Putting it right on the course

Learn the 'deceptively simple and endlessly complicated' sport of golf.

Skill, patience and determination are fundamental in golf - considering the game is all about hitting a small, dimpled ball into a hole (18 holes, to be precise) using a minimum number of shots.

Another challenging aspect of the game is that most courses are between 6,000 and 7,000 yards in length and take about three to four hours to play 18 holes (you also have to walk or drive across a distance of about five miles). The 18 holes are also of varying length, difficulty and configuration.

Rewarding experience

Despite how tough golf is, those who love it swear by it. In fact, American golfer Arnold Palmer says the game is “deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.''

Outdoor game

Palmer does have a point. It is often considered therapeutic to take a swing at things. Clubs, in such cases, are handy tools. Golfers carry up to 14 clubs (the maximum number allowed as per international rules) during a game. These could include woods, irons and putters. Each club is employed to play a different shot, distance or terrain.

Golf is generally played outdoors on a course that contains 18 holes (into which the ball is hit). There are also nine-hole courses.

A hole is the distance from the teeing ground, which is the point from where the ball (for each hole) is first played to the area (called the 'green') that houses the actual hole.

Players use a tee, which is a wooden or plastic peg, to hold the ball. Players then hit the ball towards the green again from the position it comes to rest after they tee off.

To continue from that point, players can play the shot from the fairway, a short and even stretch of grass that leads to the green (the closely mowed stretch of land which houses a hole) or from the rough (an area that has thicker grass). Once the ball comes on to the green, it is hit (also known as putted) towards the hole with the intention of dropping it into the cup.

Players also have to contend with challenges such as water hazards, including lakes or sand traps, on the course.

Minimum shots

The score for a golf game is judged in relation to 'par', which is the number of strokes an adept golfer is expected to take on a given hole or for the total round. Classified by their par, golf holes are generally a par three, four or five.

Match play and stroke play are two forms of playing the game. In match play, every hole is considered an individual competition. Players who put the ball into the hole playing minimum shots win the hole. The player who takes most of the holes is the winner of the match.

Stroke play, on the other hand, has golfers collecting strokes over the course of 18 holes. Players who have the fewest strokes at the end of a round (of which there are four) win that round. Professionals generally play four rounds over four days and scores are tallied based on the total score accumulated during the four rounds.

Handicapping, another popular term in golf, refers to a system that allows players of different skill levels to compete against each other.

The lesser a handicap the more skilled a player is considered. Handicapping allows you to compete against more skilled players by giving you extra shots, so the match is more balanced.

Fair play

Rules and etiquette form an important part of golf, as it is not played under the supervision of an official such as a referee or umpire. For instance, players have to be honest about the number of shots they take and play the ball as it lies. You are not allowed to move or tamper with the ball.

Respect for fellow players and the course is also imperative. Players are expected not to distract other golfers especially while they are playing. They should also not stand close to or directly behind the ball, or directly behind the hole, when a player is about to play. On the putting green, players should not stand on another player's line of putt or when he is making a stroke, cast a shadow over his line of putt.