Golf can be best described as a game of 2 rules.
- Get the ball in the cup.
- Don’t let anyone see how you got it there.
But maybe you want a little more structure than that? Don’t worry, we got you.
Scoring
- The goal of Golf is to get the ball in to the cup in as few swings of the golf club (strokes) as possible
- The total number of strokes it takes to complete the golf course you are playing represents your total score.
- Each hole has an established number of strokes you are expected to take before landing the ball in the hole. This number is representative of par for that whole. There are a number of score names that relate to par and how many shots you shot more or less than par for that hole.
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- Hole in One (or Ace) – 1 stroke to get the ball in the cup
- Albatross (or Double Eagle) – 3 strokes below par
- Eagle – 2 strokes below par
- Birdie – 1 stroke below par
- Bogey – 1 stroke above par
- Double Bogey – 2 strokes above par
- Triple Bogey – 3 strokes above par
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The Course
There’s a lot of land between the tee box and the flag. All that land represents different surfaces that will have an impact on your shot. Let’s look at a few.
- Tee box – Where your first shod is taken. The only location where you can tee (lift the ball with a tee) up a shot
- Fairway – low cut grass, usually where it is preferred to take your next golf shot.
Green – Where you put from. Never drive your cart on here
Rough – Not every shot will land where you want it. This is the longer cut grass that surrounds the fairway and green
Bunker – Everyone likes a day at the beach, but not in golf. This is an area of sand that typically requires the highest amount of skill to successfully execute a shot from.
Now that you have the basis of scores and the course, lets dive in to more of the rules of golf. For this, we turn to Handicap Golf.