There are several options available to learn to play golf. First, you can just teach yourself. Most of the time trial and error is the best way. You can have a relative or friend teach you. If you don't mind spending some money you can take lessons from the golf professional at your country club or pro shop, go to golftec at the Golfsmith locations or if your high school or college offers a golf program join the program. The method you choose can greatly affect how quickly you learn and how adept you become at the game. At the time I started playing I opted to teach myself. I read "The Golfers Bible " and "The Five Fundamentals of Golf" by Ben Hogan. The books were both very informative and contained valuable information to help one get started to play. In my opinion, and any one who knows about the history of golf would agree, Ben Hogan was one of the most natural and skilled golfers who ever played the game. I was confident that any book that he authored on golf could only be informative and benefit someone who wanted to learn to play. I can attest first hand that it helped me tremendously.

In retrospect, depending on one's budget and how quickly someone wants to develop their skills, I would recommend lessons from a teaching professional. Unless you are born with a natural talent for the sport, which from my experience those so gifted are few and far between, lessons are the way to go. As I stated earlier I am self taught and have been playing for about 30 years. The learning curve is different for everyone, but I noted that most golfers who are good at other sports, especially baseball and hockey have a tendency to learn to play well. Having been self taught I had to experiment with different techniques over the years to improve my game. Until today I am still reading up on the latest and greatest on Instruction and Equipment and continuing to experiment to try to play better. With the increased popularity of golf, thanks in most part to the arrival of Tiger Woods on the scene, the teaching techniques and availability of teaching professionals has increased tremendously.

I would strongly recommend that lessons are the way to go. Golf is a sport which requires muscle memory for a repetitive swing. Once your swing techniques and mechanics are ingrained in the subconscious, it will be harder to correct if you do not learn properly at the onset. Having the proper basics is crucial for learning to play the right way. Golf will be so much more enjoyable if you play well and learn the proper techniques for the swing. There are a number of steps to master the correct golf swing and a teaching professional will be able to show each of them to you. You will learn much quicker than reading about them and experimenting for years like I did. Some of the steps are as follows: The Grip - How you set the club in your hands, The Set-Up - (How you address the ball) the positioning of your body and alignment in relation to the ball, The Waggle - This is a trigger or initial movement to allow the swing to start properly, Tempo - The speed and timing from the start of the back-swing through the hitting area and the follow through, Back-swing - the move immediately following the waggle -the cocking of the wrist and the turning or coiling of the body together with the arms and shoulders away from the target to prepare for the Downswing, The Downswing - immediately follows the back-swing and is the part of the swing where impact with the ball takes place including the pro-nation of the hands through the hit, The Follow Through - the completion of the golf swing which concludes the transfer of your weight from your right side to your left (for right handed golfers - opposite would be true for lefties) and body positioning to face the target.

If any of the previously mentioned steps is not executed properly it can greatly affect the result of the shot. With the advent of Video Instruction, the instructor can play back the video and explain and show you exactly what you were doing right or wrong during the course of your swing. You've heard the expression that "One picture is worth a thousand words", well it would most definitely apply in this case. Although you can read a book on golf or watch golf teaching videos ( some are very good), it is still not the same as being taught first hand by a professional.