Golf Technicalities
Handicapping
What's your handicap when it comes to your golf game? Are you immediately thinking of your bad back or the fact that you can't seem to keep your head down?
A handicap in golf is not a reference to what's keeping you from playing a great game. Your handicap is the numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability to play the game over the course of its 18 holes. This number represents how many strokes above par that a player will ... Read More »
Forms Of Play
If you want to play golf, just grab your clubs and some friends and head out to the course, right?
There's much more to how you can actually play golf than that. Most just go on the course in an "every man for himself" type of structure but understanding these other forms of play can actually help with your enjoyment of the game itself.
Match play
In what is called match play, two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate ... Read More »
How Par Is Determined
You may already know that a hole's par is the number of strokes a golfer should need to complete the play of this particular hole. A hole that is four par means that a skilled golfer should reach the green in two strokes and then putt an additional two strokes before sinking their ball.
Typical courses have three, four, or five par holes; rarely you will see a six or seven par hole.
How is par determined for any given hole? You ... Read More »
Penalties
Penalty strokes are counted when a player breaks a rule or when the ball is hit into an unplayable situation - such as across an expressway or through someone's windshield! If the ball is lost or hit out of bounds this too means a penalty stroke.
If a golfer makes a stroke at the wrong ball or hits a fellow golfer's ball with a putt, that player incurs a two stroke penalty.
For those that are truly serious about the game of ... Read More »
Hazards
Yes, your game would be much more successful if there were no hazards for you to play around but it would also be much more boring, wouldn't it? Avoiding the hazards or learning how to get out of them is a good part of what makes the game challenging.
As with so many other parts of the game, the hazards on a course are governed by rules set out by the USGA. As tempting as it might be, you're not technically ... Read More »
Basic Rules
The rules of golf are composed by the United States Golf Association or USGA. Some of their rules include:
Every player is entitled and obliged to play the ball from the position where it has come to rest after a stroke, unless a rule allows or demands otherwise (Rule 13-1).
A player must not accept assistance in making a stroke (Rule 14-2). This means no one can help when the club is in your hand!
The condition of the ground or other parts ... Read More »