Golf from A to Z: Everything about the Most Popular Sport for the Rich

Although golf is said to be a kind of sport for the rich, more and more ordinary people want to play this game. A single golf match covers a vast area, which means it is obligatory to know all the rules and peculiarities of the given sport to achieve successful results.

General Information and Useful Advice

Before every match, you should carefully read the rules that govern this particular event because they can differ from tournament to tournament. Then, it is reasonable to label your ball with special markers. It is a common thing when a few golfers use the balls of the same brand. In this case, if you are unable to identify which of the closely placed balls is yours, your ball will be considered lost.

You should also pay attention to your golf clubs and actually to their number. It is allowed to have a maximum of 14 items. In addition, some events initiate particular requirements all your golf clubs should meet.

During a round, it is better to avoid asking others except for your partner who is a member of your team and your caddies. In the same way, you should not grant pieces of advice to others. At the same time, you are allowed to ask questions concerning the rules, distances, hazards, and so on.

When it comes to a match play, you should make sure at the end of a round all the results are recorded. In a stroke play, it is better for you to check the correctness of results recorded. Also, you can ask an official to make his signature to deliver it to the judicial committee as soon as possible.

Equipment

It is not a rule that gold equipment must be expensive. For the beginning, it is quite real to use cheaper golf clubs. A putter can cost 20-120 dollars, with some variations being even more expensive. A set of 3 woods can be bought for 100-500 dollars. A set of 9 irons can have the same price. Of course, the prices are generalized meaning it is possible to find both cheaper and more expensive variants. Of course, the price hugely depends on the quality and brand of the equipment.

Also, it is necessary to have special golf footwear. The most important requirement is that footwear should not spoil the grass. In other words, it is forbidden to play golf in high heel shoes and western boots. At the same time, it is not the best decision to choose flat-footed training shoes. The first argument against them is that they glide, the second one – they are getting wet quickly. The most suitable variant here is to buy special shoes with soft spikes. They are available in specialized shops. Finally, you should remember that wearing jeans and collarless shorts seems to be a sign of bad manners among golfers. These are the traditions.

Rules of the Sport

Tee Shot

A tee shot can be performed from any place that is within the allowed area form performing such a shot. This area is limited by two lengths of your club behind the line that is between the markers.

If you execute a tee shot from outside the allowed area in a match play, you will not be punished but your opponent has the right to ask you to remake the shot. In a stroke play, however, misconduct of this kind will result in a two-stroke penalty with the obligation to perform a tee shot from the correct place.

Play

It is one of the general principles of the sport to play the ball from the position it stays after a previous shot. It is forbidden to improve the ball position, a zone of a supposed standing position or swing, to move, bend or break anything that is fixed or that grows unless it is done directly while taking a standing position or performing a swing. Also, it is prohibited to improve the ball position by placing something beneath it.

If the ball is in the bunker or in the water hazard, you should do all your best to not touch the ground or water with your hand or club before a shot.

It is allowed to perform a real shot only. You may not push, hook or scrabble the ball. If you play a wrong ball in a match play, you will lose a hole; this scenario in a stroke play will result in a two-stroke penalty and an obligation to play the correct ball after that.

If you suppose you have found your ball but you are not sure, it is possible to mark it and lift it up to determine whether you are right or not.

Green Play

It is allowed to mark, lift up, and clean the ball that happens to be on the green. Of course, it is allowed only if you place the ball back on its precise place.

When it comes to the putt-line, you may recover the traces of the ball or previous holes but not other damages including shoeprints.

Moving the Still Ball

If you accidentally moved the still ball, lifted it up when it was not allowed or the ball changed its position after you were ready to make a shot, you should return the ball back and serve a one-stroke penalty. To be more exact, however, the given rule has a few exceptions. For instance, if you accidentally change the ball position while looking for it in the bunker, you are not subject to the penalty. At the same time, if your ball was moved by another person or your opponent’s ball, you are not subject to the penalty but you should return the ball back on his initial position.

Deviating or Stopping the Moving Ball

If you play the ball, and it is then deviated or stopped by you, your partner, caddy or a piece of equipment, you should add yourself a penalty stroke and play the ball from its new position.

The Assisting or Obstructive Ball

You are allowed to lift up your own ball or to ask someone to lift up another ball if you believe its presence can assist your opponent. You are not obliged to agree with the request to leave your ball in the position that can assist your opponent.

At the same time, you are allowed to ask your opponents or others to lift up any ball, if it represents a hazard for your play. It is forbidden to clean the balls that are lifted up as assisting or obstructive ones; the exception arises when these balls are lifted up from the green.

Free Hazards

Every player is allowed to shift any free hazards i.e. unfixed natural objects, such as stones, fallen leaves, branches, and so on. If a player shifts a hazard and removes the ball, it is necessary to place the ball back while a one-stroke penalty should be initiated.

Mobile Hazards

Any mobile hazard i.e. non-natural mobile objects, such as paddles, cans, and others can be removed without any penalty if this hazard is at any part of the field. Even if the ball changes its position after the removal, it should be placed back, with no penalty being initiated.

If the ball is on a mobile hazard, it is allowed to lift up the ball, remove the hazard, and to throw the ball down onto the point that is directly under the place where it was placed on the hazard. If the given scenario is happening in the green, it is necessary to place the ball, rather than to throw it.

Immobile Hazards and Wrong Condition of the Field Area

Immobile hazards are represented by non-natural immobile objects, such as buildings or roads with an artificial surface. The term of a wrong condition of the field refers to those areas that are with accidental bodies of water, zones under repair, burrow, ground indentation or path made by any animal, reptile or bird. In all the cases except for the situations when the ball is in the water hazard, it is allowed to eliminate the effect of the immobile hazard or the wrong condition of the field area if it represents some difficulties to your standing position, swing or a shot itself. For this, it is necessary to lift up the ball and throw it onto any point that is within a one-club distance from the place where the effect is over (i.e. the place, from which you are able to easily perform a shot). Nevertheless, it is forbidden to use this situation to place your ball closer to the hole. It should be mentioned at once that no penalty should follow this scenario.

When the ball is on the green, it is placed on the nearest point where the effect is over. With this, you are not allowed to remove the impact on the hog line except for the cases when both your ball and a hazard are on the green.

An additional possibility arises when your ball is in the bunker. Here, you are allowed to remove the impact by throwing the ball back from the bunker with a one-stroke penalty.

Water Hazards and Penalty Areas

If your ball is in the water hazard, you are allowed either to play it from the given place or to take a one-stroke penalty and to choose one of the two options:

• to make the next shot from the points, from which the previous one was performed;
• to throw the ball in any direction from the point where it crossed the line of the water hazard initially (the ball may not be moved closer to the hole).

If your ball happens to occur in the side water hazard, there are two additional options that are added to the two mentioned above:

• to place the ball on the point where it crossed the line of the water hazard (the ball may not be moved closer to the hole);
• to place the ball on the point that is on the other side of the water hazard if this hazard is at the same distance from the hole.

Lost Ball or Ball Out of the Field

It should be mentioned at once that the field boundaries are stipulated in the scorecard, and this information should be considered by every player before a game.

If the ball is lost outside the water hazard or happens to cross the field boundaries, you get a one-stroke penalty and should continue the game from the point, from which the previous shot was performed. You are given 5 minutes to find the ball. If you fail to cope with the task within the stipulated period of time, the ball is considered to be lost.

If you make a shot and believe the ball can be lost or can cross the field boundaries, it is reasonable for you to use the “temporary ball”. You should make a corresponding announcement and shot it before you start searching for the previous ball.

If it turns out that the initial ball was really lost or is out of the field, you should keep playing with the temporary ball, and you are subject to a one-stroke penalty. If you manage to find the initial ball within the field boundaries, you should keep playing this very ball, while the temporary one should be kept out of the game.