How To Play Golf Correctly

 

Golf is considered one of the hardest sports on earth and as soon as you swing a golf club it is easy to see why. It requires precision striking and complete control of your body, one millimeter off the sweet spot and your ball is going in the wrong direction.

You are hitting the ball from a standing start, everything must be aligned, hips, shoulders and feet. Head must remain relatively still. Let’s compare it to darts, with the arrows, you have a fixed target, same distance, no wind, no atmospheric differences, no water or trees in front of you. You can see how much more difficult golf is and notwithstanding the 6000 yards you have to walk.

A golf course is played over 18 holes with an average hole being around 250 yards, so just one or two bad shots can ruin an entire round.

To play golf it requires regular practice and repetition to perform the perfect swing and incorrect technique can cause muscle pain or sports injury.

What is the best way to start Golf?

If you have never played before it is a good idea to go on the driving range first to learn the basics of a golf swing. It is recommended to have lessons from a professional coach so you don’t pick up bad habits from the start. Once you feel confident enough, then you can test your skills on the golf course. There are many good training videos and books to get you started. Even try pitch and putt.

How do you swing a golf club correctly?

1.Stand facing the golf ball with your feet  approximately shoulder width apart

Tip: The line of your feet is the guide to the direction of your shot. So place a club down aiming where you would like the ball to go and put your feet up against the club.

2. Slightly bend your legs, if you are right handed put your left hand on first and then link your right hand with your thumbs pointing downwards.

3. Swing the golf club back, keeping your left arm straight and twisting from the hips.

4. As you swing to hit the ball, come back in the exact same position as when you drawed back.

5. Follow the club all the way through the ball. Don't stop at the ball.

Tip : Always keep your eyes on the ball, even when you have hit the ball.

What are the different parts in a round of Golf?

Golf is broken down to a variety of parts.

Teeing off: This is generally when a driver is used and the ball is placed on a tee. This is usually to hit the part as fair as possible down the driveway to get to the pin.

Short game: This is where you would use an iron club to chip on to the green from either the fairway, rough or a bunker.

Putting: This is when you are on the green and the ball is hit along the green without leaving the surface.

How is Golf scored?

Golf is generally scored by the number of strokes taken, the less shots around the course the better. On each hole a par is given, which is the recommended shots for that hole.

Par – Expected score for hole and pars are according to the hole distance. Par 3 , 4 or 5.  5 Being the longest.

Bogie – Score over par

Eagle – 2 shots better than par

Albatross – (very rare) 3 shots better than par. On a Par 5 hole , you only take 2 shots.

What is a Golf handicap?

Golf handicap systems have been introduced to allow players to compete against other participants who are either much better or worse than oneself. For example a very good player might play off a handicap of 2 , whereas an average player say might have a 14 handicap, so the player with the lower handicap would give 12 strokes to the higher handicap player. (14-2) = 12.

In competitions a 14 handicapper who scores say 82, would end up with a score of 68. (82-14). If the par for the course was 72, then the player is said to have score 4 under.

A professional player would play off scratch (no handicap).