers or walk mowers? How has this affected the pace of play for folk that are playing a regulation 18 holes?


For generations kids and adult beginners teed off from the forward tees, learned to hit every club in the bag, practiced on the range and putting and chipping green, and nobody thought any different because it worked.  But now we have to coddle a new player and start them 25 yards from the hole?  How about we start them 10 feet from the green in a simulator?  Or mow target greens or  a short game course on land currently used as a driving range?

I don't think it's meant to coddle the player Craig. It's more of a stage-gate process. A test before they move on. I agree with you on it generally about how well it would work, but it's only a testing regime and nothing much beyond that.

[Craig Sweet]

At the club where I used to work the junior program held a series of lessons....putting, irons, woods. rules of the game, pace of play, etc.  On the last day in the series the group played a few holes with the club pros from the junior tees.  Once they passed this test they could go out and play without an adult. Over the years I watched these kids go from lugging bags longer than they were tall to playing on their high school golf teams.

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