Golf has become much more popular in recent years maybe due in some part to the celebrity of Tiger Woods. Regardless of why golf is a great sport to get started with and is great for exercise. Golfing give you a complete whole body workout using all your major muscle groups and is also good for stress reduction.
Understanding the Game and How it is Played
Golf courses are made up of holes. Each hole is given a rating of a par. Par is the standard number of shots you should expect to make to get the ball in the hole on the green. Par is determined by calculating the distance and difficulty of each hole. Golf courses are made up of either 9 or 18 holes ranging in pars from 3 to 6. If you are shooting on a par 4 hole on your local course and get your ball in the hole in 4 strokes then you have "made par".
Most beginners try to shoot par, but you can also get eagles, birdies, and bogies. An Eagle is 2 under par. Birdie is 1 under par. Bogie is 1 over par and double bogie is 2 over par. The ever sought after Ace of course is a hole in one.
Strategically placed areas to increase the difficulty of play on a hole are called "Hazards". Hazards can be anything from trees to bodies of water but are usually created with sand traps near the greens. Some beginners seek out courses with little to no hazards but hazards are a regular part of golf and really new golfers should not avoid them as they should learn to deal with hazards in the regular course of play from the beginning.
Keeping your Score
Each player is given a score card in the beginning of play. Each golfer keeps their own score for each hole. After each hole you write down how many strokes it took you to complete the hole. At the end of your round you add up your score to get your total number of strokes for the round. This is your total score for that game. Your aim is to have the lowest score.
Beginning Golfer Tips
If you are just beginning in your golf game take some lessons to learn proper grip, stance and swing techniques. This will eliminate a lot of frustration when you first start to play the game. A lot of beginning golfers make the mistake of just going out and playing on a local course without first getting instruction on the proper techniques of the game. This starts you out at a disadvantage and also allows you to develop bad habits in your swing and grip.
It's much better to begin your golfing correctly than to try to fix problems later that come up due to bad technique and habits learned on your own.
Don't take yourself too seriously. Golf is a game meant for enjoyment and relaxation. Only compete with your last score and try to improve upon it. Don't compare yourself to other golfers on the course. Everyone has to start somewhere and those golfers you see out there on your local course hitting par and under started the same as you learning the game and learning to enjoy it. Golf is fun, get out there and play.
