Golf is one of the most fantastic sports in the world- ask around. From a calm field and fresh air to an opportunity to socialize and relax to developing your skills in different aspects of life. You have a variety of reasons to embrace golfing. However, the starting line for most golfers is often intimidating and frustrating, especially without an ideal trainer. 

Golfing can be initially challenging, but it's one of the most excellent sports with unmatched rewarding experiences. Learning essential tips will put you ahead of every upcoming or new golfer, acting as a stepping stone to more excellent success. Remember, paying $500 for training is just as important as high-quality golfing equipment. 

This blog outlines seven essential tips for learning to play golf to help you take the lead in the sport and beyond. 

Start Your Practices at the Driving Range

One of the significant mistakes people make when striving to learn how to play golf is going straight to the course and ignoring the driving range. A driving range is where new golfers can train on basic golfing skills and practice their golf swing. In contrast, a golf course is a naturally or artificially green field designed explicitly for golfing, incorporating 9 to 18 holes. 

If you're still new to the game, it would be best to start training at the driving range before shifting to the course to acquire the fundamentals of golfing. Training at the course puts the amateur's expectations high by putting them into an imaginary competition. One might lose control over their feelings whenever one fails to get the right moves. 

Read Also: Kenya Open 2023 Golf: From winning Junior Golf Championships to winning her fourth LET title Aditi Ashok ends five-year drought

Buy the Right Equipment 

Another tip for learning to play golf is to purchase the ideal equipment before diving into the sport. However, it would help if you rushed to buy the equipment before physically attending the driving range, getting a trainer, and maybe grasping a few fundamentals. 

The rush might subject you to purchasing inappropriate equipment since you don't know what you need. Some of the golfing equipment your trainer might recommend after several sessions are golf drivers and used golf clubs. Other essentials include sports shoes, the proper golf clothing, gloves, and a backpack.

Get a Professional Trainer 

In nearly all fields of life, someone must have gone ahead of others regarding skills, knowledge, qualifications, and experience in a particular direction. Similarly, in golf, there are golf trainers who have lasted longer in the game and have a better understanding than you. 

Those are the people you should embrace as your trainers for the game until you've mastered everything right. While your spouse or friend might appear to have enough skills and experience in golfing, it's not advisable to consider them as your primary trainer. 

Allow Yourself Enough Time to Learn 

Time is a very crucial factor when it comes to learning golf. If you have acquired a liking for the game, you must allow yourself enough time for training and practice. Even so, no matter how fun the game turns, you should only train and practice as much as your body and schedule allow.

The point is, while it's not advisable to learn golf when your time is limited to other activities, you shouldn't dedicate all the time to the sport, neglecting other primary duties or wearing off your body. 

Focus On One Swing at a Time

While it's natural to desire moving up from practising at the driving range to learning three holes to more, it would be best to concentrate on a single swing or style at a time before proceeding to the next. If you wish to get everything right quickly, the trait might not be ideal for golfing. 

Instead, it would help if you learned to focus on a single style or swing at a time and only proceed to the next after fully understanding the prevailing one. Many professional trainers have tried that with several golfers, which always ends in more excellent performance and smoother swings. 

Accept Mistakes 

One thing you should never fear as a beginner-golfer is to make mistakes. That foul shots and swings are part of learning and should be accepted wholeheartedly with the willingness to train further for more significant results. Even the greatest golfers in the world started as bad golfers, maybe with worse shots than yours. 

It would help if you also strived to manage your emotions during and after the training by not allowing anger to take charge after a bad shot or many instructions from the trainer. 

Use of Golf Clubs

Golf clubs are essential to learning golf, referring to long, heavy, and slender equipment with a metal head used to hit balls to their targeted holes in golf. Various golf clubs are designed with different features and for distinct purposes. For instance, putters are used to hit a ball on the green, while golf drivers are used on the tee.

 Whichever golf club you embrace as a student in golfing should align with the course's terrain and the distance you need to cover. Professional trainers often help their students to choose the ideal golf clubs to excel in the sport.

Feature Image: Economic Times

The Dubai-based Indian golfer, the 24-year-old Rayhan Thomas, waited for nearly three months before continuing at Karsten Creek while awaiting the start of his final season at Oklahoma State University (OSU).

Thomas has battled persistent pain. However, Thomas showed up, achieving a remarkable feat of breaking 100. In the golf circuit, breaking 100 is considered one of the toughest layouts. Within just three weeks, he surpassed expectations by breaking 80, showcasing his determination and skill.

Read also: Cricket facts: 5 Indian Famous Cricketers who played other sports

Recovery from injury

During this period, Thomas played under unique conditions with his teammates. His teammates would give him strokes, which he managed to win quite a few lunches beating them. His practiced some one-handed shots, which helped him to develop a solid drill.

He had his surgery in last year's October. This had sidelined him from his game until January, when he bounced back. He switched on his professional mode in May, in his first Asian Tour event at the International Series Morocco. There, he finished eighth.

Thomas Shines at International Series Thailand

Recently, he has also participated at the International Series Thailand. He shot a bogey-free seven-under-par 63 in the second round at Thai Country Club, climbing to tied 14th place at eight-under-par total. The round was his lowest since turning professional just five months ago.

However, Thomas has no plan of settling with this. He eyes major tournaments like the Korn Ferry Tour and the DP World Tour. In fact, in both tournaments, he has already advanced to the second stage of qualification. 

Read Also: Golf: A Sport for All Types of Stature

Rayhan Thomas plans for 2025

Later, he won the Coimbatore Open on his domestic debut on the PGTI circuit, adding more feathers to his young career.

Thomas hasn't had a full-time tour. However, he is optimistic, especially with the Asian Tour Q School in the last half of this year. He is also preparing for a steady 2025.

Among his career highlights is a stunning round alongside 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke at the 2017 Dubai Creek Open, where Thomas matched a world record by making nine consecutive birdies. 

Most of the time, athletes tend to play multiple sports even though they excel at international level in a certain sport. When fans fight among themselves regarding cricket and other sports, there are names in the sports circle, who have excelled in other sports too. Here is an interesting cricket facts while naming the top 5 cricketers who played different sports at national and international levels.

Kapil Dev | Golf

Kapil Dev led the underdog Indian Men's cricket team to win its first World Cup title in 1983, defeating the two-time champion, the mighty West Indies.

He not only took the catch of Vivian Richards on the final day but also scored a record 175* runs against Zimbabwe, keeping hopes for the semi-finals.

He played 131 Tests and 225 ODIs since his debut in late 1978. He has got 5,248 runs and 434 wickets in tests. The Padma Sri awardee(1982)  has  3,783 runs and 253 wickets in ODIs. In 2002, he was nominated as the Indian Cricketer of the Century.

After retiring from cricket, Kapil Dev took up golf and quickly made a name for himself in the sport. In 2000, Kapil Dev won the Pro-Am event at the European Tour's Indian Open.  In 2001 and 2002, he won the Singapore Open Pro-Am title and the Malaysian Open Pro-Am title respectively. He then won the Thailand Open Pro-Am title in 2004.

He reached a handicap of 0, making him one of India's top amateur golfers. He had participated in several European Tour events, as well as those in Asian Tour events. He was a regular golfer in the Indian Golf Tour events.

Ajit Agarkar | Golf

Like Kapil Dev, Ajit Agarkar too delved into golf post-retirement. Ajit Agarkar seriously took his love for Golf. He won the India Finals of the BMR World Corporate Golf Challenge held at Prestige Golfshire, Bengaluru. 

Agarkar participated in various Indian Golf Union (IGU) tournaments and represented India in international amateur events.

He turned into a professional in 2015 while competing in Indian and Asian tours. He played in the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and Asian Tour events.

Agarkar won the 2016 BILT Open golf tournament (PGTI). In the following year (2017), finished runner-up in the Pune Open (PGTI). He also represented India in the 2016 Asian Golf Championship.

Debuted in 1998, he has 1269 runs in ODI cricket, and 15 and 571 runs in T20I and Test cricket respectively. The fast bowler is the third-highest wicket-taker for India in the ODIs (288 wickets). He has taken 58 wickets in 26 Test matches he played.

Yuzvendra Chahal | Chess

The Indian spin bowler was once a chess prodigy. He learned Chess at the age of 7. He featured in the World Youth Chess Championship, representing India.

He even participated in age-group chess competitions like Under-12 and Under-16 national chess championships and was a national champion there.

Chahal held an Elo rating of 1946, indicating a skilled player. However, Chahal discontinued his run with chess due to the lack of sponsorships.

At 18 Chahal shifted focus to cricket, eventually becoming a successful leg-spinner for India. The leggie has played 75  ODI matches and has taken 111 wickets at 27.48 on average since 2016. 

He played 69 matches and bagged 91 wickets at an average of 20.41

IN 2011, he debuted in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians where he played till 2013. Later he shifted to Royal Challengers Bangalore and then to Rajasthan Royals where is presently playing. He played 164 matches, taking 187 wickets.

Cota Ramaswami | Tennis

Cota Ramaswami was a remarkable Indian sportsman who represented India in both cricket and tennis. A Chennai-based cricketer played two test matches for British India. He played against England itself scoring 170 runs at an impressive average of 56.67.

However, he was part of India's Davis Cup team in 1922, partnering with Dr. A. H. Fyzee and A. A. Fayzee. He even took part in the Sussex Championships and had a notable win against the Spanish pair of Comte de Gomar and Flaquer.

MJ Gopalan | Hockey

Hailing from Madras Gopalan participated in both cricket and hockey in full form. He played in those days when both sports valued art. 

He played just one international test, but 78 First-Class matches, scoring 2,916 runs at 24.92 including a hundred. He also took 194 wickets at 24.20 with 9 five-fors and 3 ten-fors. Also, he took 49 catches in his 26 years of cricketing life.

The medium-fast bowler played at the center-back position in hockey. in 1936, he got calls for both the 1936 Olympics hockey squad as well as India tour in England.

Gopalan, here made a blunder. When he had the chance to be an Olympic Gold medallist, he chose cricket. India won its first gold medal at the Olympics, in Berlin. India won all 5 matches, scored 38 goals, and conceded just one.

However, Gopalan was benched and never got a chance to don the Indian test jersey.

Hello and welcome to Sportz Point's coverage of India At Paris Olympics 2024 Day 12 (7th August) as Indian athletes look for more medals at the Olympics. 

So far, India's three medals have come from shooting, and with the shooting event getting over, our focus has shifted to athletics.

Throughout the day, this is Abishek Goswami along with Payal Debnath and Koushik Biswas will bring you all the updates from the web desk. 

Follow us on Twitter for all the updates. Join our Telegram and WhatsApp channels for all the news and scores. 

The great cricketer Kapil Dev, who led India to its first World Cup win in 1983 under his captaincy, has been unanimously elected as the President of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

Also Read: Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar qualify for Paris Olympics 2024 via Road to Paris world rankings

Kapil Dev became a board member in 2021 and has also served as the Vice President of PGTI. He will take over this responsibility from HR Srinivasan whose tenure has ended.

Kapil took golf as his favourite pastime

Apart from being a cricketer, Kapil Dev is also a golfer. He performed brilliantly as an amateur golf player. After his retirement from cricket, Kapil Dev took the sport of golf as his favourite pastime. It didn't take him too long to fall in love with golf and just after two years of retiring from cricket, he was back playing competitive sports again. 

Kapil played at the Indian PGA Championship back in 1995 at Army GC in New Delhi, one of his first-ever tournament appearances. His celebrity status led him to be invited to major events like the Dunhill Links, where he battled alongside other global celebrities.

Kapil Dev's role in PGTI

Kapil has been at the forefront of trying to bring new sponsors for PGTI. He has been successful in organizing one of the most lucrative tournaments on the tour, the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational at DLF Golf and Country Club with a prize money of Rs 2 crore.

'It is a golf course I go to for relaxation'

Kapil said after assuming charge of the office, "Golf is a great sport. You can play it till any age and it is an amazingly relaxing sport. I am busy with cricket often, but it is a golf course I go to for relaxation. I am fortunate to be able to serve golf and I want to take it to new levels."

Kapil Dev's innings in cricket

Kapil played cricket for India from 1978 to 1994. One of the greatest all-rounders of all time played 131 Test and 225 ODI cricket matches. Under his leadership, India won the 1983 World Cup. His unbeaten inning of 175 runs in the 1983 World Cup is considered one of the best innings in the history of the game.

Also Read: Most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket by an Indian bowler

In Test cricket, Kapil Dev scored 5248 runs with the help of eight centuries and took 434 wickets, which was a world record at that time. He also scored 3783 runs in ODIs and took 253 wickets in this format.

Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar have clinched the Paris Olympics 2024 spot via the Road to Paris world rankings.

Aditi, the highest-ranked female golf player from India, made the cut by acquiring an OGR of 24 in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, while Diksha also sealed her spot by clinching an OGR of 40.

Also Read: Sumit Nagal officially confirms his qualification in the Paris Olympics 2024

Aditi finished fourth in Tokyo Games

Aditi Ashok, playing in the 30th major tournament in women's golf, scored 77 with five bogeys in the second round. Her total score after two rounds was 149 in five overs. Aditi is running at joint 64th position. She will compete in her second consecutive Olympics and third overall in the Paris Olympics 2024 in August. India’s best performance at the Olympics came from Aditi who finished fourth in the Tokyo Games 2020.

Second Olympic Games for Diksha

Meanwhile, Diksha will be competing in the Games for the second time. She is the first golfer in history to have competed in both the Olympics and the Deaflympics, where she is a two-time medallist. The 23-year-old won a silver in 2017 in Turkey and a gold in 2022 in Brazil. This is also Diksha's second consecutive appearance at the Olympics. In 2021, she competed at the Covid-19 pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Top 15 players in the OWGR qualify for the Olympics

The Olympic entries are sent by the Indian Golf Union, and qualification for Olympics is determined by rankings, limited to 60 men’s and as many women’s players through the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). 

The top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) qualify for the Olympic Games, with a limit of four golfers per country. Beyond the top 15, the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) include up to the two highest-ranked eligible players from each country, provided that the country does not already have two or more players within the top 15.

Also Read: Shreyashi Singh joins Shooting squad for Paris Olympics 2024

Aditi and Diksha are set to join Sharma and Bhullar

Both Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar are set to join the likes of Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar as the four representatives from India. Sharma and Bhullar already qualified as India's representatives by being the highest-ranked Indian men's golfers. For them, it would be their maiden appearance at the Olympics.