Sports Golf: Rules Golf Rules Golf Play Golf Equipment Golf Glossary Back to the main

Golf page The main rule of golf is to play fair. Even on the back cover of the rule book it
states to 1) play the course as you find it 2) play the course as it lies and 3) if you can't
do either, do what is fair. So fairness is a key to golf. There will be times when playing
golf that you are tempted to cheat. Standing out in the woods and your ball is right
behind a tree, the temptation to kick the ball over a few feet to get a good shot. Don't do
it! Golf is a game of etiquette and conscience. The game will be more rewarding if you
always play by the rules and play fair. Photo by Ducksters When starting to play a round
of golf, it's always a good idea to read the local rules on the scorecard. These will give
you guidelines that are specific to that course. The official rules of golf in the US are
governed by the United States Golf Association (USGA), but here are some basic rules
to keep in mind when playing golf: You must play the golf ball where it lies, unless there
is a rule that allows you to move it. The golf course may not be changed to gain an
advantage, unless there is a rule that allows for a specific change. If your ball is in a
bunker or water hazard, your golf club cannot touch the ground or water prior to your
actual swing. If it does, you must take a penalty stroke. If you accidentally play the
wrong golf ball (oops!), you get a two stroke penalty. On the green, you may mark and
lift your ball to clean it or get it out of another golfer's way. When putting the ball must
not hit the flag. If the golf ball does hit the flag, it is a two stroke penalty. If you loose the
ball in a water hazard, you can drop the ball behind the hazard and in line with the golf
hole. You must take a penalty stroke. If you loose the ball out of bounds, you can take a
penalty stroke and then replay the shot. If your ball is unplayable, you may take a
penalty stroke and then drop the golf ball behind where the ball was and in line with the
hole or drop the golf ball within two club lengths. You are allowed a maximum of 14
clubs in your golf bag. Golfers must tee off behind and between the tee markers. Never
in front of the tee markers. Source: US Army In addition to the rules of golf, golfers also
need to adhere to the etiquette of golf. Fixing divots, not hitting into other players for
safety, yelling "fore" if you do, being quiet while a golfer is hitting the ball, and playing at
a good rate are just a few rules of the etiquette of golf that make the game more
enjoyable for everyone.

Read more at: https://www.ducksters.com/sports/golfrules.php

This text is Copyright © Ducksters. Do not use without permission. LiveAbout / Kelly
Miller

Are you a beginner at the great game of golf? Then allow us to introduce you to
the golf clubs. There are several different types of golf clubs in a typical golfer's
bag. In fact, today, there are five categories of clubs: woods (including the
driver), irons, hybrids, wedges and putters.

What are these clubs? What are the qualities of each type of club, and its uses?
The Different Types of Golf Clubs

The following articles offer newbies to golf a general overview of the form and
function of each type of golf club.

Meet the Woods

The category of golf clubs called "woods" includes the driver and the fairway
woods. (They are called woods even though their clubheads are no longer
made of wood.) The woods are the clubs with the largest heads (typically
hollow, extending a few inches from side-to-side and a few inches from front
to back, with rounded lines) and with the longest shafts. Golfers can swing
them the fastest, and they are used for the longest shots, including strokes
played from the teeing ground.

Meet the Irons

Irons come in numbered sets, usually ranging from 3-iron through 9-iron or
pitching wedge. They have smaller clubheads than woods, especially front to
back where they are comparitively very thin (leading to one of their
nicknames: "blades"). Most irons have solid heads, although some are hollow.
Irons have angled faces (called "loft") etched with grooves that help grip the
golf ball and impart spin. They are generally used on shots from the fairway,
or for tee shots on short holes. 

As the number of an iron goes up (5-iron, 6-iron, etc.), the loft increases while
the length of the shaft decreases.

Meet the Hybrids

Hybrid clubs are the newest category of golf club. They became mainstream
only around the turn of the 21st century, although they existed for many years
prior to that. Think of the clubhead of a hybrid as a cross between a wood and
an iron. Hence the name "hybrid" (they are also sometimes called utility clubs
or rescue clubs). Hybrids are numbered like irons are (e.g., 2-hybrid, 3-hybrid,
etc.), and the number corresponds to the iron they replace. That's because
hybrids are considered "iron-replacement clubs," meaning that many golfers
find them easier to hit than the irons they replace. 

But if a golfer uses hybrids, it is most likely as a replacement for the long irons
(2-, 3-, 4- or 5-irons).

Meet the Wedges

The category of wedges includes the pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge
and lob wedge. Wedges are their own type of golf club, but also are a sub-set of
 irons because they have the same clubheads as irons, just more severely
angled for more loft. The wedges are the highest-lofted golf clubs. They are
used for shorter approach shots into greens, for chips and pitches around
greens, and for playing out of sand bunkers.

Meet the Putter

Putters are the most-specialized golf clubs, and the type of club that comes in
the widest varieties of shapes and sizes. Putters are used for, well, putting.
They are the clubs golfers use on the putting greens, for the last strokes played
on a golf hole - for knocking the ball into the hole.

There are more varieties of putters on the market than any other club. That
may be because choosing a putter is a very personal process. There is no
"right" putter. There is simply the putter that is right for you.

Putters generally come in three styles of clubhead, and three varieties of

lengths.

 Clubheads: Clubheads can be a traditional blade; a heel-toe clubhead; or

a mallet clubhead. A traditional blade is narrow and shallow, typically with the
shaft entering at the heel (although sometimes center-shafted). Heel-toe
putters have the same general shape as blades, but with extra weight at the
heel and toe to add perimeter weighting, and with other design tricks to help
make the clubs more "forgiving" on mishits. Mallet putters have large
clubheads that maximize that forgiveness of poor contact. Mallets come in a
variety of shapes and sizes, some very large and quite unusual.
 Lengths: Standard-length putters, often referred to as "conventional
putters," range from around 32 to 36 inches long, from one end to the other.
Standard, or conventional, length is the most popular and is the length that
beginners should start with. Belly putters are those whose length causes the
grip-end to come up to - you guessed it - the golfer's belly. And long putters (a
k a broomstick putters) are in the upper 40-inch, lower 50-inch range,
allowing the golfer to stand more upright.
 Personality: But what putters boil down to is personal choice. If it feels
good to you when you are using a putter, then that putter will probably work
just fine. So much of putting is confidence, so having a putter that feels good,
that appeals to your eye, that you simply like, can only be a good thing.

All putters, regardless of size or shape, are designed to start the ball rolling
smoothly, with a minimum of backspin to avoid skipping or skidding. Almost
all putters do have a small amount of loft (typically 3 or 4 degrees).
Names of Old Golf Clubs

Golf clubs have changed quite a bit over the long history of the sport. There
used to be clubs with names like mashie and niblick and jigger and spoon.
What were those? What did the names mean? Let's go over the names of old,
archaic golf clubs. Just for fun.