Misc Beginner Info Flashcards
How many clubs are you allowed to have on the course?
14 (however you probably won’t need that many, especially at first). Also, borrowing clubs is against the rules in most circumstances (if you’re playing by the rules).
What does an “S” label on a club mean?
Stiff or stiff-flex (as opposed to regular-flex). Generally the faster and more aggressive the swing, the more stiff is appropriate.
When should you have a club fitting?
When you get serious about the game and are able to make consistent contact.
Are clubs with loft a good thing?
Unless you are particularly strong and well coordinated (e.g. a baseball player, tennis player, etc.), opt for woods with more loft. The extra loft generally means it will be easier to get the ball in the air and also can reduce sidespin so shots fly straighter. So go for drivers with at least 10 degrees of loft and fairway woods that start at 17 degrees, not 15 degrees.
What’s the difference between a chip and a pitch and when do you use them?
When you have a short shot to the green, you’re going to hit either a chip or a pitch. What’s the difference between the two? A chip shot stays low and runs along the ground, and a pitch flies higher and doesn’t roll as much. Use a chip when you don’t have to carry the ball over an obstacle, like deep rough or a bunker, and you have a lot of green between you and the hole. Use a pitch when you have to carry over something or need to stop the ball faster. The extra height on a pitch shot causes the ball to land softer and stop faster.
In addition to your clubs what else should you have in your bag?
Plenty of tees and balls and a mark ball repair tool.
How do you line up with the tee markers to tee off?
Either line up even with them or up to two club-lengths behind them. Never in front of them. The course may have 3 set of tees - forward tees, middle tees and back (or championship) tees. Other courses may have as many as five, six or seven sets of tees. You can find the corresponding yardage for each set on the scorecard - blue tees are designated on the scorecard by the Blue line. You should be able to reach the par-3 holes from the tee or reach par-4 holes in two shots. (This is about distance, not actually getting your ball on the green).If not, move up to an easier (shorter) set of tees. There is no shame in playing from a forward set of tees rather than playing from the championship tees, hitting weak slices in to the woods and slowing down the pace of play for everyone. Beginners of all stripes would use the forward tees. There is also a calculation you can use to determine the recommended tees based on your average drive, after you get the hang of it.
What is “honors”?
The player who has “honors” plays first from the teeing ground. This can be decided randomly (draw straws, rock-paper-scissors, whatever). On ensuing tees, the player with the best score on the preceding hole goes first, second-best score goes second, etc. Ties carry over so you keep your place in rotation until you beat someone on a hole.
What is the order of shots on the fairway?
He who is “away” (or “out”) leads the way. The player who is farthest from the hole always plays first, from any position on the golf course other than the tee box. The exception is when all members of the group have agreed to play “ready golf,” meaning hit-when-ready. Ready golf can be played when a group is trying to speed up the round.
When can you touch the ball (after it’s been hit)?
There are exceptions spelled out in the Rules of Golf, but if you want to play by the rules, a good rule of thumb is this: Don’t move the ball, don’t touch it, don’t pick it up unless you are certain that you are allowed to do so under the Rules.
One exception that is always in place: You are allowed to pick up and clean the ball when it’s on the putting green.
How is out-of-bounds marked? What is the penalty? What about lost balls? What is the proper way to make sure you don’t cause a delay for the group behind you?
Out-of-bounds should be clearly marked around the golf course, usually through the use of white stakes or white lines. The penalty for OB is stroke-plus-distance; that is, add one stroke to your score, then go back to where you hit the shot from and hit it again. Of course, that takes time. At busy golf courses you won’t have that time because there is likely to be a group behind yours waiting to play. So when you think you’ve hit a ball out of bounds, you’ll need to play a second ball (called a “provisional ball”) off the tee so you won’t have to retrace your steps if the first ball really is OB.
Make sure to announce to your playing partners that you are hitting a provisional, then re-tee after everyone else has hit and play your provisional tee ball. If you find your first ball and it is actually in bounds, then you play the first ball. If you can’t find your first ball, or find it out of bounds, then play your provisional ball (in which case your provisional ball off the tee counts as your third stroke, so your next shot will be your fourth).
The same applies to lost balls. If your shot goes deep into the woods, the penalty for a lost ball is stroke-plus-distance, so hit a provisional. (Balls hit into water are treated differently).
What are some general rules to make sure that you don’t slow your or other groups down?
Slow play has always been an issue on golf courses , and it’s even more important as a beginner to be aware of your pace of play. You don’t want to keep golfers behind you waiting, just as you probably don’t want to be kept waiting yourself by slow groups ahead.
Always be prepared to play when it is your turn to hit. Don’t wait until it is your turn to decide which club to use, or to determine the line of a putt; use the time while others are hitting to make those decisions, so that when it’s your turn you can step right up and play.
If your group is slower than the group immediately behind yours - if your group is holding up another group - it’s good etiquette to allow the faster group to play through. Not all groups will want to do this, but many will, and all that do will be very grateful for your show of etiquette.
How are water hazards marked? What is the penalty and how do you play a ball hit into a water hazard?
Water hazards should be clearly marked on golf courses. Yellow stakes or lines indicate a water hazard; red stakes or lines indicate a lateral water hazard (a lateral water hazard is a water hazard that runs alongside, rather than across, the line of play).
You can try to play a ball that is in the water, but that’s generally a bad idea. Instead, for “regular” water hazards, take a 1-stroke penalty and drop a ball at any point behind the spot where your original ball crossed into the water hazard, but on the same line of play (think of it this way: look at the flag, and look at the spot where your ball crossed into the water hazard; now imagine a straight line drawn back from the flagstick to that spot; then imagine that line extending back behind you - that’s the line on which you must drop).
For lateral water hazards, drop within two club lengths of the spot where the ball crossed the margin of the hazard (no nearer the hole), or on the opposite side of the hazard at an equidistant spot.
Note: It’s a time-honored tradition in golf for beginners and other high-handicappers to carry “water balls.” You don’t want to lose a nice, shiny, brand new ball, right? Golf balls ain’t cheap! But if you’re a beginner trying to play across a water hazard, that new ball of yours is at risk. A “water ball” is an older, used ball that you won’t mind as much hitting into the water as you would a brand new golf ball. So if you run across a water hazard that scares you, whip out that water ball and give it your best shot!
What are the basics of sand bunker etiquette?
Always rake sand bunkers after you’ve hit your shot to smooth out the sand so that ensuing golfers don’t have to play out of your footprints. (And by the way, another basic rule to know is that, when in a bunker, you are not allowed to ground the club; that is, your club must not touch the sand except in the process of making the stroke.) Unless otherwise instructed by the golf course or tournament, place the rake outside the bunker, parallel to the line of play.
More detail: When entering the bunker, find the lowest spot around the edge of the bunker that is convenient to your golf ball (do not walk down a steep face where you could damage the turf or leave higher footprints).
You can carry the rake with you (which will speed up the process and lesson the foot damage) but you may not touch the sand with it except to drop within reaching distance before playing the shot. You cannot do anything that could be construed as “testing the condition of the hazard.”
To rake, begin raking of the signs of play, pulling the tines toward you as you move back to where you entered the bunker. Be careful not to pull too much sand toward you. The idea is to restore an even surface without displacing too much sand (you can push outwards a few times if you are pulling too much sand towards you.
What’s the difference between a ballmark and a divot?
A ballmark (also called a pitch mark) is an indentation the ball makes on the green when the ball thumps to the surface. A divot is a scrape or chunk of turf sliced off (or dug up) by iron shots on the fairway. Both should be repaired. Repairing a divot might mean picking up the displaced sod and placing it back or it could mean pour sand or seed into the spot of the divot if provided on the golf course.
