Golf beginner and Courier writer, Laura Coventry, shares her experience of her first golf lesson…
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As I enter the shop at Drumoig Golf Centre in Fife, just a stone’s throw from the home of golf in St Andrews, I have to admit, it’s a little intimidating. On display before me are dozens of different golf clubs — but I don’t even know my woods from my irons!
However, I know I am in the right place. For I have a one-to-one lesson with golf professional Stuart Syme, who owns the golf centre and is head professional at nearby Scotscraig Golf Club.
How to start playing golf: book a lesson
As a complete novice, I am certainly in good hands, for the Professional Golfers’ Association professional — who was the captain of the PGA in Scotland 2015-16 — has travelled the globe coaching his son, Connor Syme.
Connor, 27, who achieved his first professional win in 2019 at the Turkish Airlines Challenge, has recently returned from the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour).
Interestingly, Connor was not always a golfer. He started out as a footballer, signing for Glasgow giant, Rangers FC, at 13. Today, he is excelling in a different club-sport as he follows in his father’s footsteps. He has won full national caps at boys and men’s levels as well as a cap for the Great Britain & Ireland Men’s Team in 2016.
I ask coach Stuart how he feels about getting his son to that level, to which he replies: “He got himself there, I have just helped him.
“He has focused on golf, he’s dedicated himself to it and he has now been doing it for a living for five years. I am very proud of him.”
Golf beginners, forget the misconceptions about golf
There are so many misconceptions about golf and I quickly realise this during my afternoon lesson with Stuart. And, as someone who has never played a round or swung a club, I have a lot to learn!
As Stuart enthuses about the golf centre and the technology that is now used to better people’s game play, I am amazed to learn that many golfers use laser beams to calculate the distance between the ball and the flag! This information dictates what club to use. Being honest, I thought it was potluck!
I also discover the many benefits of the latest Trackman 4 technology, a hi-tech golf analysis system that tracks your shot, angle, distance, speed, direction (and a whole lot of other technicalities) in a bid to improve your performance.
Learn how to stand and hold a club
In the Elite Performance Studio, located at the end of Drumoig’s 22 bays, Stuart asks if I play any other sports before I even hold a golf club. Confused, I reveal that I used to do martial arts and I am a runner. He then draws some parallels between these sports and golf, which boosts my confidence and understanding.
Then he analyses my backswing and downswing before I am allowed to take my first shot (tee off).
And my confidence level continues to rise as Stuart reveals, later in the lesson, that during my best shot (yes, I did actually hit the ball a few times!) the club speed was 72 mph. This is “something elite female players would be proud of” Stuart reveals – only their ball would travel further, faster and in a perfectly straight line!
Don’t let frustration get the better of you
I assumed that golf was easy to pick up and, once you’ve perfected your stance and grip, that everything else would automatically fall into place – it’s not and it doesn’t!
It is also quite frustrating, but addictive, as you continuously strive for the ‘money shot’. However, I am encouraged by the fact that I hit the ball at the centre’s driving range and practice facility in my first attempt. (It’s way off target though!) This was a team effort after Stuart explained in detail how to hold the club (left hand at the top and right hand at the bottom for right-handed players) and how to swing it.
He analysed my stance and explained that I needed to twist the club on the swing-through to steer it straight down the ‘fairway’ (in our case a line of black and white poles). Instantly, my ball direction straightens up.
I first use a 7 iron which hits the ball high over a shorter distance, before switching to the longer driver which lowers the ball flight but increases the distance.
Don’t pay too much attention to the stats as a beginner
Guided by the Trackman machine, which is tracking my club speed as well as the ball’s direction, trajectory, speed and distance, I am pleasantly surprised by the data. Stuart genuinely seems to be too, which spurs me on.
Before Trackman — which I am fascinated to learn was developed by two inventors who served in the Danish military and used similar technology to track missiles — golfers used to estimate their speed, distance and angle on the club face. Now, this machine accurately informs them of all the data on the screen in front of them. It also allows golfers to virtually play thousands of courses across the world, without even leaving Fife!
Trackman was particularly popular at Drumoig during The Open last summer, as fans flocked to the driving range to ‘play’ The Old Course in St Andrews, like the pros they were watching on TV.
It’s amazing to watch as shot-by-shot, my ball speed and club speed increase. I feel I am really getting into the swing of it!
While the stats are interesting and helpful, as a beginner, don’t become too bogged down by the numbers. Their aim is to help you improve and keep you motivated, not to make you feel disheartened as you develop your swing!
Golf is for everyone — and it could be for you
Introducing novices, like me, to golf is something Stuart is particularly passionate about. He, like VisitScotland and its golf campaign, wants to break down any perceived barriers of the sport and to encourage as many people as possible to take up golf, or return to it after an absence.
That’s why the golfer-turned-businessman has invested in this site after it closed in 2013. He reopened it the following year after developing the driving range. In the last nine years, as well as introducing Trackman, he has launched Footgolf (which is like golf with a football and bucket) and Discgolf (which involves firing a frisbee towards a target) and has kept driving range prices and club hire costs low. (It is free to hire irons and just £3 to hire drivers and woods).
Family man Stuart, who also has three daughters as well as son Connor, is keen that golf is experienced by everyone, of all ages and abilities, so has plans to expand the site at Drumoig. He wants to build a state-of-the-art two-storey clubhouse, which will include a café, four indoor bays and a community room. Crazy golf is also part of this proposal which is currently with planners at Fife Council.
There are many benefits of playing golf
“There are many reasons to play golf. It’s a sport anyone can do if you can hit a ball,” explains Stuart.
“If you have come back to it from an injury, a golf lesson could help you learn how to move your body better. Once you do this, you will play better golf. It is also great for flexibility and fitness – you walk around four miles on a round of golf, more if you are a bad player! It also increases the heartrate, as there are undulations on every course, but you’re too busy enjoying playing to realise how hard your body is working.
“Golf also has a social aspect, as you’re always playing with other people. Four-balls are great and if you are looking for a couple of people to play with, then there’s a great new app called Goolf that matches you with local players.”
Discover more benefits of playing golf and reasons to fall in love with it.
After my introduction to golf from pro Stuart, I leave Drumoig on a high from the ‘beginner’s luck’ I experienced. And I feel proud to have started to learn a new skill as a fortysomething female. It has inspired me to book another lesson.
And, once I am ready to take to the course, I will begin exploring some of the best nine hole golf courses in Scotland.
How can I learn to play golf?
Book an introductory lesson before you begin. Contact your local golf club and speak to one of their coaches for PGA professional tuition. Visit a driving range to first perfect your stance and swing, it is great grounding and prepares you for going out on to a course, eventually.
Get more golf inspiration from VisitScotland, including a Beginner’s Guide to Golf. You’ll also find a whole host of other useful information, whether you are about to take up golf or are returning to this much-loved sport after an absence.
