Posts tagged "Official Golf"

Different Golf Balls and Basic Golfing Rules

Having the right golf ball is important. There are two basic types of balls (spin and distance) and two basic ball coverings (balata and surlyn). This set of tips will explain them.

Spin

As its name dictates, a spin ball is designed to spin. These balls have 3 parts to them:

A central core (liquid, most of the time)
Rubber windings
A cover made of a thin, soft material called balata

Distance

A distance ball, made for longer shots, has a much harder core and a harder cover. The core is made of a firm synthetic material, and the cover is a hard durable material called surlyn. This combination allows the ball to travel greater distances.

Dimple Myth

There’s a popular myth that says more dimples on a golf ball means a higher trajectory. This isn’t true. The average golf ball has between 350 and 450 dimples, and this number doesn’t make any difference in the path your ball takes. Trajectory is actually determined by the dimple’s depth and not the number.

GOLF TERMS

The game of golf seems to have a language of its own. This next set of tips will give you some common golf terms and their definitions.

Par

Par is the number of strokes a player should take to complete a round. It’s calculated by yardage and then gives you 2 strokes at the green. For instance, a par 5 hole gives you three strokes to get on the green, and then two putts to get your ball in the hole.

Tee

A tee is normally a wooden or plastic peg that the ball is placed on for hitting the first shot of each hole. Originally this was a pile of sand used to elevate the ball for driving.

Green

According to the official golf rules, the green is the whole golf course. However, it more popularly refers to the putting surface at the end of each hole. Greens vary in shape and size, but most are oval or oblong in shape.

Fairway

The fairway is the area that runs between the tee and green of a golf hole. This area is well maintained so the ball will move well on it. The grass on the fairway is usually cut at a height from 3/8 of an inch to a half-inch.

Handicap

Handicap is a number that represents how well a golfer plays. This number is the number of strokes a player may deduct from his actual score to adjust his scoring ability to the level of another golfer. The lower a golfer’s handicap, the better the golfer is.

Divot

Most shots from the fairway will scrape off the top of the turf where the ball was sitting. A divot is the turf that is scraped up, and the scarred area in the fairway where the turf had been. It is polite to replace and stomp down the turf afterwards.

Lie

Lie has two meanings:

Where the ball lays. A common expression would be a good lie, which means the ball is on a great piece of grass. A bad lie, would mean it’s on a rough piece of grass, or a hazard.

How many strokes it took to get the ball where it sits.

Address

The position a golfer takes as he or she stands over the ball, ready to hit it. The club must be grounded (touching the ground) for a golfer to be considered at address.

Hazard

A hazard is anything on a golf course designed to obstruct play. These hazards can be:

Sand traps
Water
Rough

Flagstick

A flagstick is a movable marker to show the location of the hole. Many courses will color code the flags on flagsticks to tell you if the hole is near the front, center, or back of the green.

Fore

Fore! is what you yell if your shot is in danger of hitting or landing by another player or group of players on the course. You yell fore! to warn players to watch out.

Mulligan

You won’t find this is in an official rule book, but when you’re playing a friendly game of golf, sometimes you or someone else will swing and miss, or a make really bad shot. A mulligan allows you to take that swing over without penalty.

Allan Wilson
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/different-golf-balls-and-basic-golfing-rules-95413.html

A Brief History of Golf and Different Types of Golf Clubs

Before you start learning to play golf, let’s look at how the game began. This first set of tips will give you the history of golf and some fun facts.

The first reference to Golf that we know of was mentioned in 1297 in the Netherlands. The Dutch played the game with a stick and a leather ball. Whoever hit the ball the least number of times to get it into the target, won.

In Scotland, King James II banned the game of golf (along with soccer). Apparently, the sports were keeping his subjects from their archery practice. The ban stayed in place through the next three kings, until 1502.

King James IV of Scotland lifted the ban on golf, because he took up the game himself. King James also bought the first set of golf clubs, engineered by a local bow maker.

Mary, Queen of Scots (daughter of James IV) loved playing golf. In fact, in 1467 she was chastised for playing golf just a day or two after her husband was murdered.

In 1744, the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in Scotland (the first official golf society) drew up 13 rules of golf. They also announced that GOLF stood for, Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.

THE GOLF CLUB

Today’s standard golf club has three parts: the head, the shaft, and the grip. This next set of tips will explain each of these and tell you why they’re important.

Head

The head of your club is the very end part that makes contact with the golf ball. Heads today are primarily made from Zinc and Aluminum alloys. Heads have several shapes and weights that make up the standard twelve club set.

Shaft

The shaft is the long part of the club that connects the head and the grip. You can get your shafts made from two different components: graphite or steel. Graphite is best for beginners. You can also have your shaft custom made to fit your height.

Grip

The grip on your club is on top, and it’s what you hold when you swing it. It’s important that you change your grips often because they can harden, oxidize, get slick and lose their grip. A good rule of thumb is to change your grip every six months.

TYPES OF GOLF CLUBS

There are basically three (sometimes four) types of golf clubs. This next set of tips will describe them and what they’re used for.

Woods

Woods are big-headed, hollow-bodied clubs. They are used to hit long shots (more than 175 yards away from the green). They all are assigned a different number called loft, which tells you how angled the head is. A standard set of clubs has three woods. These usually consist of:

1 wood (also called the driver)
3 wood
5 wood

Irons

Irons are primarily used for shots less than 200 yards away from the green. A standard set of clubs has eight irons: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 irons and the Pitching Wedge (which we will discuss next). The closer you are to the green, the higher the iron you will use.

Wedges

Wedges are really just specialty irons. (REWORD) Wedges increase in 4 degree loft amounts, so they come in 48-, 52-, 56-, 60-, and 64-degree lofts, and they are as follows:

Pitching Wedge: 48 degrees
Approach Wedge: 52 degrees
Sand Wedge: 56 degrees
Lob Wedge: 60 degrees
High-Lob Wedge: 64 degrees

Putters

A golf set includes just one putter. This putter has only one job: to get your ball into the hole. When you finally get on the green and close to the hole, use your putter to putt your ball gently into the hole.

Allan Wilson
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/a-brief-history-of-golf-and-different-types-of-golf-clubs-95429.html