Are you new in golf?

Golf is a precision sport that is played on courses of various sizes. The aim of the game is to bring a ball from a starting area (Tee box) to a hole (on the green) hitting it with the least number of shots using clubs of different sizes and materials (The lower score  win).

In order to hit the ball with the aim of throwing it to the favorite point, it is necessary to take part in golf lessons that will teach you the famous “Swing”, which is a movement of the body essential for this sport, which allows you to have control of the club and the ball. You can have golf lessons in any Golf Club (there are many promotions around) but to be able to enter in a golf course and play alone (without teacher), you need to pass a small written exam (with suggested answers) that will allow you to have your basic handicap “54” and the qualification to play in all the courses of the world (there are some exceptions of Club Directions that do not allow golfers with a handicap lower than a certain number to play, but they are not a lot). The handicap is a system that allows players with little experience to compete with those with superior skill in a fair manner better described in our article (HANDICAP)

The game of golf, currently, allows any person who wants to practice it, at least to try it with very few steps and at low cost. There are different initiatives to start playing golf, and the prices, once believed exorbitant, have been greatly reduced due to a strong will of golf federations with the aim to publicize this sport that still remains in the 4th place as most practiced sport in the world (SEE ARTICLE). Most of the clubs offer excellent promotions and packages to start playing and in any case we have indications on how to start playing golf and the initial costs  HERE.

Unlike other sports, golf does not have a standard playing field, its courses are always different, you can play on the coast of the sea, around lakes or rivers, on mountain slopes, hilly areas or in different woods without any natural limit. In a typical competition the standard number of holes to be completed is 18, but there are many different  golf courses with a lower number (3 holes) and higher (36 holes and above) and nine-hole courses are very common. See the Italian field for you on: “Search for golf courses in Italy“

A golf course has holes all different from each other, but the main elements for each of them will be: An initial starting area (tee box), fairways (central part of the course), various obstacles and the putting green (with the pole, flag and the hole). For a more precise description of a structure of a golf course read: “How a golf course is made”.

The competitions in golf are divided into two main ones: “Stroke play” in which there are shots made individually by the golfer and “Match Play” in which you have to count the holes won in the competition. Usually you play from the first hole to the last and a round is usually 18 holes. Sometimes on the 9-hole courses the courses are done twice. For a more complete view read our article: “Golf Game Formulas“

A game / competition / Tournament of golf begins with an initial throw to be made within an area (tee box) usually using a Driver (useful club for very long shots) with the opportunity to use a  tee (small spacers that raise the ball from the ground) that facilitate the shot. If the shot will be  successful (straight, without any slice or hook) the ball would land in the fairway, where, depending on the length of the hole, you may need to make additional shots with the clubs in the bag (no more than 14 in official competitions). Once you get close to the green (the final part of the hole), usually approach the area with Pitch or Wedges (other types of clubs suitable for short shots) and once in the green you use the putter to hole the ball . Along the course there are various obstacles: Bunkers (holes filled with sand), water obstacles (ponds or natural or artificial streams) or any other element of nature along the course (vegetation, natural or non-natural constructions). Read “Golf Equipment” or when it concerns the structure of the routes it is advisable to read: “How a golf course is made” .

In golf there are penalties that arise in the event that a player breaks the rules. The penalty consist to add points to the number of shots actually performed. Examples of penalties can be a mishandled ball, a ball out of bounds, etc. For a precise description of the penalties we recommend reading the “Rules of golf”

Each hole has a PAR, the estimated number of shots to be made to hole the ball. The player holing the ball with the exact number of the PAR would score “0”, if he ends with fewer shots it would go into negative (-1, -2) and in case more in positive (+1, +2 ). There are PAR 3 holes (average length less than 250 m.) PAR 4 (225-434 meters), PAR5 (over 435 m), there are also PAR 6 holes but they are very rare. 18 of these holes thus form the typical PAR 72 championship course. For information on the fields around you go to “Search for golf courses in Italy”

On the basis of the shots made more or less than the PAR, there is a terminology that indicates the result reached in the hole: A hole finished 4 shots below the Par will be (Condor), hole finished 3 shots under the Par (Albatross – Double Eagle in USA), hole completed 2 shots below Par (Eagle), hole ended 1 shot below Par (Birdie), hole ended in Par: PAR, hole ended 1 shot over Par (Bogey), hole ended 2 shots above Par (Double Bogey) or worse.

At professional level there are many  national and international competitions in which the professionals golfer could compete, see “The golf competitions”. There are at least 20 professional golf tours, each one ran by a PGA or an independent tour organization, which is responsible for organizing events, finding sponsors and regulating the tour. On a tour there are ‘members’ who have the right to compete in most of its events, and also invite non-members to compete in some of them. The most popular professional tours are the PGA Tour, the European Tour, the Asian Tour, the Sunshine Tour and the Australian Tour. There are six main tours for women, each based in a different country or continent. The most prestigious of these are the LPGA  based in the United States and the Ladies European Tour (LET). For each tour there are some rankings that you can follow HERE. Few professionals are able to participate in world tours, usually they work as professionals of the Club or teachers, basically, golf, is formed by many amateurs who have fun to play without stress, with competitions or without it, with friends or alone, in all the wonderful golf courses that we have in Italy and around the world, walking and competing in wonderful places and / or in any case in close contact with nature.

HAVE A WONDERFULL GOLF
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