Knowing how the Game is Played
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Golf is played on a golf course made up of either 9 or 18 holes. Each hole is rated by being assigned a par. Par is the number of shots it should take you to finish the hole. Par is calculated by determining the distance and difficulty of the hole. Most golf courses have a range of holes from 3 par to 6 par. If on a par 4 hole you finish the hole in 4 shots then you have "made par".

Most beginners try to shoot par, but you can also get eagles, birdies, and bogies. An Eagle is 2 under par. Birdie is 1 under par. Bogie is 1 over par and double bogie is 2 over par. The ever sought after Ace of course is a hole in one.

Hazards are placed on holes to increase the difficulty of play. Most hazards are bunkers or sand traps but can also be trees, and even bodies of water. Sometimes beginners try to avoid courses with many hazards but when playing golf you have to deal with hazards so you might as well learn to deal with them from the beginning.

Keeping your Score
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Each player is given a score card in the beginning of play. Each golfer keeps their own score for each hole. After each hole you write down how many strokes it took you to complete the hole. At the end of your round you add up your score to get your total number of strokes for the round. This is your total score for that game. Your aim is to have the lowest score.

Tips for Golf Beginners

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Golf can be a frustrating game especially for beginners. Do yourself a favor and get some basic lessons before hitting the local course. A few golf lessons will go a long way in eliminating problems that arise from developing bad habits. A good golf instructor will teach proper alignment, grip and swing techniques taking a lot of the guesswork out of the game.

It's much easier to begin your game right by taking the time for a few lessons than to fix a problem game with bad habits you've learned on your own.

Don't take your game or yourself too seriously. You're not playing on the PGA tour and your next shot is probably not going to be worth millions like the pros. You're only in competition with yourself and you should aim only to improve on your own score. Don't compare yourself to other golfers, you have no idea how long they have been playing and it will only frustrate you. Relax, golf is supposed to be fun.

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