Golf has many different aspects and lots of rules to remember. Below is some general information and useful tips and terms for beginners.

The course

A standard golf course is made up of 18 holes, some golf clubs also have a 9 hole course for beginners.

The first shot on each hole is played from a teeing area with the ball usually being placed on a plastic peg known as a tee. The rest of the hole known as the fairway leads to the green, where the putting hole is. A flagstick sits in the hole to show the target usually with yellow flags on the first nine holes and red on the second nine.

The fairway is surrounded by thicker grass, also known as the rough, and there may be other hazards such as bunkers, streams and lakes, not forgetting the great British weather. Most courses are around 6,000 yards long and take between three and four hours to play 18 holes.

Scoring

Your score on a golf course is made up of the number of shots you take. So if you take 80 shots to go around a course and your friend takes 87, you are the winner.

Scoring is based around the "par" for the course. This is the number of shots that it takes a professional golfer to go around which is usually 72 or lower. Each hole has a par according to its length and difficulty. A par-four hole lets you have four shots.

In addition golf allows you to play against better players by giving you extra shots, almost like a head start. This is called handicapping.

Scoring Terms

Albatross: Three shots below par

Eagle: Two shots below par

Birdie: One shot below par

Bogey: One shot over par

Double bogey: Two shots over par

Triple bogey: Three shots over par

Rules

There are many rules that apply to golf. Players must be honest about the number of shots that they take and play the ball as it lies. Moving or interfering with the ball is a big no and this will result in penalty shots.

If you lose the ball or hit it in a lake then you will have to add strokes to your score before you can play on.

Etiquette

The two main principles when playing golf are, respect for the course and respect for fellow golfers. Examples of this are, not talking during a player's swing, not walking on the line of their putt on the green, raking bunkers, repairing pitch, shake hands after the match, mark your score card on way to next tee not on green, shout four if you miss hit a shot. Generally common sense prevails.

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