Understanding Golf: What You Need to Know

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been invited to hang out with friends or go on a date to do something you’ve never done before. While some of you might be shaking your head it’s not actually that unusual. Maybe you get invited out hiking or get asked to attend a concert for a band you’ve never heard of before. Whatever the situation you’ve most likely accepted the invitation and then jumped onto Google to find out exactly what you need to know about said activity.

In the event you’ve been invited out to golf with good friends or the guy you’ve had a crush on for months we’re here to help. Check out our quick hitting tips on the most basic facts you need to know about golf before you hit the course.

The Course

Standard golf courses consist of 18-holes. Each hole is generally comprised of five basic areas – a tee box, a fairway, the green, the rough and hazards. 

The first part of each hole is the tee box. This is the area where everyone will hit their first shot of the hole from. These shots usually take place off of a wooden tee, hence the name tee box. Each tee box will generally have different colored markers to designate the approved location for teeing off and they represent the distance away from the green. The better golf game you have the farther back you’ll start. If you hear someone say they’re “playing from the whites” it means they’re teeing off from the white pins at each hole.

Fairways – this is the well-maintained area of the hole where most golfers ideally keep their ball during play. Fairways are mowed often (usually daily during the warm months) and provide the easiest path to the green.

Greens – the greens are where each hole is placed and the target area from the tee box. Greens are mowed shorter than the grass in other areas of the course and greens are where golfers play the short game using putters. 

Roughs – These are the rough areas that surround the well-maintained fairways. They typically have high grasses, rocks, and trees. Landing a golf ball in the rough after a swing that slices or hooks the ball can ruin a hole. It’s typically difficult to get your ball out of these areas without racking up a few additional strokes.

Hazards – these are deliberate features of each hole that are intended to make it more difficult. They usually consist of sand bunkers and water features. These areas might elicit a few choice words from many golfers.

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The Lingo

It’s no secret that the world of golf has a lingo all of its own. While we’ve broken a few of the standard ones above (tee box, greens, fairway) here are a few others you might hear.

Links – this is a word that’s often used by golfers to describe a course. The phrase “I’m headed out to hit the links” can cause true golf fans to roll their eyes a bit. The term is derived from the oldest style of golf course a links course. While not all 

Hacker – This is a common word used to describe someone who is inexperienced or just overall a terrible golfer

Front Nine/Back Nine – when describing where they’re at or which holes they’re going to golf, the front nine refers to the first nine holes on a course (holes 1-9) and the back nine refers to the last 9 (holes 10-18)

Snowman – If a golfer takes 8 strokes to complete a hole he might share with his buddies 

Ace – If you’re lucky to shoot a hole in one it’s called an ace.

The Equipment

Clubs – Each golfers’ bag can have up to 14 clubs and all professional golfers carry all 14. The clubs consist of a driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, 3-iron, Irons (4-9), a pitching or sand wedge, and a putter.

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Headcovers – many golfers in the game today use headcovers to place over the head of each club in order to protect them from damage. Custom golf headcovers are becoming increasingly popular with hundreds of styles available in golf stores and through online retailers.

Shoes – avid golfers will purchase special shoes for the golf course. They come in two styles (spiked and spike-less) which help them to get a better grip on the grass when swinging. These are particularly helpful on courses in wet climates.

After reading this article we hope you feel ready to hit the course with your friends and family. While you might not know all the ins and outs of golf just yet you at least know the basics.