Golf is a sport, and as such, has its rules. Not many, not very complicated, but you should know at least the most important before playing your first game. These are for many the 8 Basic Rules of golf that every beginner should know:
The first basic rule is not to speak or make noises or gestures that can distract the opponent while hitting the ball. When a player is going to hit the ball, he must make sure that the hole is free or that the group preceding him is at a reasonable distance so as not to hit them. You should also make sure that no person is in the path of the ball. In case there is someone, you have to shout to warn and apologize personally for the fact.
The player who has his ball farther from the hole has the right to hit first. In case a player in the group loses his ball in a forest, bushes, etc. the other players, out of courtesy, should help to find it.
In case a player is hit by hitting the ball from a bunker, the place of impact must be raked after the hit to smooth the sand (next to the containers, there must be rakes: it is an obligation of the club).
On the greens, you have to be very careful with the Pikes or small gaps that generally leave the balls when falling. When this happens, you have to fix them by smoothing the green. You also have to be careful with the imaginary lines that exist on the greens between the ball and the hole, since if along this line there are footprints, they can cause a change in the trajectory of the ball.
Near the lakes, there are drop areas that serve when the ball falls into one of them: the player must release the replacement ball at shoulder height to continue playing the hole. It is essential, to be honest by counting the penalty points to be added when taking the ball off the limits of the field or if it falls to a lake. In addition to these general rules, golf clubs usually have their own rules.
Basic Hits and Sticks
- Drive: long blow executed from the beginning of the hole, before reaching the green. To execute this hit, there are several sticks: Drive or wood 1, which is the strongest hit, for long holes -; Woods 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11, which serve to hit hard on the fairway or bunkers that are a long distance from the hole and irons, which serve to hit on the fairway and from bunkers and roughs – are the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
- Approach: short shot at approaching the green. It runs with two special sticks: the SW, which is the one that least “hits ” (it is also used in bunkers that are near a green) or the PW, which prints the ball more force.
- Putt: runs on the green. Unlike the others, the ball does not rise from the floor. This hit is very accurate, as it is the hit that takes the ball to the hole. To execute it, you have to calculate the strength and direction with which you are going to stick the ball; the blow and the stick with which you run are given the same name.