Rules might seem like a maze when you learn to play golf, but once you get the hang of it, it’s like second nature. The goal is to hit a little ball with a club from the tee all the way to the green, which is a smooth area with a hole in it. The fewer whacks you take, the better. You’ll want golf balls, clubs (there are different ones for different situations), tees, gloves, and a bag to carry it all in.
The driver club is your power hitter for blasting the ball far down the course. Hybrid clubs are good for those medium-range shots, and irons help you get close to the green.
Wedges are for those tricky shots around the green and out of sand traps, and the putter is your friend for rolling the ball smoothly into the hole. Knowing the rules is key to having a good time on the golf course, so familiarize yourself with some of the basics. Players take turns hitting the ball, with the person farthest from the hole going first. Whoever sinks the ball with the least hits on the last hole gets to tee off first on the next hole.
There are penalties for things like losing your ball or hitting it out of bounds. If you lose your ball, that’s a one-stroke penalty, and you must replay the shot from the same spot. Players can only carry 14 clubs in their bag, and you can’t get advice from anyone except your partner or caddy. As for the golf lingo, an ace is a hole-in-one, meaning you sink the ball in one shot. Par is the number of strokes a good golfer would take to finish a hole.
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