Primer: Golf
Guide with Golf Tips For Beginners Who Have Never Played
If you just want a quick primer to get a feel for golf lingo and a few beginner golf tips then just keep reading
below to get exactly what you need.
Maybe you’ve never played golf but are interested in learning about the game or maybe you’ve been invited to go
play. You say to yourself, I don’t know a tee box from golf tee, I can’t do it!! Don’t Panic! It’s easy if you get
to know the terminology.
This Golf Tips for Beginners page will introduce you to the bare bones basics of the golfing terminology
that the more seasoned players use as a kind of “barrier to entry” for new participants. The terms will be provided
and will be given proper context so that no matter how “green” you are, you can at least talk the talk.
Primer Table of Sections:
Starting out - Basic Play
What’s in the Bag - Name that Golf Club!
The Course Terms
Scoring Talk
Let’s get started:
Starting Out - Basic play for the uninitiated-
Golf is a competition designed to pit a player (that’s you) against the actual course itself first, then against
other players. Golf courses are designed to have 18 holes of varying yardage and difficulty. The difficulty is
determined by how many obstacles one must avoid in order to hit the golf ball into the hole. When you are ready to
learn how to swing a golf club properly, click the link
contained in this sentence.
The winner in a golf game between human competitors is determined by counting the number of hit attempts (or
strokes) each player takes. The person who hits the ball the LEAST amount of times (has the lowest total of
strokes) to get the ball into all 18 holes is the winner.
So What’s in the Bag?
A player is allowed to carry up to 14 clubs with them on the course. Each club is a tool designed to hit
the ball a certain way in order to attain your goal which is to hit the ball into the hole in the least number of
strokes. The clubs are broken down as follows:
Putter: Designed to allow a soft, precise tap on the golf ball to gently roll the ball into the
hole. Is usually used on or around the greens (see The Course
description for an explanation of each part of a typical golf course). Learning to use this stick
properly is easy and yet paradoxically allows one to improve their scoring the quickest. It is also the one
most ignored by beginner golfers.
People usually carry only one putter in the bag. The different types of putters are regular, belly
putters, and mid-length. You will usually only see regular putters on the average course. Even so,
these will still have a variety of options for the club head.
You might see a mallet head or a blade style head. The mallet head is really heavy and provides more
“oomph” to a given putt and sort of ensures that the ball goes along the line on which you swing. A blade
putter is used by those who want a more accurate feel when putting and don’t want the weight of the putter to do
the work for them. These putters have small, thin club heads.
Irons: These are the most versatile clubs in the bag, and usually the most numerous. They are
also typically full metal clubs with a metal shaft and club head. For some players however, they prefer
playing with lighter weight shafts which are not metal. The clubs are still referred to as irons, though.
These clubs are designed to hit the back of the golf ball just before the bottom of the golf
swing. The face of the club is usually lofted and grooved to “bite” into the dimples of the golf ball to
provide backspin which then provides lift. These clubs are used for the majority of golf shots until one's
accuracy improves considerably. Click the following link to learn how to swing a golf club more accurately.
Due to the varying degrees of loft on the club faces, many players still carry a bunch of irons in the bag
because they know that in this game you need the highest versatility to create the shots that get you closest to
the hole. Irons are usually numbered from 1-iron to 9-iron. Wedges are a sub-set of irons as discussed
below.
- Long Irons: These are the 1, 2, 3 and maybe the 4 Irons in most folk’s opinion.
Historically, long irons were the territory of the highly skilled, brave or foolhardy. These are the
irons with the longest shaft and the smallest, least lofted club face.
- NOTE: in order to hit a golf ball properly, the “sweet spot” (usually located in the middle of the club
face) has to make contact with the middle of the back of the golf ball. This is a really difficult thing
to do with long irons which invites disaster, especially for beginners. Even pro's get these wrong under
pressure:
-
- Luckily, club manufactures are no longer including these clubs in full sets and are instead opting
for more forgiving clubs such as hybrids (see below).
- Mid and Short Irons: These are the 5 through 9 Irons. The nine iron is the shortest of
the numbered irons and also has the most loft inherent in the club face. Players will typically
use these clubs when they are getting within 150 yards of the hole and want to have the highest
accuracy.
Wedges: These are the really highly lofted irons that perform almost all of the duties
from about 90 yards in. They are at their most useful in hitting over or out of obstacles. In
order of increasing loft the clubs are the PW - Pitching Wedge, SW - Sand Wedge, GW - Gap Wedge, LW - Lob
Wedge.
Many people just stick with the PW or SW. The others require a great deal of practice and nerve to
use in a game situation. Here’s why - Let’s say you have a 12 yard shot left to get to the
hole. The Gap and the Lob wedges allow you to use a FULL SWING to pop the ball up into the air about
15 feet and fly it about 10 yards if hit perfectly. However, if you mis-hit the ball by hitting above
the equator of the ball, a full swing will easily send the ball 50 yards thereby creating several more
strokes needed to finish the hole.
Therefore, these are considered high risk clubs. Believe me, the crowds go crazy for this type of
shot, but it is usually more flash than is needed. Now if there is a tree in your
way….
Woods: These are the longest clubs in the bag. They also have a weighty-looking
head with a low loft club face. In reality, the clubs are extremely light and flexible. This
long length plus big club face plus light weight combination means that a professional golfer can use these
clubs to hit the ball well over 300 yards.
Typical bags might have a 1W - also known as the Driver, 3W - 3 Wood, 5W - 5 Wood and maybe a 7W - 7
Wood. The Driver is usually only used in the Tee Box. The other woods are used on long
holes where you have already hit the ball correctly into the fairway (the middle of the course where we are
“supposed” to be), or out of the Tee Box when you don't want to go as far as a Driver might take
you.
The fairway has tightly mown grass that allows you to use a Wood to hit the ball again. This is a
difficult shot though because it encourages mis-hits due to the high swing speed / accuracy combination
that is needed.
Hybrids: And Callaway said Let There Be Hybrids… And It Was Good! The hybrid club has
been also called a utility club or rescue club, and with good reason. This club has a higher loft
than typical woods and has a wood-like look to it. However, the club head is a lot smaller than the
typical wood which makes it a candidate for some heavy lifting when you are out in the rough or other
unsavory areas, as well.
In a game where versatility leads to high comfort levels just due to higher usage, the hybrid club could
theoretically be used from the first tee off to a chip shot onto the green. It is that
versatile.
Golf Balls: Maybe you’d be shocked to learn that the technology in golf balls can
create better play, but then, maybe not. The cheaper balls are usually made of two-part
construction. These balls are usually made to roll farther when hit. This is fine when you are
a beginner as you are likely to need any length you can find and you will also lose an awful lot of
balls.
The more expensive balls might have three, four or even five parts that comprise the entire ball.
These golf balls are typically built to have higher spin rates which is good for those shots you see on TV
when the ball spins backward on the green toward the player.
Tees: Most tees are wooden and have an average length of about 2 ½ inches. The only time you use a
tee is at the beginning of each hole. After that you aren’t really allowed to touch the ball to place
it more advantageously. Most professionals always use a tee if they are on the tee box because it
gives the ball a perfect "lie".
You can use shorter tees for shorter shots and longer tees to really launch the ball.
Assorted Gear: Other things you might find in a bag are a divot tool to fix ball marks on the green, a
towel to wipe down the club if wet, and an umbrella. By the way these make great gift ideas for the
golfer in your life.
Click the following link to continue on to course terminology golf tips instruction for beginners.
Click the following link to go back to the golf swing tips
home page.
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