What Has Learning Golf From Scratch Taught Me?

In May, I joined the Pitch Women's Golf Academy, a fantastic initiative in collaboration with Adidas. This program offered 100 women a membership that came with five lessons, five practice sessions, and an Adidas outfit. It wasn't just about golf; it was about building a community and making friends with like-minded women.

I experienced lessons at both the Soho and City venues, both of which are focused on golf learning. Soho provides a bigger space for events and socialising, whereas the City venue feels slightly more corporate and education-focused. I appreciate that Pitch has made deliberate efforts to create inclusive spaces with young coaches, trendy bar and workspace areas, and mixed corporate coaching groups where men and women can enjoy nice food and the lighthearted side of golf. The venues feel more social and less golf-intensive, so they naturally welcome a broader audience.

I was fortunate to be paired with Head Pro Adam Wells, who became my coach for a package of lessons spanning from May to August. We connected immediately as we had common interests, such as going to the same university, loving football and enjoying similar social activities. This immediately made me feel comfortable and ease into the process. 

Adam emphasised the importance of establishing a relationship early on, regardless of whether you’re a female beginner or an experienced golfer. "I like to build a relationship as soon as possible. Most people want it to be a lighthearted, fun and safe environment. So I think the qualities of someone who is friendly and professional are a must for me."

The atmosphere was relaxed with Adam focused on building a connection beyond golf. "With yourself and with a lot of other beginners, I try not to be 100% golf-focused,” he continued, “Talking about other things can ease the pressure and means when you do hit bad shots or miss the ball, you realise that’s completely okay." Throughout my coaching experience, I acknowledged that this is all part of the process and it’s much better to embrace the bad shots in a lighthearted manner than be too critical. 

As Adam explained, learning golf is an emotional rollercoaster. "You'll have moments where you're on cloud nine, and then two weeks later, you don't want to play golf anymore because you can't hit the ball to save your life, and you can’t pinpoint why." 

I’ve certainly had moments like this and I realise that the mental challenge of golf is a real thing. With most other projects in my life, I’ve found that working hard has always led to an improved outcome. However, when learning to play golf, I’ve found that the softer, more patient side of my personality is required. Training my mindset, referring back to basic swing technique and believing in my coach has helped me to overcome these hurdles.

Interestingly I thought my golfing ability had significantly improved after returning from a three-week trip to America, where I was playing consistent golf on some tough courses. In my fourth lesson I felt disheartened as we had to recap a swing change from a previous lesson as I had slipped into bad habits. Speaking to Adam about it, he acknowledged that even though we needed to revisit the same movement, making the change led to an immediate improvement in my ball striking. This was because it rekindled the muscle memory associated with the correct technique. Rather than feeling disappointed, I now recognise that recapping drills is incredibly common for golfers of all levels, and you shouldn’t feel disheartened by it.

It’s rarely a smooth journey when building and changing a golf swing. Adam explained, "If I make a change to someone's golf swing, they will often hit it worse to begin with before they see improvements. It's normal. Don’t be discouraged." Naturally, it’s easy to feel frustrated when a movement isn’t clicking but it comes back to perspective, taking the rough with the smooth and recognising the bigger picture. Learning golf has definitely taught me the value of delayed gratification.

Reflecting on my experience, I realise the importance of regular practice between lessons. Adam remarked, "You were very keen to improve, which ultimately requires practice. By putting in that effort, we saw clear improvements." I also found it useful to record snippets of our lessons so I could listen back to them when I was at the driving range. Questions will naturally arise when you’re practising something new so it was useful that Adam was supportive and communicative in between lessons.

As a beginner, I’ve found that people tend to be more proactive about offering advice if they see you struggling with technique. I’ve been diligent about not absorbing advice from multiple people, even from my partner and friends who are very good golfers. Adam emphasises the value of sticking with one coach to avoid confusion. "Every coach teaches differently. Stick with one coach from the beginning through a series of lessons. That coach knows your journey, knows your golf, and knows what you need to learn," advises Adam. I’ve found value in staying consistent with the technique we were building together, and through any moments of doubt and confusion, communication has been key.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue having lessons with Adam and explore on-course coaching to improve my chipping, refine my bunker set-up, and learn more effective techniques for using my woods – aspects we didn't have the chance to cover in our initial five lessons. This package was really important so that I could get a block of lessons together with the same coach, where we went through a mini journey together. 

I’ve learnt throughout the experience that I’m serious about golf, and that I want to continue improving. To reach this outcome, I’ll need to have more lessons to help me reach my goal of getting to a point where I can play with anyone, anywhere and hold my own. 

Ultimately, my experience going through the Pitch Women's Golf Academy taught me that golf is a journey. Golf is hard. You're going to get worse, you're going to get better, but the key is continuous progress over a period of time. A supportive environment and a dedicated coach make all the difference and I look forward to embracing the challenges ahead, both on and off the course.