What is what on the golf course?

First time on golf course? You don’t know how it is on golf course or how to start play? In this article I won’t tell you how to do proper swing or hit the ball on long distance, because I’m a poor player, but I’m very often on golf course and know where is fairway and green, also I know rules of playing golf.

What is the green card in golf?

You need to know that not everyone can play on every golf course. It is important to confirm you’re playing skills, which is called a green card. Just as a driving license entitles you to drive a car, a green card entitles you to play on any golf course. If you do not have a green card, you can play on the pay & play course. This is the course where you pay to play – green fee and you can play. But regular golf course wants from You some prove your skill and wants your green card. Soon or later you have to pass exam for green card.

What does it mean PAR?

Before you put first step on golf course it’s good to know what golf all is about. You can play socialize with your friends on the principle that the one with the fewest strokes to hit the hole wins. However, in a normal game, as in a tournament, the game is similar but with a difference. The golf course has 18 holes marked PAR 72. This means to complete the game for the entire course and score a PAR or 0 you have 72 strokes. Individual holes also have their PAR, e.g. PAR 4 or PAR 3, that is from the starting point – Tee to the hole on the green, you have 4 or 3 shots respectively. There are golf courses which have 18 holes and a PAR 71 or 70. However, a standard course is 18 holes PAR 72. For example, if the hole has a PAR of 4, the correct play should be as follows. First Tee shot on the fairway. Second fairway shot on the green. Two shots on the green to the hole.

Okay, once you know what PAR means, we can go a step further. If you have 1 over PAR or below it means he finished the game with 71 shots or 73 shots. You need to know that in order to achieve such an impressive result as completing the game with PAR, it requires enough training and experience.

What is your handicap (HCP)?

Based on your game score, your Handicap (HCP) can be determined. HCP 0 means just PAR. A negative HCP is anything below PAR. A positive HCP above 0 is all above PAR. If your handicap is 18, you will complete PAR 72 with 90 shots. (72 + 18 = 90)

Birdie, Eagle or Bogey – what is all about?

It is also worth getting to know the vocabulary used by players. If you play a hole below the PAR of the hole, you have Birdie. However, when you play one hole above PAR, it is Bogey. The 2 above the hole is Double Bogey and the 2 below the PAR of the hole is Eagle. Hole in one means you hit the hole with one shot, which is straight from the tee. It is possible, but here it is a matter of great luck. Often in the clubhouse there are special boards commemorating the players who have scored holes in one.

Tee, fairway, green – how it looks hole on golf course?

We always start the game on Tee. Depending on your skill level, there are separate Tee for Men and Women, Juniors, Seniors and Pro. They have their own numerical or color markings. On the golf course where I work, the color white is Tee for professionals. It is the farthest from the green. Yellow is Tee for men, blue is for women, red is for seniors, orange is for juniors. As a rule of thumb, as long as you don’t have a green card – that is, the golf association validates your golf skills, you can play with the red tee. You shoot the ball with the stick towards the green, if you can’t see it it’s farthest on the fairway. PAR 3 holes on some golf courses do not have fairways. Fairway is a place between the tee and the green, the height of the grass varies depending on the field from 9mm to 18mm. Often there is a semi rough on the edge of a fairway, which is an intermediate point between the fairway and rough to make it easier to find and tap the ball. Remember that there is also a certain amount of time to find the ball, it is worth asking at the golf course. Highly frequented golf courses have a short time allowed to find the ball. It is often the condition of the greens that determines the greatness of a golf course. There is a flag on the green that marks the hole, and this is where the ball should go. After the ball has hit the hole, there should be another tee near the green to start the next hole, and so on to 18.

Driving range, the place where you can practice your shots.

Before you go to play on the golf course, you should practice on the driving range – the shooting range. There you can buy a bucket of balls and train your shots at different distances with different clubs. And so at the beginning of your adventure with golf, it is here that you will spend more time, then it will be easier and faster for you when playing on the course – thanks to which you will not slow down the players playing behind you.

What does it mean bunker and water hazard on golf course?

There are some hazards on the way to and near the green to make the game difficulties. There are water hazards – ponds, rivers, streams, and sand hazards- bunkers – pits filled with sand, from which hitting the ball is much more difficult than from the fairway position.

Dress code on golf course

You also need to know that there is also a dress code on the golf course. Just like a greenkeeper, it cannot work in a tank top or without a T-shirt. I know golf courses where only a polo shirt is allowed. It is assumed that the player should wear a polo shirt. When it comes to trousers, opinions differ, and it seems to me that it depends on how renowned the golf course is. While on a golf course in Prague in the Czech Republic, pants were allowed – not jeans, and if short pants, over the knee. In Sweden, however, I often met players in jeans and T-shirts on the golf course and no one caused a problem for that. However, if you are going to the golf course, it is worth finding out in advance. Shoes are essential. I don’t know if you know, but there are special golf shoes. The shoes have a sole so as not to damage the turf on the green. However, you don’t have to spend money on special footwear right away. Sports shoes are enough for beginning.

A few rules of thumb on the golf course

Finally, I will add a few more rules to remember. You can’t be noisy on the golf course. It is not allowed to instruct other encountered players how to play:

• If you don’t have to go to the green, don’t go on it. This place requires proper care and effort to maintain it, therefore it is treated with due respect among golf players.
• I did not mention anything about golf clubs in this post, because I would like to devote a separate article to it – I hope you will succeed. However, remember that a putter is the allowed club on the green. Using a different club can destroy the green by making a divot on it, which is a torn piece of turf, which is strictly forbidden.
• If you see the frost, never go on the green !