Golf fundamentals for beginners

Learn the game from the ground up.

You don't need a perfect swing to enjoy golf. You need a handful of sound fundamentals, repeated until they hold. Start with the grip. Finish with the drills. Everything in between is here.

Browse the five guides Start with the swing

A golfer settling into their address position over an iron on a practice tee, with the fairway stretching into the distance — Set-up first. Most swing faults are set-up faults you haven't spotted yet.

The five guides

Read them in order, or jump to the part of your game that is costing you shots.

Where to begin

Five guides. One order.

The swing gives you something to build on. Putting and the short game give you a score. Strategy keeps the score honest. The drills make it stick.

Close view of an iron striking the ball with the clubhead low through impact and turf lifting behind it

The Swing

Grip, posture, aim, turn. Build a motion you can repeat.

A putter head set square behind a ball on a closely mown green with the hole and flag in soft focus

Putting

The fastest way to take shots off your score.

A wedge resting behind a ball on the fringe of a green, with the flag a short distance away

Short Game

Chip, pitch and bunker shots. Get up and down more often.

View down a tree-lined fairway from the tee box, with a bunker guarding the left side and the green in the distance

Course Strategy

Play the shot you have, not the one you wish you had.

Two alignment sticks laid on a practice mat pointing toward a target, with a ball set between them

Mistakes & Drills

The faults every beginner makes and the exercises that fix them.

Before your first round

A few things worth knowing before you set foot on a course.

Clubs is the maximum you may carry

Holes in a full round

Par

The expected score for a hole or a round

You need fewer clubs than you think

The rules allow fourteen clubs. You don't need them yet. A beginner can play a full round with a driver or fairway wood, a couple of irons, a wedge and a putter. Fewer clubs means fewer decisions. Fewer decisions means a clearer head over the ball. Add clubs when you can tell the difference between them, not before.

Learn the language early

Par is the number of strokes a skilled player is expected to take on a hole. One under par is a birdie. One over is a bogey. Your handicap is a number that reflects your ability and lets you play against golfers who are better or worse than you. You don't need one to start. You do need to know what people mean when they say it.

Practise with a purpose

The driving range is where beginners waste the most time. Hitting a bucket of balls as hard as you can teaches you nothing. Take one guide from this site to the range. Work on one thing. Hit half shots until they fly clean. Then go home. Short, focused sessions beat long, tired ones every time.

Etiquette matters as much as technique

Nobody expects a beginner to play well. Everyone expects a beginner to be ready when it's their turn, to stand still while others play, to repair the marks they leave and to keep up with the group in front. Do those four things and you will be welcome on any course. The course strategy guide covers the rest.

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