Swiss Golf Simulators All venues Map By canton By city Open now Near me For business

2 October 2026 · 8 min read

Golf tips for beginners: the ten that really save strokes

Ten tips that do not rest on feel: each with a number or a rule to look up, and a plan to practise them in six weeks.

Golf tips for beginners: the ten that really save strokes — post image

Most golf tips are feelings: swing looser, stand lower, keep your head down. These ten are different. Each comes with a number or a rule you can look up, from PGA teaching material, the Rules of Golf, Swiss Golf's handicap system and data on amateurs. Many can be checked in one hour at a simulator.

The ten tips at a glance

No.TipNumber or rule
1Play from the right teesIndex 15: target 87, 90 or 92 strokes, depending on the tees
2Count penalty strokes0.56 a round at handicap 0, 4.67 at handicap 25
3Pick up when the hole no longer countsThe maximum per hole is net double bogey
4Search for three minutes at mostRule 18.2
5Drop from knee heightRule 14.3
6Know the carry distance of your clubsten shots per club, the average counts
7Learn one swing, not fourteen2 to 3 seconds, slow, fast, slow
8Ball first, then the groundThe divot starts after the ball
9Grip firmly, but do not squeezePGA of America beginner's guide
10Warm up56.6 per cent of amateurs are injured in their golfing life

1. Play from the right tees

Every set of tees has its own Course Rating and Slope Rating, and your Course Handicap comes out of them. Swiss Golf works it through with an index of 15: from blue you get 15 strokes, from yellow 18, from white 20. Your target for playing to your handicap is par plus Course Handicap, so on a par 72 that is 87, 90 or 92 strokes (Swiss Golf). The same player has a harder game from the back, and the target rises by five strokes.

For a start that means: choose the tees by how far you hit it, not by ambition. You will know how far you hit it from tip 6. The formulas behind it are in Working out your Handicap Index yourself.

2. Count penalty strokes, not fairways

Shot Scope compares amateurs by handicap. The fairway rate is 50 per cent at handicap 0 and 46 per cent at handicap 25, a difference of four points. Penalty strokes, by contrast, rise from 0.56 to 4.67 a round (Shot Scope). That is four strokes, and leaving them out costs nothing.

The simplest way is the club that keeps the ball in play. On a tight hole that is often a hybrid instead of the driver. Which number otherwise saves you strokes is in Strokes gained for amateurs.

3. Pick up when the hole no longer counts

In the handicap system at most a net double bogey counts per hole: a double bogey plus the handicap strokes you receive on that hole (Swiss Golf, WHS booklet). Anything above is capped. In Stableford there comes a point where no points are left. In both cases you can pick up the ball and walk on, and it costs you nothing on your handicap. That gives the group behind you time. How the scoring works is in Stableford and the scorecard.

4. Search for three minutes at most

You have three minutes to search for a ball (R&A, Rule 18.2). After that it is lost: you play a new ball from where you last played and add one penalty stroke. If you already suspect at the shot that the ball may be lost or out of bounds, play a second one straight away, a provisional. The three cases with their penalties are in Ball lost, out of bounds, in a penalty area.

5. Drop from knee height

Since 2019 a ball is dropped from knee height, no longer from shoulder height (R&A, Rule 14.3). The ball has to land in the relief area and stay there. For the course permit Swiss Golf asks 40 questions on rules and etiquette, 28 of which must be right (regulation). The twelve rules you need for the exam and the first rounds are in Golf rules for beginners.

6. Know the carry distance of your clubs

TrackMan uses 94 mph club head speed with the driver as its standard assumption for an average golfer (TrackMan). How far your 7 iron carries you cannot read off that, you measure it: ten shots with the same club, drop the best and the worst, write down the average. With that table you pick the club on the course for the distance you usually hit, not for the one that worked once.

An hour in a bay costs a median of CHF 50, and the bay is usually shared by up to four people. 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory publish their hourly price. How to build the table is in Club distances.

7. Learn one swing, not fourteen

The PGA of America writes in its beginner's guide: for golf you need to learn only one basic swing. When the distance changes, you take a different club. The swing has two phases, the preparation before the shot and the swing itself, and consists of address, takeaway, change of direction, downswing, impact and finish (PGA of America).

It lasts two to three seconds and follows a rhythm the guide calls slow, fast, slow: smoothly back, change direction at the top, then steadily faster to the finish. The whole sequence with the angles is described in The golf swing for beginners.

8. Ball first, then the ground

The lowest point of the swing is after the ball, and the divot starts after the ball. That is how the German Golf Association's beginner pages sum up the technique tips of PGA professionals Andy Proudman and Piers Ward (golf.de). Fat and thin shots happen when that point wanders. Why, and what the launch monitor shows about it, is in Avoiding fat and thin shots.

9. Grip firmly, but do not squeeze

The PGA of America says it in one sentence: hold the club firmly, but do not squeeze (PGA of America). PGA Germany notes in its training document that there is no single right golf grip. Beginners and children mostly start with the ten-finger grip, and the grip develops over time (PGA Germany). The three variants and what they change are in How to hold the golf grip.

10. Warm up

More than half of golfers are injured in the course of their lives. A meta-analysis of 20 studies and 9,221 golfers gives a lifetime prevalence of 56.6 per cent for amateurs (British Journal of Sports Medicine). The PGA of America guide shows stretches for trunk and legs, among them the trunk twister with the club across the shoulders.

What a warm-up contains in practice is in Golf and back pain, exercises for home in Golf fitness and the most common injuries in Avoiding golf injuries.

More on this: Learning to putt in golf, Golf pre-shot routine, Practising golf properly.

How to practise the ten in six weeks

Weeks 1 and 2: grip, stance and a half swing, filmed with your phone (Filming your own swing). Week 3: one hour in a bay, every club ten times, write down the carry table. Week 4: a taster course or a lesson with a pro. Weeks 5 and 6: nine holes on a short course, with tips 3 to 5 in mind.

The bay is the part that always works in winter and in rain. Where a venue near you is, the map shows; what an hour costs is on the price overview, and beginner formats are on golf simulator for beginners. 95 of the 126 venues in the directory offer coaching, and the training page lists them.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most important golf tips for beginners?

Count and avoid penalty strokes, measure the carry distance of every club and learn a single basic swing. Those three save the most strokes. On top come the rules on search time and dropping and a warm-up before the round.

How long does a golf swing take?

Two to three seconds from address to finish. The PGA of America beginner's guide describes the rhythm as slow, fast, slow: smoothly back, change direction at the top, then steadily faster to the finish.

How many clubs may I carry?

No more than fourteen. The Rules of Golf do not allow more than 14 clubs at the start of the round or during it (Rule 4.1b). A beginner needs far fewer; a half set of six clubs is enough for a start.

When may I pick up my ball?

In Stableford once you can no longer score a point, and in a round with friends at any time. For the handicap at most a net double bogey counts per hole, a double bogey plus the handicap strokes on that hole. Everything above is capped.

Where can I practise in winter?

In a simulator bay. 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory publish an hourly price, a median of CHF 50 per bay, usually shared by up to four people. 95 of the 126 venues offer coaching. The map shows venues near you.

Sources