Beginners
Starting Golf Later in Life: What I Wish I'd Known in My 50s
Starting golf in your 50s? A later-life beginner shares what she wishes she had known about lessons, confidence, rules, equipment and enjoying the game.
I did not grow up playing golf. I started in my mid-50s.
I am a nurse, I live with rheumatoid arthritis and haemochromatosis, and when my husband first took me to a driving range I had no idea the game would become such an important part of my life.
Looking back, there are several things I wish someone had told me at the beginning.
1. You do not have to know everything before you start
Golf can look as though everyone else knows a secret language.
Handicaps. Stableford. Penalty areas. Relief. Bounce. Loft. Course rating.
You learn it gradually. You are allowed to be new.
2. A lesson early on is worth it
Good professional coaching can save an enormous amount of confusion.
You do not need to arrive at a lesson with a proper swing. That is the point of learning.
3. Your body is your body
Starting later in life made me very aware that golfers do not all move in the same way.
Health, mobility, strength and confidence vary. Good coaching should work with the individual rather than force everyone into the same shape.
Living with rheumatoid arthritis reinforced that for me.
4. The golf course can feel intimidating at first
The first few rounds may feel like you are trying to play golf while simultaneously sitting an exam.
Where do I stand? Whose turn is it? What happens if the ball goes there? Am I holding everyone up?
That feeling settles. Familiarity comes surprisingly quickly.
5. You will forget things
This was one of the biggest surprises for me.
I could understand something perfectly in a lesson and struggle to retrieve it on the course.
It was not because I had not listened. The environment was different and there was more information competing for my attention.
That experience eventually helped inspire Fred & Ginger Golf.
6. Improvement is not linear
You can have a brilliant range session and a difficult round the following day.
That does not mean you are back at the beginning. Golf has a way of testing whether we can stay patient with the process.
7. Play from tees that let you enjoy the game
There is no prize for making golf unnecessarily difficult.
Choose a course setup that lets you experience the whole game and make decisions, rather than simply survive every hole.
8. Ask questions
Most golfers remember being beginners. Ask your professional. Ask the starter. Ask the people you are playing with.
It is better to ask than spend an entire hole worrying that you are doing something wrong.
9. The rules become easier when you learn the situations you actually meet
You do not need to memorise the entire Rules of Golf on day one.
Start with the situations you encounter: lost balls, out of bounds, penalty areas, bunkers, putting greens and unplayable lies. Build from there.
For a practical guide to those situations, read Golf Rules for Beginners: The Situations You'll Actually Encounter.
10. Enjoy being a beginner
There is something wonderful about discovering a new game in your 50s.
Every small improvement matters. Your first proper drive. Your first par. Your first round where you realise you are no longer thinking about every piece of etiquette.
Starting later does not make golf less yours.
Why I created Fred & Ginger Golf
Fred & Ginger Golf grew from my own experience of loving golf while sometimes feeling overwhelmed by everything I was trying to remember.
I wanted a practical way to make useful information easier to take with me.
Not a replacement for coaching. Not another swing system. Simply something to help bridge learning and playing.
GOLF. UNCOMPLICATED.
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Written by
Michelle
Content creator and writer sharing insights and stories about golf.
