Golfing For Novices: Part One
Rhys Jones | August 2, 2010The sport of golf has really boomed in public awareness over the last 45 years. It has produced fantastic world-champions such as Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods and world-renowned courses like St. Andrews, Sunningdale, Pinehurst ans Augusta.
Why has golf become so popular these days? Its the opportunity to be outside, to get a good whole body workout, network with friends or business colleagues at a leisurely pace, and to play a game that you can never play perfectly.
Your scorecard shows your progress, or lack of it, and this can spur you on to want to play again.
This is the first lesson for the novice golfer who doesn’t know anything about golfing.
Golf is played on an eighteen-hole course. Each hole has its own “par” (value), which is the combined number of tee shots (drives), fairway shots, chips (short hits as you approach the green), and putts (on the green) you should need to take.
The par number is based on the length and difficulty of the hole. Pars range from 3 to 6. If you get the ball in the hole in five shots on a par five hole, you “made par.” If it took you six shots, its called a bogie, if you made it in four, its a birdie.
‘Hazards’ or obstructions are usually placed before all the holes. Ponds, sand bunkers and trees are positioned in such a way as to make it more difficult to reach the green. Novice golfers should try to find a course with fewer hazards, which is therefore easier to play.
Players mark their own scorecard with the cumalative total of shots taken for each hole. After playing all the holes, the players add up their own scorecards and the one with the lowest score is the winner.
It is vital that beginners to golfing should not take the game too seriously, because it takes a very long time to play golf proficiently, even if the professionals on TV make it look so easy.
Take a lesson or two at the start of your golfing ‘career’, because it will help you develop a proper swing and help you get off to a good start.
Are you a rookie to golfing?? We have some greon our website at tips for the beginner golfer on our website at Golfing Tips for Beginners Free reprint avaialable from: Golfing For Novices: Part One.