Rules and Regulations of the Game: Golf

In Golf, there is an objective, strategy, terminology, and sudden death rules on the game. Any positive or negative plays can hurt or help your chances of winning or losing. The following paragraphs will show you how these factors can apply in Golf.

Objective:

In Golf, the goal is to get the least amount of points possible. Instead of the game time going by quarters or innings, it is played by hole (which is defined more clearly later). In each hole, you and your opponent have to get your golf ball into the hole at the end of the golf course while trying to get the least amount of points possible.  To get the least points possible, take the least amount of strokes (Also described later). To end your hole you must get the ball in the hole. Now that we know this, here is some strategy to win a golf game.

Strategy:

Strategy is an important factor in the sport Golf, as well as any other sport. Here are ideas to keep in mind during the hole in which you are playing.

Keep A Good Posture: To do this when you do your stroke, hold the golf club (later mentioned in terminology) to your belly button, straighten out your arms and legs, keep your shoulders back and chest out, and depending if you are teeing of or on the green, (later mentioned) put your hands by your head (while keeping one arm locked depending on your dominant hand) and swing accordingly. Don’t slutch.

Watch The Wind: When you take a swing at the golf ball understand that the ball is very arrow dynamic, meaning it could go way right or left with the stiffest breeze. To understand how to avoid wind issues, let’s put this into a real-world example. Let’s say you’re teeing off on Hole 12, and you feel the wind going to your right. So, how are you going to hit the ball without losing sight of it? Swing the ball left. Doing this will result in a nice straight swing, and still keeping visibility of the ball.

Ground Level: Golf Courses will most likely have uneven ground. Let’s say that you are about to get your ball in the hole, then you notice that the ground is not straight. If you notice this, hit the ball light enough so it doesn’t separate further from the hole, and hit the ball in a way that it will roll the same direction the ground is leaning while getting the ball closer to the hole.

Hazards: As if all the nature and natural swing was hard enough, imagine playing with hazards. The three common hazards are sandpits, lakes/rivers/ponds/bodies of water, and the rough area. Note, if you hit your ball and it lands in a river of some kind, chances are, you aren’t getting that ball back, (unless you plan on swimming to retrieve it) so bring multiples. Keep your ball on the thin cut grasses, and you’ll be fine.

Hazards, Ground Levels, Wind Watching, and Posture At Swing, are a couple good things to keep in your mind while playing golf.

Terminology:

Terminology is something that is very often used during the play of Golf. It can help you understand surroundings, tools, and your point amount. Here is terminology on the sport Golf:

Tee Off: The first swing of a hole, usually hit off of a small wooden stick with a circular curved top (A Tee).

Golf Clubs: The sticks that you use when hitting the ball. Usual clubs are Driver

3-wood or 2 hybrid, 3-iron through 9-iron, Pitching wedge, Gap wedge, Sand wedge, Lob wedge, and a Putter. Depending on your location on the field, you will use a different club.

Hole: The course that you play on.

Strokes: The swing that you take

Hazards: The things that will reduce your ability to get a good swing.

Fore: This one is arguably the most important one, so I will explain this one more descriptively than the last three terms. Have you ever thought “What if someone else is playing on the same course that I’m currently on?” That is ok. Now, you might be thinking “What if their ball comes close to my body when the person swings it?” That’s when the term “Fore” comes to play. Fore is used when the swinger swings their ball and notices it is going dangerously fast near a person in where it might hurt them. Fore is most often called when the swinger tees of and doesn’t see another golfer playing. Tee off are the strongest swing in Golf because it can be the difference in a good score. If you hear “Fore” really loudly, the balls coming for you. To possibly avoid getting hit, put your arms (muscular part, not Forearms) over your neck, and hide your head behind your body. From there, get on the grass, and compact yourself to the smallest shape possible. Usually, when the term fore is called, the ball is from your waist on up. So it’s important to get low to the ground quickly. Injuries may include paralyzation, concussions, bone and spine issues, and blackout, all dependant on the strength of the swinger,  and where you were hit.

Scoring Process: There are different point amounts for different amount of strokes. Keep in mind you want a negative score, not a positive score. The types of scores include Birdie, Eagle, Par, Bogey, and Double Bogey. A Birdie is when it takes you one stroke to score in a hole. An Eagle is when it takes you two strokes to score in a hole. A Par is the average score in a hole (Three Strokes). A Bogey is one over Par (Four Strokes). A Double Bogey is two over Par (Five Strokes).

Sudden Death:

In Golf, sudden death is not usually as long as in other sports but is still exciting to the spectators. The way that sudden death is played is the two or more golfers that are tied will go into what is called a “stroke off”. In the stroke off, after the number of holes that are played, you will go back to the first hole, and whoever makes there ball into the hole with the least amount of strokes first wins. You may be asking yourself, “What if the participants tie again?” Well, good luck, they will need to bring their skills again to hole two. This DOES NOT STOP until there is a clear winner, in other words, NO TIES