A game of golf requires you to strike the golf ball with your club and send it into a hole using a minimum number of strokes. This distance can range from 150 yards to over 600 yards and depending on that, the number of strokes you require are counted in your total score. There can be 18 different holes to be found on the golf course. The lesser your score, the greater are your chances of winning.
However, before you actually get down to a golf course and start playing, I would like to share some basic facts about the golf equipments, rules, terminology and other whereabouts related to the game. For starters, you must get yourself a pair of golf shoes, a set of 14 golf clubs - 3 wooden, 10 irons and 1 putter, a golf bag, tees, balls and a golf course scorecard.
A game of golf on 18 holes is classified into two types: a stroke play that you win by scoring the lowest and a match play that you win by taking the greatest number of individual holes. Stroke play matches are more common in golf and you can play this both individually and with a partner.
To start the game, you must position yourself in the tee box where the ball is at its lie. You should use your club to hit the ball towards the fairway. This is followed by the approach shot into the green and the final putting of the ball into the cup of the hole. The hazards between the tee and the green can pose as obstacles to the smooth driving of the ball into the hole.
To gauge the difficulty of a course, a ‘par’ system exists depending on the distance from each single hole. It is an average number of strokes that is necessary for sinking the ball in the cup. If the holes are 250 yards away, they are called par threes while those between 251 and 475 yards are called par fours. Those above 475 yards are par fives.
If you can hole the ball in one stroke less than the allotted par, then you win a credit of ‘Birdie’, if two then ‘Eagle’ and a Double Eagle or ‘Albatross’ if it is three less than the par. Conversely, a ‘Bogey’ would be one stroke more than the par to sink a ball and it can range to double and triple ones.
For taking an expert stroke, I would like to remember three basic factors of golf - the stance, the grip and the swing. The stance is how you position yourself to address the ball before the stroke. Your shoulder and feet should be squarely placed in respect to the ball while you keep your head down and observe the ball.
While you grip the club, your finger should be interlaced around the handle in the manner of a handshake. Concentrate on pressing the two middle fingers on the right hand and the last three fingers on the left hand. During the swing, you have to aim the clubface just behind the ball as you hold the club in your outstretched arms over your shoulder and sweep it across your body.
