So you decided to start playing golf and things are not going as you expected. You already knew that it would take some time to learn a new sport, but this crazy game keeps getting harder and harder. Why is that?

First, can you think back to when you started any new sports as a child? It doesn’t matter if it was baseball, football, soccer, tennis or ping pong, when you started you had a coach. That coach could have been your dad or a brother or just another kid on the team, but someone was there to teach you how the game was played and how skills were developed.

Now, if your trainer was a bum, it probably took you longer to develop your skills. But if the trainer was good, chances are you developed pretty quickly. I know that when I started playing tennis, my friend was already an accomplished player. I know I made him run erratically chasing balls he knocked off the court, but at the end of the summer, thanks to playing a good opponent, we were even.

OK, who’s your golf coach? A couple of YouTube videos and a giant basket of kickballs? Or is it someone from your golf group? Bad players tend to play with bad players. The guy who averages 104 per round is your golf guru because you average 110?

Golf is one of the most expensive sports to play and the expense continues with green fees and rentals, but hardly any new golfer has anything other than the most fundamental idea of ​​how to play it. Particularly golfers who decide to start playing a little later in life. They have already shown their independence in their success in supporting a family and doing well at work. There is nothing they can’t figure out on their own, especially how to hit a small white ball with a crooked stick.

As you well know, it just doesn’t work that way.

Here’s a great tip to keep you interested in the game and keep you fighting for a better round.

Forget the scorecard. If I had kept track of the number of tennis games I lost to my friend in the beginning, I would have thought it was an impossible game and quit. Golf is much more difficult than tennis. Don’t worry about your score.

Strive to perfect one part of your game. If you can master one element of your game, it will greatly increase your confidence. At least once on every hole you’re going to be doing something that you know you can do well. When you master that element, go after another. Don’t try to be good at all things at once.

Here’s another great tip to help you with the first.

Learn the game from the green to the tee. In other words, learn the shortest strokes first. Start with putting. If you’re going to spend time and money learning the game, learn how to kick first. When you’re proficient with your putt, you’ll finish every hole on a high note.

Just as important as the putt is the chipping because it is unlikely that you will hit the green in good standing at this point in your game. If you can chip and putt accurately, you will take 9 strokes off your game just like that.

The last bump you want to tackle is the driver. In fact, if you can’t hit your driver without a cut, pull or topping, take it out of your bag and play a metal or hybrid fairway. Don’t worry about the driver until you’ve mastered the other clubs.

Trust me, if you focus on improving a single item instead of the scorecard, you will greatly improve your game at a speed you wouldn’t think possible. Even if your friends are keeping score, even if it means losing a few bets, focus on the item you’re working on and make that your measure of progress. The lower score will come by itself.