Golf Guide
Golf Guide for Beginner Golfers
What is Golf?
Golf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players (or golfers), using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes.
Golf Courses
A golf course consists of a series of holes, each with a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the putting green.
A typical golf course consists of eighteen holes but nine-hole courses are common and can be played twice through for a full round of eighteen holes.
- Teeing ground is the area at the beginning of a hole from which the player's first stroke is taken
- Fairway & rough - After the first shot from the tee (teeing off), the player hits the ball from where it came to rest toward the green. The area between the tee box and the putting green where the grass is cut even and short is called the fairway and is generally the most advantageous area from which to hit
- Hazards – Many holes include hazards, which may be of three types: (1) water hazards such as lakes and rivers; (2) man-made hazards such as bunkers; and (3) natural hazards such as dense vegetation. Special rules apply to playing balls that fall in a hazard. For example, a player may not touch the ground with his club before playing a ball, not even for a practice swing. A ball in any hazard may be played as it lies without penalty. Bunkers (or sand traps) are shallow pits filled with sand and generally incorporating a raised lip or barrier, from which the ball is more difficult to play than from grass. As in any hazard, a ball in a sand trap must be played without previously touching the sand with the club
- Putting Green - To putt is to play a stroke on the putting surface. Usually, this stroke is played where the ball does not leave the ground. Once on the green, the ball is putted toward the hole until the ball falls into the hole/cup
Golf Play
Every round of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A 'round' of golf typically consists of eighteen holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two consecutive nine-hole rounds.
Playing a hole on a golf course is initiated by putting a ball into play by striking it with a club on the teeing ground. When this initial stroke is required to be long due to the length of the hole, it is usual (but not required) for a golfer to suspend the ball on a tee prior to striking it (tee in this last sense is a small peg which can be used to elevate the ball slightly above the ground up to a few centimetres high).
When the initial shot on a hole is a long-distance shot intended to move the ball a great distance down the fairway, this shot is commonly called a 'drive'. Shorter holes generally are initiated with shorter clubs called irons. Once the ball comes to rest, the golfer strikes it again as many times as necessary using shots that are variously known as a 'lay-up', an 'approach', a 'pitch', or a 'chip', until the ball reaches the green, where he or she then 'putts' the ball into the hole (commonly called "sinking the putt"). The goal of getting the ball into the hole ("holing" the ball) in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by obstacles such as areas of long grass called 'rough' (usually found alongside fairways) which both slows any ball that contacts it and makes it harder to advance a ball that has stopped on it, bunkers (or sand traps), and water hazards.
Players can walk to their next shot or drive in golf carts over the course. The game can be played either individually or in groups and sometimes accompanied by caddies, who carry and manage the players' equipment and who are allowed by the rules to give advice on the play of the course. A caddy's advice can only be given to the player or players for whom the caddy is working, and not to competing players.
Golf Equipment
The Golf equipment includes first and most important the Golf clubs are the golf balls. The golf clubs are used to hit the golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance (or 'grip') which is at the top end of the club, and a club head on the bottom of the club.
Long clubs, which have a lower amount of degreed loft, are those meant to propel the ball a comparatively longer distance, and short clubs a higher degree of loft and a comparatively shorter distance.
A maximum of fourteen clubs is allowed in a player's bag at one time during a stipulated round. The choice of clubs is at the golfer's discretion, although every club must be constructed in accordance with parameters outlined in the rules.
Golf Course – Par Classification
A hole is classified by its par, meaning the number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play of the hole. For example, a skilled golfer expects to reach the green on a par-4 hole in two strokes: one from the tee (the 'drive') and another, second, stroke to the green (the 'approach'); and then roll the ball into the hole in two putts for par.
Eighteen-hole courses may typically comprise four par-3, ten par-4, and four par-5 holes, Par-6 holes are extremely rare.
The key factor for classifying the par of a hole is the distance from the tee to the green. A typical par-3 hole is less than 250 yards (225 m) in length, with a par-4 hole ranging between 251 and 475 yards (225–434 m), and a par-5 hole being longer than 475 yards (435 m). The rare par-6s can stretch well over 650 yards (595 m).
The gradient of the hole can also affect its par. If the tee-to-green distance on a hole is predominantly downhill, it will play shorter than its physical length and may be given a lower par; the opposite is true for uphill holes. Par ratings are also affected by factors such as the placement of hazards or the shape of the green, which can affect the play of a hole by requiring an extra stroke to avoid playing into hazards.
