The Golf Slice

Golfers use some special words to indicate their performances. If your score is one stroke less than par, then you “birdied” the hole. Two under par is “eagle” and three under par is “double eagle”. Anything less than that, then you are a godsend to the PGA tour. If, however you take more shots than the number fixed for a hole, then the terms used are different. One shot over par is “bogey” and two over par is “double bogey”.

In Golf, handicaps are often calculated for golfers to estimate how well they are playing. An 18-hole golf course has a par of 72. An average of a golfer’s scores over a time period is used to determine how much above or below par he has been performing. The difference between the fixed par and the player’s scoring pattern is his handicap. The number of games or the time period over which the average is calculated varies from club to club. In tournaments, higher handicap golfers are given some advantages to equalize their opportunity to win the game. Scratch golfers are the best ones and are given no handicap. A 2-handicap golfer should average two shots more per 18-hole round than a scratch opponent golfer.

Typically, the scorecard at every golf course has the following elements:

1. The distance and the design of the hole.
2. The par for every hole.
3. A gender based par for the course.
4. The handicap ranking for each hole.

How do you determine, who wins and who loses? By a very simple method of keeping score. Now that you know the nitty-gritty of golf, its time for competition. Fortunately for you, golf is a very user-friendly sport in that scoring in golf is very simple. The number of strokes it takes to put the ball, starting from the tee, into the hole is your score for the hole. It’s as simple as that.

Usually, there are 18 holes and the player with the lowest number of strokes is the winner. This is called stroke play.

Sometimes matches are played on hole-to-hole basis i.e. strokes for every individual hole determines the winner of that hole and after totaling, the winner is determined. The player winning by 2-holes (if he wins two more holes than the opponent) is said to be two holes up and, the loser, two holes down.

The term par indicates the number of strokes required for the ball to reach the cup/hole. It includes the number of shots required to reach the green from the tee, plus two shots on the green. Depending on the conditions, either one, two or three shots are required to get from tee to cup, and the hole marking is done as follows:

• A hole of 250 yards is a 3-par hole.
• Holes of 251 to 470 yards are 4-par holes.
• A hole exceeding the above two is a 5-par hole.

The first tee can be nervous for anyone, especially if you’re playing in a competition! It’s the start of your round and can determine your momentum for the rest of the round. Making sure you get away comfortably and down the middle sets you up and gets your nerves settled for the rest of the hole and inevitably and hopefully a great round.

Take it step by step:

• Take deep breaths and control your breathing so you don’t allow the nerves to take over, they lead to a bad shot!
• Focus on your target and visualise your shot.
• Don’t allow anyone else to distract you from your pre-shot routine.
• Act relaxed and casual around everyone else so that the atmosphere does not build up.
• Don’t procrastinate about the rest of the round, you haven’t tee’d off yet.
• Remember what you’ve learnt, practiced and go for it!

Do these steps every single time and I can guarantee your first tee nerves will be much smaller than what they currently are. I was once an extremely nervous person but over the years have concentrated on practicing with distractions and managing my nerves to keep the same swing over and over.

The scorecard, the piece of card you write your scores on even if they are really high! It stays with you the whole round and is the card of information that determines whether your handicap is cut or put up so it’s important you make full use of it and write it correctly.

Yardages, Par and Stroke Index
If you haven’t got a stroke saver then the chances are you will want to get familiar with what holes are coming up by having a look at the yardages and stroke indexes to prefer for what is thrown at you. A common one by my playing partners is “Is this a par 4 or par 5?” and we’re walking down a hole that is 350 yards long. Tell them to get a scorecard, you and they will now be able to know the stats for every hole!

Local Rules
This part of the score card is a serious must read before any competitive round! This piece of card holes the difference between whether you can do a certain action to stop you being penalized for no reason. Present it to your playing partners and show them the correct ruling and get the relief that you are able to receive.

Make the most of every part of the scorecard by jotting down little notes on your own card and also make sure you keep your partners scorecard neat if you’re marking it for him/her!

I bet you’ve been practicing hard for the weekend and you are now ready to go back to work for the week and then next weekend go back to try and burn the course up. I’ll say now that, that’s highly unlikely going to happen and that’s because if you want to succeed, golf is a game where practice is paramount and having big gaps affects your game hugely!

Get to the Range 3 times a Week
A little bit of homework here and that’s setting you a challenge of getting to the driving range at least 3 times a week and hitting 100 balls or so. You’ll find that next time you go to play a round after you’ve kept your rhythm going all week, you’ll see a decrease in your scores due to shots that appear from no where because you’ve lost a little consistency.

Short Game, Short Game, Short Game
I can’t stress that short game is a big factor if not the biggest factor in scoring very low. Even if you can’t get on the range, practice putting and chipping in the comfort of your own home and develop a great feel. If you can practice on your course chipping and putting green that’ll be even better. Be better than your playing partners by practicing more than them!