Golf Explained - Etiquette of Golf in 13 Easy Steps
April 3, 2008
Your very own “beginner golf tip girl” the Golf Virgin, felt that it was time to help out with some common sense driven golf course etiquette. She has recently been appalled at stunningly stupid behavior from “people” who should know better.
Here is a nice, quick and easy chart… < - - loves charts, for all of you to fold up in your pocket and carry with you onto the green. You’ve now been forewarned. Learn this simple, etiquette of golf and be saved the misery of wide open mouths staring at you in disbelief. See below - golf explained.
| 1. Arrive at your scheduled tee off time. |
| 2. Be sure to be patient and respect other players on the course as you wish to be respected and don’t make any loud noise. Normal speaking or conversation is ok but hooting and hollering at your buddies isn’t. |
| 3. Check your marker and your ball number in order to avoid confusion during the game. |
| 4. Do not take practice swings on the tee off zone. |
| 5. For the sake of common sense, do not stand close behind, near or in front of any other player and be as quiet as possible when a player is about to take a shot. |
| 6. Normally, the player with the lowest handicap starts the game by taking their first shot. On all other tees the player with the best score out of the previous hole has “the honor”, meaning he has the right to play (with) his ball first. |
| 7. Always be prepared to play your ball in order to avoid any delay in the game and leave immediately after you’ve made your shot. (Sounds like most men doesn’t it?) |
| 8. Don’t play your stroke if other players intend to do their puts on any green in the neighborhood. |
| 9. Don’t take a shot in the direction of another player that may be in hitting distance. See the post why we yell fore in golf for more info. |
| 10. Be kind, nothing will piss off a Superintendent more than not replacing divots or fixing any other damage you cause to the course. And make sure to rake those bunkers back into perfect condition! |
| 11. To avoid looking like someone of lesser intelligence, don’t drive your cart over tee off areas, greens or through a sand bunker. Also, before putting be sure to leave your cart somewhere beside the green, preferably in an area beside the next tee off zone. |
| 12. Try to stand somewhere beside the player who has to do the next shot. |
| 13. If possible, try to observe not only your own but also the balls of the other players in your company. This will help to save time in case one of your partners may not be able to find his ball immediately after his shot. |
I could go on and on and on, especially after some of the absolutely, thoughtless behaviors I’ve witnessed in my time. So now y’all know some quick and easy ways not to look like “fantard” swaggering around, looking for a beating. Use this etiquette of golf and if you don’t hey… don’t be surprised if someone takes their club to your head. Happy strokes!!
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Average Club Distance
March 31, 2008
Hey, can you help out with a beginner golf tip? What is the average club distance that I should looking for? It’s seems like almost everyone can shoot farther than I can and I want to know how to improve. - Hagen in Emporia, KS
Great question there, and a simple beginner golf tip is this.
I love charts, and there is a quick one below that provides a guide to measure by. This is a simple format that generally states what the normal yardages are for both amateur men and women golfers using a particular club. But remember this isn’t the end all and be all of the average club distance someone should expect. The ranges are pretty large, and represent short hitters, mid hitters and long hitters.
| Club | Men | Women |
| Driver | 200-230-260 | 150-175-200 |
| 3-wood | 180-215-235 | 125-150-180 |
| 5-wood | 170-195-210 | 105-135-170 |
| 2-iron | 170-195-210 | 105-135-170 |
| 3-iron | 160-180-200 | 100-125-160 |
| 4-iron | 150-170-185 | 90-120-150 |
| 5-iron | 140-160-170 | 80-110-140 |
| 6-iron | 130-150-160 | 70-100-130 |
| 7-iron | 120-140-150 | 65-90-120 |
| 8-iron | 110-130-140 | 60-80-110 |
| 9-iron | 95-115-130 | 55-70-95 |
| PW | 80-105-120 | 50-60-80 |
| SW | 60-80-100 | 40-50-60 |
There are, of course, people who hit it longer, just as there are people who hit it shorter, so don’t become attached to a certain number. Don’t be too hard on yourself, if you haven’t spent that much time golfing be patient and realize that it takes time to get your average club distance up to where you aren’t thinking about it so much. Then again this is something that we can all strive to improve upon, myself included.
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How Many Dimples are There on a Golf Ball?
February 21, 2008
So Golf Virgin, could you guess off the top of your head how many dimples are there on a golf ball? - Josh from Nantucket, MA
Sitting around looking at your balls again wondering why they are the way they are, karma maybe? But seriously, you’re putting me to the flame huh? I would have to say that how many dimples are there on a golf ball varies between 300 - 500 depending on who designed it.
For all of you people out there who love your golf trivia consider this. The record holder was a ball that had 1,070 dimples. Also, all brands except for 1 have even-numbered dimples and the only odd-numbered ball on market has a strange total of 333 dimples.
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Build a Virtual Golf Bag
February 21, 2008
I just found this cool online tool called The Golf Digest Hot List 2008 from Golf Digest Promotions. It is really pretty cool you can browse golf clubs of all types, styles and shape. You can then get complete info on them like their technical specifications, the story behind their design and the all important street price. You will also get comments from players that have actually used the clubs.
You then drag the clubs into your virtual golf bag and since you are shopping they of course don’t place any limit on the number of golf clubs in the bag. You will also find professional opinions about what is hot and what is not so hot about each club or club set.
I will warn you though it is easy to rack up a big cost, golf can be expensive as we all know. I put together my own dream bag and won’t even tell you how big the price was. Perhaps one day my Golf Prince Charming will come along, until then I will just have to dream. Any who, check out this tool and play around with it, it is a great way to window shop and perhaps avoid work a bit. You can visit the site here, The Golf Digest Hot List 2008
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Whats the Limit to the Number of Golf Clubs in a Bag
February 21, 2008
Dear Golf Virgin… A friend of mine and I were talking the other day and we were going back and forth about the limit to the number of golf clubs in a bag. Could you help clear this up for me? - Joe in Arlington, VA
How cute, so you two are arguing about the legal number of golf clubs in a bag you can carry around so you have a choice of what you bang your little white balls into a hole with? Well, ok that’s a valid question… I suppose.
The rules of golf allow you to carry 14 clubs in your bag during tournament play, so many golfers will add another iron or a specialty wood. Also, remember that the putter is considered to be one of the clubs as well so keep that in mind. You know, the more tools you have available the easier it is to sink that ball as deep as possible.
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How to Keep Score in Golf
February 20, 2008
Dear Golf Virgin, will you tell me how to keep score in golf? - Tiffany in Richmond, VA
So you’re interested in figuring out how many strokes it took you to get your ball into a hole so you can brag to your friends about it? Keep in mind that your golf score in a way represents your honor. You don’t want to do too much bragging now or you might upset your golf buddies. Simply count the number of strokes it took to get the ball into the hole and that’s your score.
After that just add each of the scores for each hole together and this will be your overall golf score. This is why for everyone from pros to the most pure of golf virgins smaller is better, at least when it comes to a golf score card. Did I take all the mystery away? Awww…
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Tiger Woods Last In
February 19, 2008
Source - ESPN - Tiger Woods was the last player to enter and will be the No. 1 seed in the Accenture Match Play Championship, which starts Wednesday in Arizona with a 64-man field and the fewest number of Americans ever.
The surprise was Ernie Els, who has never advanced beyond the second round of Match Play in America. He had said in interviews and on his Web site that he would skip the tournament and not make his PGA Tour debut until Florida and then changed his mind.
The field, determined by the world ranking, will not be set until 5 p.m. Monday. If anyone withdraws after that, his opponent will get a pass into the second round. For the second straight year, it will be held at The Gallery north of Tucson. - Read More
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What do all of These Golf Scoring Terms Mean
February 18, 2008
GV, I just started playing but honestly I need help with all of these golf terms. A birdie, a bogey an albatross…
- Dennis in Des Moines, IA
And you forgot to mention an Eagle, Bogey, Double Bogey and Triple Bogey… wow what a mouth full for a virgin huh? First off, I want to say that I’m proud of you for publicly acknowledging that you have no clue what all these golf terms mean. Good for you.
Here’s how it works my new fangled golf buddy. Par is the number of strokes a pro golfer is expected to play on each hole. If a hole is a par 4, it’s commonly agreed upon that you should be able to get your ball into the hole in 4 strokes or less. Golf courses are referred to in terms of par. Usually, 18-hole courses have four par-three, ten par-four, and four par-five holes with the total par of a regulation course being 72. Feel free to send over questions for any golf term that you need help with.
As for the golf terminology that you need defined. See below.
Double Eagle: Three shots less than par (Also known as an Albatross in the U.K.)
Eagle: Two shots less than par
Birdie: One shot less than par
Par: The number of strokes it should take in theory for a “good golfer” to finish a hole.
Bogey: One shot more than par
Double bogey: Two shots more than par
Triple bogey: Three shots more than par
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