Learning to Play Golf

The Basics

Golf is a game where a golfer (the player) hits a ball into the hole using a stick. The stick is called a 'golf club' and the hole into which ball is hit a 'cup'. It is played on a huge grass covered tract of land designed as a golf course. Generally a golf course has nine or eighteen holes. A player needs the necessary equipment's to play golf. The equipment includes: golf clubs, golf balls, golf shoes, tees and a golf bag to hold all of this golf equipment.

Every golfer starts at the tee for the hole being played. It is the area from which the golf ball is first hit. After teeing off the player hits the ball towards the putting green for that hole. The putting green is the area around the actual hole or cup. The task of putting a small ball into a cup is made more difficult by adding various hazards along the course. Those hazards might include bodies of water, trees, shrubs, and bunkers all along the course. If a ball comes to rest in a hazard then some special rules apply.

• If the golf ball comes to rest in a hazard then it cannot be touched by a club.
• If it is not possible to play the ball from hazard then it is removed by hand and dropped outside the hazard area.
• If a golf ball is lost and cannot be found in five minutes then a golfer has to add a penalty stroke to his score and replay the last shot.
• In golf, scoring is done by the number of shots each golfer played to hit the ball into the hole. The golfer that has the minimum number of strokes wins.

There are two forms of playing golf:

• Match play: when two golfers play every single hole as a separate game against each other. The golfer with the lesser number of strokes wins the hole.
• Stroke play: when every golfer counts the total number of strokes played for the whole round of game.

Types of golf clubs available:

• Wood
• Hybrids
• Iron
• Putters

A golfer is allowed to carry fourteen clubs during a round. While a golfer can play all shots using same club it is advisable to use different types for different shots. A typical set of golf club includes 8 irons, 3 woods, 2 wedges and a putter.

Golf Grips

Nearly all golfers use one of these three grips:

Interlocking Grip:
People with small hands, beginners and players with weak forearms may prefer this type of grip. The little finger is put on the trailing hand and intertwined with the index finger of lead hand.

Overlapping Grip or Vardon Overlap Grip:
This is the most common grip among golfers. Even golf instructors teach holding the club this way. A golfer places his hands on the handle by placing little finger between the index and middle finger on the lead hand. For a left hand golfer, the right hand is the lead hand.

Baseball Grip or Ten Finger Grip:
This is the least preferred grip among golfers. People, who experience joint pain, have arthritis or small hands use this grip.

Golf Stance

The posture or stance a golfer uses when preparing to hit the ball is called 'addressing the ball'. A golfer can use various stances for hitting the ball. But one basic stance used by all golfers is when a person stands with their legs slightly apart and knees slightly bent. The club is held using any of the three grips. The body is turned at the waist and golf club is fully swung back and then quickly forward through the ball. The successful shot is one that travels the maximum distance. Most slices are caused by an 'over the top' swing. In this swing the golfer approaches the ball from outside to inside swing path. The main keys to a good shot are:

• Keep the alignment close.
• Put ball in your stance.
• Take a firm grip.
• Swing inside out.