I am very new to golf and trying to get better. Currently shooting about 115-125 after just a couple rounds but with enough really nice shots to have me hooked. I have a lesson with a pro soon and will plan to have another 2-3 after that. My time is limited so my best bet is to play a round every other week with a trip to driving range on the weeks in between.

That being said, how quickly can I expect to get better if i listen to the pro and am an athletic male in my 30's?

Also, any tips for scoring better while I'm still pretty green? Not "practice" but other tips and tricks for scoring well while I work out the kinks.

Finally, at what handicap does equipment make a difference? I use a set right now that's probably worth about $400 total. When does dropping some coin on a good set really make a difference?

Thanks all!

Thanks! Realistic scoring expectations based on the above schedule?

Depends. Next time out keep track of how many OBs and putts throughout the round. Every time you go OB, it's 2 strokes. How many putts do you have for a round of 115?

I played twice this month.

115 - probably had 2-3 OB's (counted penalty strokes) and putted terribly. Probably 48 putts for round.

125 - same OB's, better putting, probably 42 putts for round. Hit driver awfully all day.

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I played twice this month.

115 - probably had 2-3 OB's (counted penalty strokes) and putted terribly. Probably 48 putts for round.

125 - same OB's, better putting, probably 42 putts for round. Hit driver awfully all day.

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Don't be afraid to put the driver away. It's the most over used club by beginners. If you're banging a driver 200 OB, but a 5 iron pretty straight 160....Hit the 5 iron every time.

Focus on tempo in your practice sessions. The biggest advantage good players have is consistent tempo driver thru putter.

Watch young Ernie Els swing for a perfect example.

What else?

If you're going to get serious get fit for clubs.

Here's everything 50 yards til putting. Basic chip

The greatest players have great short game. Spend more time on your short game than your driver. The old saying of drive for show but you putt for dough is sooooo true.

A lesson regiment is big. One lesson is not a magic fix. Meeting with a pro monthly/weekly will help a lot. See the same person and get some quality swings in on the range or course weekly. Get a swing-trainer and swing around your house when you have spare time. Even if it's just 30 swings a day, that adds up. You want to create muscle memory. The more you do it the better.

Also get Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book" that is full of helpful tips. I read it about once a quarter to refresh myself.

Another book recommendation is Five Lessons by Ben Hogan.

As far as equipment goes, you can piece together a great set for $400. Buy used. Spend your money on range balls.

As has already been stated, you can save a ton of strokes just by keeping your ball in play. Play smart and take your medicine when you're in trouble.

Ur clubs are fine

Spend money on lessons and range balls until ur in the mid 90s

Where do u live?

Imo when you are not playing watch videos of pro golfers with similar height as you. Watch their swings. Watch where the ball is placed at address. Imagine their swing in your mind. When I say watch I mean watch closely in slow motion if you can find. Imagine the swing like a clock dial. The club and hands start at 6 and work their way around, hands at midnight club at 1-2. As the club comes back what are the shoulders doing, where are the hands, when do the wrists begin to break, when does the left knee begin to flex? Watch and mimic. I would use a mid length club with enough loft, like a 7-iron. Use this club to get the feel of the swing. It will be more natural feeling at address because of the length and forgiving at contact because of the loft. It is also more central in your stance.

This is great, thanks all.

I live in bcs.

Get fit.

http://www.pga.com/getting-fit-well-worth-investment

Fittings in bcs?

I'd say most important thing is getting off the tee. Find some way to advance it and keep it in play and findable. Nothing more penal than having to re-tee and hit three off the tee.

Next most important thing is when you get around the green, be able to get down in three shots. Usually that means being able to chip onto the green and two putt.

If you can reliably advance the ball and get down in three most of the time you'll be shooting in the 90s in no time.

I think most golf pros would disagree.

Scoring tip: use your putter from any closely mown area around the green. If you're 10 yards short of the green, but have a fairway opening to the green - putt it hard but putt it.

I'm not saying to not practice your chipping but anyone at 18+ is going to get closer to the hole with a putter than a wedge 8 times out of 10.

Have fun and welcome to the dark side.

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The greatest players have great short game. Spend more time on your short game than your driver. The old saying of drive for show but you putt for dough is sooooo true.

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I agree but for beginners there is a balance. You need to develop a consistent swing that allows you the opportunity to stay in the hole. Getting off the tee box 200-225 yards and being in play allows you to get the bogey or double. If you are consistently in the woods or OB, it's a double, triple or worse.

Go see a pro and develop a consistent swing.

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people stop telling newbiea that shoot 120 to spend more time on their short game than their driver. This is the most ridiculous advice on the board. Keeping the ball in play and getting on or around the green in regulation is how you get good at this game. That requires a long game. There is no other way.

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This.

Completely agree. I'm a high handicapper with a great short game. Marginal returns for getting up and down from the side of a green of you're laying 6 and not 2.

Not to mention, I'd say puring a drive or knocking an iron shot stiff are just flat-out fun and what really make people love the game. Grinding out an extra couple of up-and-downs isn't bad, but in comparison, I think it's much further back on the scale of what brings people back to the course.

There's not a right or wrong answer...if ur not getting to/around the green in 2/3 shots then work on drivibg the ball and ur irons. If you are getting close to green in 2/3 shots work on chipping and putting

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people stop telling newbiea that shoot 120 to spend more time on their short game than their driver. This is the most ridiculous advice on the board. Keeping the ball in play and getting on or around the green in regulation is how you get good at this game. That requires a long game. There is no other way.

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This.

Completely agree. I'm a high handicapper with a great short game. Marginal returns for getting up and down from the side of a green of you're laying 6 and not 2.

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Fully agree with both comments. When I finally was able to drive the ball consistently off the Teebox I started shooting in the 70s versus the mid to high 80s because I was set up with the opportunity to score versus scrambling most holes.

There was actually an article in golf magazine about 10 years ago where they talked about the fallacy of Drive for show putt for dough for amateurs. Nick Faldo said it's a bunch of bull**** and said that amateurs need to be able to drive the ball well to have the opportunity score well. Makes sense.

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There's not a right or wrong answer...if ur not getting to/around the green in 2/3 shots then work on drivibg the ball and ur irons. If you are getting close to green in 2/3 shots work on chipping and putting

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Agree 1000%. Hitting great drives or stiff iron shots certainly are the most fun, but for me not what helped the scoring. When I was first beginning I'd hit an average tee shot, but could pretty often get my hybrid (or a thinned iron) somewhere near the green. Once I could pitch, chip, and get down in a putt or two I started making more pars and less doubles with a steady flow of bogeys. Before I knew it I was breaking 90.

Actually I broke 90 before I ever had a birdie.

But if you weren't getting around the green in 2, you would have been shooting 110 with that short game instead of 120. You apparently played long enough to hit some decent drives, which is not what a newbie 120 shooter is doing. My point is simply that you've got to get yourself around the green, and if you aren't doing that, there shouldn't be anything prioritized in front of it, which is the advice the OP got earlier.

work on your setup, grip and ball position. Keep things simple. Whomever you go to should start with these. If they don't go find someone else.

Here you go.
1. Breaking 100 is about hitting fairways
2. Breaking 90 is about hitting greens
3. Breaking 80 is getting up and down
4. Breaking 70 is all about putting

Clubs: Get fit around the time you are consistently breaking 100.
Practice: This is the number one mistake young beginner golfer and most 10+ handicappers makes, you have to practice the right way, not "beat balls!"

If you want to drop your scores quickly, work your driver, 3 wood and hybrid. Get extremely comfortable off of the tee. Don't try and hit it long, just put the ball in play even if it's only 200 yards.

Get rid of the triples and quads, focus on doubles and bogey's for now.

#1 Goal: Driver, put the ball in play
#2 Goal: Two putt every green (at the most) no 3 putts
#3 Goal: Find golfers who are better than you, (10 handicap or less) to play with, playing with a 20+ isn't going to do you any good.

Play in some charity 4 man scramble tournaments, no pressure, lots of fun, get to see lots of shots.

If you have any more questions at all feel free to PM, I'm in DFW area.

My opinion differs slightly:

1. Breaking 100 is about hitting fairways reliably advancing the ball and keeping it in play
2. Breaking 90 is about hitting greens being near the green in reg and being able to reliably get down in three
3. Breaking 80 is being on or near the green in reg and getting up and down down in two
4. Breaking 70 is all about putting

In my experience, breaking 100 was all about always moving closer to the hole and avoiding HUGE numbers.
Breaking 90 was combining the previous ability with a serviceable short game.
Breaking 80 was simply improving on those skills.
Haven't broken 70, but it'll take MAKING BIRDIES (which is mostly putting).