What is Golf – Golf Basics

Golf Basics

What is Golf?

It is important to know the answer to the question – What is Golf? Golf is generally a precision club and ball sport wherein competing players, or golfers, use various types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course using the fewest number of strokes.

According to the rules of golf, it is “playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.”

This sport does not require a standardized playing area. It is played on a golf course, generally consisting of an arranged progression of either 9 or 18 “holes”.

Competition in golf is mainly played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known simply as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes during a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play.

 

Play of the Game

Important to playing Golf is knowing how to play golf. Every round of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A “round” is primarily made up of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a standard course of 18 holes, each hole is played once in the round; on a nine-hole course, players may play a “short game” playing each hole once, or a “full round” by playing each hole twice.
Playing a hole on a golf course is initiated by putting a ball into play by striking it with a golf club on the teeing ground (also called the tee box, or simply the tee). When the initial shot on a hole is intended to move the ball a long distance (typically more than 225 yards), the shot is commonly called a “drive.” Shorter holes may be initiated with other clubs, such as higher-numbered woods or irons. Once the ball comes to rest, the golfer strikes it again as many times as necessary using shots that are variously known as a “lay-up”, an “approach”, a “pitch”, or a “chip’’ until the ball reaches the green, where he or she then “putts’” the ball into the hole (commonly called “sinking the putt” or “holing out”).

After answering what is golf and how to play golf, let us delve into the topic of the Golf basics.

 

Scoring

A golfer’s score is usually expressed as the difference between the player’s number of strokes and the par score. A hole in one (or an “ace”) occurs when a golfer sinks his ball into the cup with his first stroke from the tee.

It is also important to know the common scores or specific terms for a hole. They are:

  • Condor ( – 4 or four strokes under par)
  • Albatross or Double Eagle (-3 or three strokes under par)
  • Eagle ( – 2 or 2 strokes under par)
  • Birdie ( – 1 or one stroke under par)
  • Par (equal to par)
  • Bogey ( + 1 or one stroke over par)
  • Double Bogey ( + 2 or two strokes over par)
  • Triple Bogey ( + 3 or three strokes over par)