So, my wife has finally decided to take up golf.  She has begun to go with me to play and I like that she wants to play.  I'd rather she be with me playing than at home waiting for me to get done.  Anyway, this past weekend she was driving me crazy with her complaining about her inability to hit a decent shot.  I try to encourage her and tell her constantly she should only expect to hit the occasional good shot.  She has never had any lessons nor been on a golfing trip to a golf school with me and so she should have very low expectations.

This past weekend she was complaining about her play and, at the turn, I finally got tired of her whining.  So I snapped and told her to quit her complaining, that she shouldn't expect to hit very many good shots because of her being a beginner.  I told her I didn't want to hear it; that I was trying to focus on my own game.  I think I made her mad at me because she went very quite for a hole or so and then she loosened up and just tried to hit the ball.  She quit her crabbing about her shots and just did her best.

She does have a habit of quitting and picking up which is okay when we are being pushed.  But when we have no one behind us I encourage her to keep trying.  We're not in a hurry since we don't have a time clock and there's no one at home waiting for us (see the beauty of her taking up the game?).  At one point she hit a beautiful tee shot and came very close to a water hazard.  Her next shot would require her to hit a high shot out of the rough over a tree in her way and stop it on the green that was just over the hazard.  The shot was about 80 yards.  She went to pick up the ball and I asked her "what are you doing?"  She said that she couldn't hit that shot and wasn't going to waste a ball.  I told her to try the shot anyway, that's how we learn to hit trouble shots.  I told her we have plenty of golf balls (she uses the balls I have saved over the years in bags in the closet.  Periodically, our daughter fills the pouch with several dozen balls.).  So she tried the shot and hit kind of a mid height skull that cleared the water, got through the tree and landed on the green but rolled just off the back.  Since the pin was also in the back she ended up only about 20 feet from the pin even though the ball was off the green.  She was very enthusiastic that she had cleared the water.  She had a downhill slider but made a decent attempt and managed to 2-putt for a legitimate par 4.  She was very tickled to make that par and I was also tickled that she made her par.  The enthusiasm I saw in her face when she was successful made my day.  I think she experienced the joy that any one of us does when we pull off a difficult shot.  One that we think might be a very high-risk high-reward type of shot.

I don't try to "teach" my wife how to play.  She is learning by watching me and others.  While I have had tons of lessons, been to about ten golf schools and am a very good player, I don't kid myself into thinking I can give ANYONE golf lessons.  What little I know about the golf swing is relevant only to my swing since that's the swing I have always worked on.  So all I try to do is encourage her and suggest that she experiement with moving the ball in her stance to improve her ball contact.  I also suggested that if she consistently hits the ball right she should aim left to compensate.  I don't talk to her about keeping her head down (usually not the problem), pronating he right wrist (whatever that is), taking the club back on plane (that's what I work on), nor any other swing concept because I am not a skilled enough teacher to help others with their swing issues. 

Anyway, we had a good time and after the round I told my wife that I especially enjoyed the back nine since she had quit her whining and crabbing.  I think she appreciated that I noticed and I think she may have gotten the message that no one else cares how you play.  We are all focused on our own games and don't pay attention to what others are doing.

Thought you all might be interested in my day with a new beginning golfer that is my wife.