subject: Understanding Golf Better [print this page] One of the more popular leisure activities that are still a physical sport is the game of golf, in part because of the association with wealth and prestige. The sport is a popular one among those that want to be engaged and active in an outdoor setting, while doing something that requires a high degree of precision in order to be effective.
The concept of precision is something that encompasses the spirit of golf. While raw skill and strength can certainly aid in the process, they are easily trumped by technique and pacing on the part of the participant.
Golf is played by having an athlete drive a ball toward a small hole in the ground on a marked off course area. This effort is made more complex because in order to score well, the participant needs to hit the ball into the hole in a few strokes, meaning that each hot needs to have relevant application in the setting of the game.
Additionally, each hole on the course is laid out so that both natural and artificial obstacles are brought into plat for the athlete, making it so that they have to carefully plan how they will hit the ball and avoid losing strokes to interference from the course. There are a wide variety of ways that the plans of the person engaged in the activity can go wrong, so practice and precision are key to success.
In moist settings, the hole is set far away from the person, requiring them to drive the ball from the designated starting point toward the hole. The athlete must use the course itself to benefit their efforts.
Usually, there is a closely mowed pathway in the ground that the ball can easily roll on and be hit from, which is designated as the "fairway". The fairway is the best way to drive the ball toward the objective, and is meant to encourage a certain style of game play.
Outside of the fairway is an area called to "rough", which flanks the fairway on most sides. The rough is grass that is not as closely mowed, making it harder for the ball to roll and for it to be struck outside of the relevant area.
As a final note that makes the athlete engage in strategic play, the rough and the fairway both may be littered with obstacles, both natural and manmade. Usually, the course will have stands of trees planted in various areas on it, which serve both an aesthetic purpose and a game play one.
Soft pits of sand called "sand traps" dot the course as well. These are installed by the people running the course because they require the athlete to either hit the ball over or around them, and players are penalized if they manage to hit one into the sand.
Rock and hills may also be installed to give even more complexity to the whole situation. One of the more intimidating terrain options that are often selected by those who design the courses is putting bodies of water into the area.
These bodies of water are something that it is usually not possible to recover a ball from, and penalize the players appropriately. The entire concept of golf is playing strategically and utilizing skill to maneuver around the landscape in a certain amount of hits.
There is depth to the game play, with different clubs being utilized in order to get different results, until the ball is a few feet away from the hole on the "green". The green is the last part of the process, and requires a light hit form the athlete to maneuver it into the objective.
Putting it in is a skill in itself, and requires timing and practice, as well as a healthy dose of patience form the participant. If the person wants to be effective; they will need to spend a good amount of time preparing themselves for the wide variety of situations that golf offers.
Golf is a tactical sport that requires precision and accuracy to be employed in equal measures with strategy and skill. Practice and learning how to effectively gauge the way that the hole should be played are things that are necessary to improve the relevant skill set.
