8 basic rules of using the golf club

The golf club is one of the most essentials in golf, and it determines how far you will go as a professional golfer. Even if you are playing for leisure, your golf club decides how well you will enjoy the game. 

It’s not a threat. You might not see the best of your game if you don’t understand how to use your golf club properly. Let me be honest with you. Those names you see on the list of most successful golfers of all time didn’t get there by fluke. They took their time to learn every necessary basic of the game before becoming icons in the game.

Truthfully, merely looking at golf clubs, it is customary to think it’s unnecessary to learn how to use it. Still, I can assure you that every beginner must know the basic rules guiding the proper use of golf clubs on the course.

So what are those rules? 

Before we start enumerating the list, you need to know that the list is there to help you maximize your skills and improve your performance on the course. I told you that because you might have heard some people saying that the rules of using the golf club are too detailed. They claim it makes the potentially passionate golfer feel discouraged in the earlier stages. 

Well, that is far from the truth. Although the guide on how to use the golf clubs seems too bulky, I have helped you condensed it to a readable eight basic rules to relieve you of the mental stress.

8 Basic Rules of Using the Golf Club

Rule 1: Check the golf clubs in your bag 

Rule of Golf allows you to carry fourteen golf clubs in your bag during any given competitive round how carrying as much as that is not necessary. You have the liberty to take less to avoid excess load on your back. If you are the type of player that prefers walking to using a cart, you will relate better. 

However, make sure that you have all the essential golf clubs you need for that round competes in your bag. Check before you start discarding the seemingly additional ones.  That way, you will be sure that you don’t mistakenly remove a club that you will need to play the round. 

If any of the clubs you need for a round is missing in your bag, it can cost you a penalty stroke for each hole you play. 

Rule 2: Play within the limits of the tee

Even if you are a professional golfer, your first tee shot can be daunting. Hence, you need to make sure that you tee up both between and behind the markers. The markers are usually yellow for men, red for ladies, white for medal tees. 

Make sure that you don’t forget these basic parameters. Why did I say that? Like every other player, you may get carried away with all the swing thoughts that might be going through your head. So, always bear it in mind.

If you don’t know, you will get a two-stroke penalty for teeing up the golf ball outside of them in strokeplay. 

Rule 3: Don’t play with the wrong ball 

Although this may sound way too ridiculous, you might mix things up unless you mark the ball from the start. During a typical, there are usually so many balls on the course with similar stamps. In that situation, it is possible to mistake your ball for another player’s own. That may be hard to believe, but you have to accept it.

Meanwhile, playing with the wrong ball during a round can make you lose holes in singles and a 2-stroke penalty in strokeplay.

Rule 4:  Green rulings

Whe you step on the green, there are specific essential rules you need to bear in mind. Let your attention be more alert now. Endeavor to mark the ball with a coin when it comes to rest on the putting surface. It is also good to lift, disk, and clean the ball, but remember you need to replace it in the exact spot.  

The Rules of Golf don’t allow you to repair any damage on the green. Still, you can repair aeration holes, natural wear of the hole, or natural surface imperfections. 

Rule 5:  Play the ball as it lies 

This rule is fundamental. Always play the ball the way it lies whenever it comes to rest. It is imperative for you unless the rules say otherwise. 

If your ball comes to rest, and some natural forces such as water or wind move it, you have to play it from the new spot. However, suppose any outside influence lifts or moves the ball before you make the stroke. In that case, you will have to replace it at its initial location.

Rule 6: Unplayable lies

Suppose your golf ball rests in a position that seems unplayable. In that case, you may take stroke-and-distance relief even if the original golf ball has not been identified.  However, if you want to take back-on-the-line relief or lateral relief, you must know the exact spot of the ball. 

Rule 7: Know how to deal with out of bounds 

Every beginner must know what to do when his or her ball sails Out of Bounds (OB). If your ball hits beyond the confines, you must replay it from the initial position with a penalty of one stroke.

Rule 8: Don’t seek advice 

Although golf a friendly sport, it is also a solitary game. Even the rules vividly reflect this fact. You can’t seek advice from anyone apart from your teammate, especially in foursome or fourball or a caddie. And, neither could you advise your opponents in a competition. 

Finally 

As a beginner, you have to be conversant with the above-listed rules to play the game with complete understanding. Also, knowing this set of basic rules will get you familiar with the game quickly, saving you from common errors that may make you lose crucial points.