How to start playing golf as an adult

Try it before you buy anything

The cheapest way to find out if you like golf is a driving range, not a round. You pay for a bucket of balls, get a bay to yourself and have a go, no tee time and usually no booking. Golf Metric lists six ranges across Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire; see the table below for what a bucket costs and when they're open. Ring ahead if you need to borrow clubs, since not every range lends them.

A step up from a range is a proper beginner session. Get into Golf, the national beginners' scheme run by England Golf, books you onto small-group sessions with a qualified coach. Its own guide says sessions are relaxed, last around 60 minutes, and that "most introduction sessions provide clubs and balls", so you don't need to own anything to turn up. Comfortable everyday clothes and trainers are fine; you don't need golf shoes for this. Prices vary by venue and Get into Golf doesn't publish a standard fee, so check the price when you book a session near you.

Get a lesson with a PGA professional

If you'd rather go straight to one-to-one coaching, PGA Play is the PGA's own service for finding a qualified professional near you. You search by location, or by a specific area like the short game, and see each pro's profile and how to contact them. England Golf's advice for someone brand new is to search on location alone, since any PGA professional can help a beginner. Lesson prices vary by coach; Croft Golf Centre in Warrington, for one, prices PGA lessons "from £15" on its own site (checked 22 Sep 2026). See our full page on what golf costs in the UK for more on lesson and range prices.

North West ranges

Play without joining anything

Once you've hit some balls, the next step is usually a pay-and-play round: a public course you book and pay for on the day, with no membership needed. Several courses in Golf Metric's directory take visitors this way, including council-run and municipal courses. We cover this properly on pay and play golf in the North West, and on whether you need a handicap to play at all.

Short courses if 18 holes feels like a lot

Nobody says your first round has to be a full 18. A few North West clubs have a shorter course alongside their main one: Portal in Tarporley has the 9-hole, par 30 Arderne course, Allerton Manor in Liverpool has its own 9-hole course, and Haigh Hall in Wigan has the 9-hole, par 3 Crawford course. A short course takes an hour or two and still teaches you how to manage a round. More at nine-hole golf in the North West.

England Golf's own beginner routes

Beyond Get into Golf's general sessions, England Golf and the county golf unions run programmes aimed at specific groups, including women-only and family sessions, through the same Get into Golf booking site. A PGA professional attached to a local club is another route in, and can usually also arrange your first Handicap Index once you're ready for one; see our page on how a golf handicap works.

Photo to followA PGA professional giving a golf lesson to a beginner on a driving range

The kit you actually need at first

Don't buy a full set. Get into Golf's beginners' guide is direct about it: "You don't need to buy a full set of clubs to begin with." For a first taster session or a range visit, borrowed or hired clubs and your everyday trainers are enough. If you decide to keep going, a small starter set, a couple of sleeves of balls, a glove and proper golf shoes cover you for your first few rounds; anything beyond that can wait.

For older golfers

There's no upper age limit on starting. Get into Golf's sessions are aimed at complete beginners of any age, and a shorter course or a nine-hole round is an easier first outing than a full 18 if you're building up fitness gradually.