Basic Golfing Tips For Beginners: 1
Golfing has become phenomenally popular over the last 45 years, producing such world-class champions as Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods. Some first-class courses too have become household names; think of Wentworth, St. Andrews, Augusta and Pinewood.
Why should playing golf have taken off like that? I think it has to be because by playing golf you are being active outdoors with friends or colleagues competing in a leisurely game that you can never perfect.
Your achievements are tallied on your scorecard for all time and the desire to improve your game can encourage you to play again and again.
Here follows an elementary lesson for those who know nothing about golf.
A round of golf is usually played on an eighteen hole course. Each hole has its ‘par’, which is the total number of tee shots (drives), fairway shots, chips (short shots near the ‘green’) and putts on the green, it should take to sink the golfball in the hole.
‘Par’ is determined by the length and difficulty of each hole and can range from three to six. So, if you get the golf ball in the hole in six shots on a ‘par six’ hole, you ‘made par’; if you make it in five, it’s a “birdie” or seven, a “bogie”.
All the holes on a golf course will have at least one ‘hazard’ to make the game more challenging and therefore more interesting. These hazards are usually: sand traps, trees and bodies of water, which are set up in such a way as to be obstructive. A beginner at golf should seek out a course which has fewer and less obstructive hazards so it is easier to play.
Each player keeps his or her own score, marking the total number of shots for each hole. At the end, each person adds up their scores – the one with the lowest number is the winner.
Please don’t take your score or your lack of skill to heart when you are a beginner golfer, because, although the professionals make it look simple, it takes many years to play the game well.
A good tip is to get the basics right from the start by taking a few lessons from the course ‘pro’, because then you will learn the correct posture and swing.
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