Panicking About A Looming Golf Day? How To Get Course-Ready Fast

As golf days begin appearing in diaries, golfers tend to fall into two camps: those who are looking forward to the day out and those who have only just remembered they agreed to play in it.

Golf clubs are dusted off, old golf shoes are unearthed from the back of cupboards, and people who haven't swung a club for months, sometimes years, start wondering how on earth they will make it around 18 holes. As a full time coach I receive many phone calls that goes something like this:

“I’ve got a golf day coming up and haven’t touched a club since last summer.”

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“My company golf day is in a few weeks and I don’t want to embarrass myself.

“I’ve got a golf day on Friday. Help!”

At the other end of the spectrum are people who have attended a golf day as a non-golfer, watched clients, colleagues or friends enjoying themselves, and thought: “I’d quite like to be part of this next year.” They may be complete beginners who have never owned a set of clubs, never had a lesson and have little idea where to start.

The good news is that whether you’re dusting off a set of clubs after a long break or picking up a golf club for the very first time, the principles are surprisingly similar.

The aim isn’t to become a scratch golfer overnight. It’s to build enough confidence and consistency to enjoy yourself, contribute to your team and feel comfortable stepping onto the first tee. Now how you prepare depends entirely on how much time you have available. Here are my top tips for any golfers with a golf day looming…

Complete Beginner

Recommended Preparation Time: 3 Months

Three months gives a complete beginner enough time to learn the fundamentals, build some confidence and feel comfortable on the golf course. It’s not about becoming a great golfer in that time frame; it’s about reaching the point where you can enjoy the day, keep moving and surprise yourself with some decent shots along the way.

In three months, with a lesson every couple of weeks and a bit of practice in between, most beginners can:

Learn the basics

Grip, posture and setup, correct ball positions and what each club does will help build your foundational knowledge.

Get the ball airborne consistently

A ball in the air does tend to travel further and is far more satisfying.

Develop a reliable tee shot

By reliable I mean 3/5 more or less go where you want them to, and this isn’t about distance, it’s very much about keeping the ball in play.

Understand the key rules and etiquette

Watch some YouTube videos, but most importantly try to get some real experience out on the course. This part of the game can feel a bit of a faff but if you are unconfident about rules and etiquette, this can distract you from the shots and task at hand.

Gain enough confidence to play without feeling overwhelmed

This will come from on-course experience and knowing what to do and when. If you can’t get to the course, even practicing on a range with ball tracking technology and virtual golf will be useful.

To help you achieve the above though, there will have to be some backstage work going on too, such as obtaining a decent set of clubs that suit your ability. You can do that by splashing the cash and getting custom fit for some brand new ones, or if you are on a budget, look to have a secondhand set customised for you.

You will also need to research and plan where and how often you can practice and find someone who can start taking you out on the course to learn the basics of etiquette.

I absolutely love coaching beginners and always do all I can to help those new to the game obtain the equipment and experience they need and have seen many people progress from having never picked up a golf club to happy golfers in this time frame.

Haven’t Touched A Club For Years

Recommended Preparation Time: 1 Month

This is probably the most common type of golfer I see and I can usually tell how close the golf day is by their sense of urgency, panic and the state of their bag and clubs. The good news is that they are in the right place, as having a golf lesson first is always the best idea. It can avoid the pain of trying to get things sorted yourself and can save hours of frustration. The goal is to:

Brush up on the basics

A good grip, setup and posture can work wonders for producing consistent swings.

Prioritise strike consistency over perfect technique

Getting the feeling of the ball off the clubface and keeping the ball in play is way more important than smacking it a long way but ending up two fairways across. This is as much for you as it is for your playing partners, no one enjoys spending the day constantly looking for golf balls.

Check your equipment

Golf equipment technology has come a long way, year to year you will not see much difference, but if it has been more than five years, it is well worth trying some new options. If your clubs are okay, check the grips. New grips are a great way to freshen up a set.

It’s not just about the clubs though. Try on your golf shoes, are they still comfortable? Treat yourself to some of the best golf balls and a fresh glove. If your bag is sun faded and there are remnants of decomposed food, a mouldy banana is the classic, then it’s time to check the bag wall of your local golf shop.

Chip, chip, chip, putt, putt, putt!!

It’s the short game shots that add up quickly. Practicing them will undoubtedly make the biggest difference to your score and contribution to the day.

Get out on the course

Pry yourself from the driving range and get out there, if possible play at least one or two rounds before the big day. The course will quickly expose any areas that need some work and remind you that fairways, rough and bunkers exist.

Remember what the day is about

It is meant to be fun, a day out for everybody, not just you, so make sure you manage yourself and your expectations. Nobody is expecting perfection and nobody will care how good you used to be. Stay in the here and now, hit a few good shots and enjoy the social.

I’ve Got A Golf Day This Friday And I’m Hitting It Terribly!

The first thing is to take a deep breath. If you have been playing badly there is a good chance you are overthinking, overreacting and overcorrecting each bad shot. Having a golf lesson doesn’t have to mean swing surgery. Explain to the pro your situation. I regularly help golfers get course ready by making the most of what they have got by focusing on the following;

Control the Controllables

Even if you have a terrible grip, a pro won’t move anything to make it uncomfortable. Just an adjustment on grip pressure can have a profound impact on the swing, as can a tweak with the setup.

Find the Strike

Simple soft half swings to find the middle of the club are a great way to gain confidence and this works particularly well with the driver if you are struggling to hit it straight. Once comfortable, build up to fuller, softer swings and then onto full speed normal swings.

Practice the shots you will need

Find out what tees you will be playing from and practice the par-3 tee shots. Look at the distances of the longer holes and work out what clubs you will likely need for your second shots if you hit an okay drive. This type of focused practice is a great way to take some of the fear out of the unknown, as you will have practiced for what you will potentially face.

As above, remember you are part of a team and the whole day is not focused on your performance. Everyone will be far more focused on themselves to care too much about what you’re doing.

Final Thoughts

So, whether you are beginner, returner or in last minute panic prep mode, there are things you can do to increase your chances of having a nice day and that’s what it’s all about.

Focusing on the simple things, the marginal gains, will do wonders for helping you to feel confident for the day. Golf really is the game of the unexpected and it is often those moments that make it memorable and fun; the thinned chip that went in, the terrible bounce off a tree, a 30 foot putt rolled in, the five attempts to get out of a bunker.

We’ve all had and understand those moments, it’s part of what makes it so fun! Try your best to keep the ball moving forward and if things don’t go to plan, don’t be the golfer who lets it ruin the day. Everyone is giving up their time to be there. The golfers people enjoy spending a day with aren’t always the best players. They are the ones who keep things in perspective, celebrate the good shots, laugh off the bad ones and contribute to the atmosphere of the occasion.