An Overview to the Basic Rules of Golf
Golf is a game that is easy to learn but hard to master. However, this isn’t a statement that everyone agrees with; for some people, the rules of golf can seem somewhat esoteric and hard to get a grasp on. This is somewhat understandable, actually; after all, what other sport has a scoring system where the fewer points you get, the better? Naturally, if you’re confused about the rules of golf, there are plenty of people who you can ask for help at whatever course you might be playing at, but it’s always great if you go out on the green for the first time with at least some rough idea of what you’ll be getting into. Therefore, here are some of the most basic rules of golf to keep in mind.
Firstly, there are particular rules about where you can place your tee. There are markers established on most courses, and generally speaking, you are required to place your tee between those markets and not more than two club lengths behind them. It is never permissible to put your tee in front of the markers!
If a golf ball you’re playing with falls off the tee before you take a swing, this is not a big deal. There might be some players out there who will try and fool you into thinking this is a penalty stroke, but that’s not the case. Just replace the ball and keep playing.
If, however, you swing and miss after addressing the ball (squaring your posture and lining up your shot), it DOES count as a missed stroke, so be careful! Even if you end up brushing the top of the ball so that it just falls off the tee and travels a few inches, this counts as a stroke and must be played as it lies.
After you’ve managed to get off the tee, you might well find yourself in a bad position where you’d like to move around some of the natural vegetation growing on the course in order to get a better path to the whole. While you can move around loose obstacles like stones or fallen tree branches, it is never permissible to alter any growing vegetation – so no cutting or breaking the limbs off of trees. In fact, it’s not even allowed to BEND the branches of a growing tree to line up a better shot!
If the rules call for a ball to be dropped (such as when it is found lying in weeds or roughage where play would be impossible), the proper form is to face the hole, stand with an erect posture, and drop the ball over one shoulder behind your back. Then, it must be played as it lies.
Once you’re on the green, be careful about making sure that your ball doesn’t hit one of the other players! While you’re still on the rough or fairway, there’s no real penalty for this kind of mistake, but if both balls are on the green, then it’s a two stroke penalty when you hit another ball. Getting two strokes added on when you’re just a putt away from the hole is bad news, so watch out!
The rules are naturally a bit more complex than this, but you’ll be best served doing what most players do and just learning the specifics as you go along. The rules listed here will be more than enough to get you started!