Still on the "To Do Before I Die" List: Learning to Plan Golf

Some things are learned when you are young and if you don't do it then it is a whole lot more difficult. Learning Chinese as a second language would be one example and playing golf is another. Despite never really playing the game with any regularity, it is on my list of things to do before I die. I'm not ready for the time commitment yet, but the game of links is unlikely to ever come off the list until I do it. But there has been one little thing nagging me since I first put it on, when I do decide to start playing golf will I be able to master the game enough to enjoy it? I understand that it can be a frustratingly difficult for adults to learn.

That's why I was very pleased to see the Wall Street Journal article Taking Up Golf at Midlife" and the sub-heading "How a dedicated beginner, starting now, can get decent by fall." Hallelujah. My golf's biological clock just got a reprieve.

"Almost anyone can learn to break 100 in five or six months, even someone who has never played before," says Ron Stepanek, head of player development for the PGA of America.

The catch, of course, is what one would have to do between now and next September to reach that point. It would require something like the one-time total immersion required to learn a foreign language, although not nearly so long and a lot more fun. The criteria I proposed were a willingness to practice or play golf at least two or three times a week (even 30-minute range sessions count) and a commitment from the outset to five full months of focused effort with a teacher. Certain techniques in golf, sometimes counterintuitive, are almost impossible to learn without guidance.

The article also notes that being a nearly complete golf neophyte is actually a benefit since beginners have less to "unlearn" and thereby can actually make pretty good progress. In other words, my lack of golf experience will actually benefit me when I ultimately do pick up the game.

See you on the course, someday that is.

golf