Definitions

Below are some useful definitions:



Addressing the Ball - Taking your stance and grounding the club, except that in a water hazard a player simply addresses the ball by taking a stance

Advice - Any suggestion that could influence the way you hit a shot or choose a club

Air shot - Striking at the ball intentionally and missing it. It is counted as one shot

Birdie - Scoring one under par

Bogey - Scoring one over par

Bunker - Sand trap on the course, could be green side or in the fairway

Carry - The distance your ball carries in the air before landing

Casual Water - A temporary accumulation of water on the course where you may take a free drop

Chip - A short and low trajectory shot struck from near the green with a medium lofted club. Doesn’t travel very high or very far in the air and rolls a long way after landing on the green

Course - The whole area within which play is permitted

Divot - Turf that is removed from the ground when a player’s swing hits the grass

Dog-leg - A hole that does not follow a straight line from the tee to the green

Double Bogey - Scoring two over par

Draw - A shot that curves in slightly from right to left

Eagle - Scoring two under par

Etiquette - A specific code of behaviour expected of golfers in relation to the course and other players – see etiquette section

Fade - A ball that curves in slightly from left to right

Fairway - The grass between tee to green that is kept well mown.

Flagstick - Generally a pole and flag on the green to indicate the position of the cup

Fore - A warning shouted to alert other players that a ball in flight is heading in their direction

Fringe - Grass that outlines the green

Green - Closely mown grass we putt on

Gross - The actual number of strokes a player has taken before his handicap is deducted.



Grounding the Club - Touching the surface or ground with the sole of the club at address

Ground Under Repair (GUR) - A damaged area of the course in which you may take a free drop

Halved - A hole that each player or side in match competition has played in the same number of strokes. It means a tie, or one half a hole for either side.

Handicap - A number allotted to a player which reflects their ability or relative ability. It allows them to compete on an equal footing with other players

Hazard - In general use, any natural obstacles on the course, such as trees, ponds, ditches, bunkers etc, but more specifically by rule – bunkers and water hazards

Honour - The right to play from the teeing ground; determined by the lowest score on the previous hole or on the first tee by the flip of a coin

Hook - A ball that starts right of your target and curves left

Lateral Hazard - Water hazard that is generally to the side of the hole and your ball cannot be dropped behind it. Marked with red stakes or lines

Loft of the Club - The amount or degree of loft that is built into the clubface

Loose Impediment - Natural objects that are not fixed or growing, such as twigs, loose rocks, pine cones, leaves

Lost Ball - Any ball that cannot be found within 5 minutes of starting to look for it and wasn’t seen to go into a water hazard of any type.

Marker - Someone appointed to record the score.

Match Play - A form of competition in which each hole is a separate competition. The winner is determined by the number of holes won rather that the total score

Nett Score - A player’s score having subtracted the handicap from the gross or actual score

Obstruction - Anything artificial or man-made whether erected or left on the course, as well as artificially constructed roadways or paths

Out of Bounds (OOB) - Any areas outside the boundaries of the course in which play is prohibited, as defined by white stakes

Par - The allocated number of strokes given to each hole and the full round. Based on the length of the hole and allowing for two putts

Penalty Stroke - A stroke added to the score for an infraction of the rules

Pitch - A short lofted shot from around the green that goes high and doesn’t roll all that far after landing.

Plug Mark - An identification made by a ball landing on a green

Provisional Ball - Another ball that is played when you think your ball might have gone out of bounds or is lost

Pull - A ball that starts left of the target and stays left

Push - A ball that starts right of the target and stays right

Putt - A stroke played on or near the green to roll the ball along the ground, normally with a putter

Rough - Taller grass that lines the fairway

Rub of the Green - The occurrence of a ball that is in motion being deflected by an outside agency

Slice - A ball that starts left of your target and curves right

Stance - The position of the feet when addressing the ball

Stroke - The name given to each attempt to strike the ball

Stroke Play - Competition where only the gross and nett scores are counted. Winner is determined by the lowest score for each round

Take a Drop - The name given to the act of picking up the ball and dropping it in another spot in accordance with the rules

Tee Box - Starting place for the hole to be played

Through the Green - All of the area of the course with the exception of the teeing ground, the green and any hazard

Topped - A rolling or low bounding shot that is caused by striking the ball above the centre line

Water Hazard - Any sea, lake, pond, river, ditch, surface drainage ditch or other open water course (doesn’t have to contain water) Defined by yellow stakes or lines. (Stakes or lines are part of the hazard)

Wrong Ball - Any ball other than the ball in play, a provisional ball or in stroke play a second ball

Scoring

The idea of the game of golf is to send the ball from a starting place (the tee) swinging as many times as it takes you, until you get it to the green and into the hole or cup. The object of the game is to do this in as few strokes as possible. You count every swing, including penalty strokes and air shots.

Each hole has a number, or score listed for it, which is called Par. This is the standard of excellence golfers shoot for when they begin to play golf. Your scores may be much higher than par when you first start, but will go down as you practice and improve your skills. Depending on the length of a hole, a hole may be rated as Par 3, Par 4 or Par 5 and although you may not be shooting for par, you can use the Par standard to help measure your own skill on different holes.

Stableford points is a type of scoring where points are awarded at each hole as follows:

Nett bogey (one over par) – 1 point
Nett par – 2 points
Nett birdie (one under par) – 3 points
Nett eagle (two under par) – 4 points
Nett albatross (three under par) – 5 points
The winner is the competitor who scores the highest number of points.

Here is an example of a typical 18-hole scorecard, which covers scoring for different types of competition.



The hole number is self explanatory.

The column marked 'yards' represents the length of the hole.

The 'index' indicates the relative difficulty of each hole, with 1 generally being the hardest, (a player with a handicap of 18 will receive shots on 1-18, a handicap of 9 on 1-9 and so on).

The 'Par' column is the number of shots an expert aims to have for each hole and is usually determined by length.

When marking a scorecard, players swap scorecards, placing their own scores in the 'markers' column and the players scores for who they are marking in Column A. Most beginners will find that they score over Par at each hole, but set yourself targets against Par and you then have a score to beat next time.

Golfing Etiquette

Below is some basic information on Golfing Etiquette :

Golf is a quiet game - never shout, talk loudly or call out to friends on other holes. If you are too noisy you could distract other golfers and spoil their fun.

Stand quietly and safely away from the player swinging or putting.

No temper tantrums – just grin and bear it (always abide by the principle of fair play)

Step over others putting lines – don’t scuff the greens.

When looking for your ball you may take up to 5 minutes. If your group has slowed down allow the group behind to play through if there is enough space ahead.

Move off the green as soon as the last player holes out and record the scores on the next tee.

Watch your ball until it comes to rest, line it up with a reference point beyond it.

Repair all divots and ball marks, yours and others.

Club throwing, swearing, cheating and littering is unacceptable.
Take no more that one practice swing before your shot.

Put an identification mark on your ball.

You may carry up to 14 clubs in your bag.

Teeing ground – tee off between and not in front of the tee markers. You may tee off up to 2 club lengths behind the front line of the markers.

Do’s & Don’ts:

DO

Enjoy the game

Consider the enjoyment of others

Play without delay

Be ready to play when it is your shot

Allow others to play through if searching for a lost ball

Rake a bunker after playing from it

Repair divot holes and pitch marks

After use place rakes outside bunkers

DON’T

Behave in an unsportsmanlike manner, throw clubs or make unnecessary noise on the course

Play a shot until the group in front are out of range

Stand too close to a person playing the shot

Leave your bag in front of the green

Write down scores while on the green

Take more than one practice swing

Slide, drag feet or lean on putter or flagstick on the green

Competitive Golf

There are many variations on the basic game of golf. They are however, only variations of stroke play and match play. Stroke play allows you to compete against everyone else on the course that day while match play is a hole by hole contest between two players (or pairs).

Stroke Play – the most commonly played competition where only the gross and/or nett scores are counted (the number of strokes taken by a player at each hole is entered on the card) - the winner is determined by the lowest score for each round. [Gross or scratch score is the total before the handicap is deducted and the nett score is the score after the handicap is deducted].



Match Play - a form of competition in which each hole is a separate competition, the winner is determined by the number of holes won rather that the total score. If the number of holes runs out the match finishes (if a player is 3 up with 2 holes left the player has won 3 & 2).

Stableford - the game is based on a points system where points are determined by the score on each hole (eagle 4 pts, birdie 3 pts, par 2 pts, bogie 1 pt, double bogey or worse 0 pts). In this form it is polite for players to pick up their ball if points can no longer be scored on a hole.

Par (Bogey) – a competition where a player plays against the par of the course. For a nett birdie or better a player records a win as a ‘+’ sign, a par is recorded as a half and a ‘0’ sign and for a bogey or worse a player records a loss as a ‘–‘ sign.

Foursomes - a competition format in which teams are comprised of two players each, and the players alternate hitting the same ball. The first player tees off, the second player hits the second shot, the first player hits the third shot, and so on until the ball is holed. Players alternate hitting tee shots so that the same player doesn't hit every drive. It is great fun and a very sociable format.

Greensomes - a competition format that is a variation of foursomes (two teams of two, each playing one ball). In greensomes both players on a team tee off, the better of the two shots is selected and that ball is then played alternately until holed.

Texas Scramble - involves a team of four playing four balls, but with each shot coming from the same spot (the best of the four drives is chosen and all four team members then hit from that spot, and so on). The variation in a Texas Scramble is that at least four drives of each member of the team must be used during the course of the round: At least four drives hit by Player A, four by Player B, and so on. The team with the least number of strokes is usually the winner.

Basic Rules of Golf

Here are a few basic rules you should understand to get started in golf. As you learn more about golfing, you will learn more about special situations and the rules that apply to them:



Attending the Flagstick - Before and during a stroke the player may have the flagstick attended, removed or held to indicate the position of the hole. If your ball strikes the flagstick which is still in the hole when you are putting, you incur a penalty of loss of hole in matchplay or two strokes in stroke play.

Ball in Motion - If a player’s ball in motion, after the stroke, is deflected or stopped by a ball at rest, the player shall play the ball as it lies

Ball in Water Hazard - When your ball lands in a water hazard or lateral water hazard you may hit the ball if you can without grounding your club, or drop a ball and add one penalty stroke to your score (in one, out in two, hit in three) – a) drop any distance behind the water hazard keeping a straight line between the hole, the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard and spot on which the ball is dropped, or b) play again from where you hit the ball into the hazard.

Ball in Lateral Water Hazard - In addition to the above options, under penalty of one stroke, drop within two club lengths of a) the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard or b) a point on the opposite side of the hazard equidistant from the hole.

Ball lost Out of Bounds - provisional - If the ball is lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds, another ball must be played from where the last ball was played under penalty of one stroke.

Casual water, GUR and abnormal ground conditions - If your ball is in casual water, ground under repair, a hole or cast made by a burrowing animal (eg rabbit), you may drop without penalty within one club length of the nearest point of relief not nearer the hole.

Cleaning the Ball - A ball on the putting green can be cleaned when lifted.

Obstructions - You may move any movable obstruction (artificial or man-made object). If your ball moves replace it without penalty. You may drop the ball away from an immovable obstruction (sprinkler head, car path etc) if it interferes with your swing or stance, or the ball, without penalty. Find your nearest relief not nearer the hole and drop your ball within one club length. Always mark you ball before picking it up. No penalty.

Playing through - If a group is playing faster behind you, let them through. To do this hit your next shot if possible, then move to a safe place in the rough and wave the group behind you through. Walk up the fairway with them so you are ready to play your shot when they are out of the way.

Playing the ball as it lies - The rules generally do not permit you to improve the position of your ball and you may not bend or break anything growing or fixed except in taking a fair swing. You are not allowed to press anything down but you can remove loose natural impediments such as stones, twigs or fallen leaves for no penalty, except in a hazard. In a bunker or water hazard, you are not allowed to ground your club before you hit the ball.

Provisional Ball - If after playing a shot you think the ball may be out of bounds or lost, you may play a provisional ball. You must state it is a provisional ball before it is played. If the original ball is lost you must continue with the provisional ball under penalty of one stroke. If the ball is found you must continue to play with it and the provisional ball must be abandoned.

Taking a drop - There are some instances under the rules of golf, where you can pick up the ball and relocate it – sometimes with a penalty and sometimes free. To drop the ball, you must stand upright, hold the ball at shoulder height and arms length and simply drop it. If you drop it and it accidentally touches you, your partner or equipment and rolls closer to the hole, you must drop the ball again, without penalty.

You should always carry a copy of the Rules of Golf when you play which are free and available from most golf clubs.