Play Golf Right - Get the Basics Right

Golf is a game of inches, you might have heard that term before but the theory of golf is equally important as the mechanics of the game.

Knowing about the basics is even more important while deciding upon whether to purchase the equipment, especially the golf clubs, or go for the rentals. For the beginners one little advice would not be out of place here, go for the golf clubs available on rent as they are very expensive to purchase and takes some time to getting used to.

So let's start knowing about the Golf.

Golf Course
First thing that one encounters is the golf course. A course is made up of a series of holes, each comprising of a teeing area, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the green with the pin and cup. A typical golf course consists of eighteen holes, but many have only nine.

Hole
Holing a ball consists of hitting a ball from a tee on the teeing box and once the ball comes to rest, striking it again and again until the ball goes into the hole. A hole is classified by its par, the number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play to the hole.

Traditionally, a golf hole is either a par-three, -four or -five, though some par-six holes exist, but are not usually found on golf courses.The par of a hole is determined by the tee-to-green distance. But these distances are not absolute rules in themselves. There can be variations depending upon the prevailing rules and practices.

Handicap
A handicap is basically rating of an amateur golfer's ability to play golf over 18 holes. The 2 main formulas used in the game are stroke play (also known as brutto or medal) and match play.In the Stroke play formula an individual competes against the par of the course to determine his/her handicap. The match play formula is a game during which two players compete with each other. In other words, your score per hole depends on the other player's score.

Clubs

Golf clubs are used to hit a golf ball. They basically fall into three broad categories namely

- Woods: Earlier they used to have wooden heads, hence the name, and are used to propel the ball for long distances from a tee or fairway. They have varying degrees of loft (angle of club face relative to vertical). Now these come with titanium or composite heads.

- Irons: Originally with metal heads also with varying degrees of loft.

- Putter:they are used to propel the ball short distances along the ground with optimum accuracy, usually on the putting green.

While the variation of clubs can differ greatly between golfers, a set can have no more than 14 clubs and generally consists of three woods, two wedges, a putter, and eight irons (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 irons, plus a pitching wedge.)

Clubs can either be purchased or are available on rent. To repeat, beginners are better off with rented out clubs not only because they are costly but companies like GolfRentalandSales.com provides the facility of insurance against any wear and tear (which is unavoidable for beginners.)

So far as the rules are concerned, the rules of golf are internationally standardized and are jointly governed by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the United States Golf Association. In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also follow a set of guidelines called Golf Etiquette.