By Eli Buenaventura
For Variety

YOU have been playing tennis for years. You are now thinking of hanging your tennis racket to try golf. Although your reflexes have slowed down a bit, this seems to be not a problem in swinging a golf club. On the other hand, you can’t help but ponder on the affordability side of it. In tennis, sometimes you don’t even need to bring tennis balls to play a match. To help you make up your mind, however, consider these pointers.
1. Understand the cost. According to a poll survey, an average golfer with a 30 handicap spends $4,000 annually. Half of this amount is spent on green fees and the other half is expended to golf “gadgets” such as miracle tees, powerful clubs, long distance balls etc. The more you aspire for lower score, the deeper you have to dig into your pocket.
2. Get your family involved. It is important that your family understand the game of golf. It is completely different from tennis. Not only it is quite expensive. It is also time consuming. On the average, you will be on the course at least 4 hours and this does not include your preparation the night before and the clubhouse post-round gathering.
3. Start with old clubs. Try old clubs first. If you can borrow from your friends, it is much better. But if this option is not available, buy a used set. Test how far you can go with your frustration playing the game. If you can handle it, then it’s time to organize a new set. A lot of golf beginners buy expensive clubs at the beginning only to quit the game later on.
3. Go fishing for golf balls. During the prosperity years, a walk through the forest next to the first tee of the golf course would easily net you 40 balls. And 50 percent of them are new. Presently, if you can get 10 balls by trekking up to five holes, you are already lucky. .The reason for this pointer is that a golf beginner is destined to lose at least 10 balls every round. I guarantee you will.
4. Review your arithmetic. Whether you like it or not, you will become forgetful in counting your strokes. There are so many engineers, accountants and executives who suddenly for some reasons stop counting at five. Review your counting from 1 to10. When you start playing golf, you will know what I am talking about.
5. Manage your frustration. Golf is a very frustrating game. The ball is not moving and yet you can’t drive it to the direction you want it to go. Worst, you will even miss the ball. For years of playing golf, I have been a witness to a lot of clubs going down the water, smash around pine trees and putters stalk into the ground. I have long realized where the golf manufactures generate their revenues. Give your frustration level the widest margin of patience. Golf looks easy. But I assure you it is not.
6. Stick to one teacher. As a beginner, you are bound to receive a lot of golf tips from friendly golfers. Unfortunately, these will only do more harm than good to you. When I was new in the game, I got voluminous tips to the point that I could not swing my club anymore. I suggest that you confine your education to one teacher. Trust him. He will teach you the game according to your physical attribute. Remember that the structure of our bodies varies according to our forefathers. And therefore, what might be an applicable swing tip to others might not fit to your body contortion.
7. Memorize golf lingo. It is important that you understand the words birdie, par, bogey, double bogey, triple bogey and quadruple, particularly the last three words. Some golfers only know the word bogey. You must also understand the meaning of the takeaway, downswing, release, pull, and slice and out of bound. They will be of great help to a newcomer.
8. Always count your clubs. As a beginner, you will spend more strokes putting your ball into the hole and will always be the last to leave the greens. In a haste to join your foursome to the next hole, you could forget your wedge or 9- iron on the fringe. It happened to me and may be to some golfers. Check your clubs before your take your turn on the next tee shot. You will not only avoid delay, but get another invitation from the group.
9. Learn the course etiquette. The more you observe traditional course etiquette, the more you will become a better golfer in the future. Some of these etiquettes are: You should replace the divots you create. You should be careful in stepping on somebody’s line on the greens. You should not stall the foursome behind you. And you should wait patiently for your turn to hit the ball.
10. Be honest. Unlike tennis where you and your opponent are visible from each other, your foursome may be 100 yards away or more from your sight. And therefore, the temptation to touch your ball, kick it out from the hazard, or remove it from a divot will put your honestly to a big test. Remember that golf is a gentleman’s game and you should play it as one.