For new golfers or people interested in learning to play golf, I thought I’d write a primer on how to play golf.
As I started writing, I realized that just discussing the golf course itself, this primer needed to be broken up into multiple posts.
So, I decided to produce a series of posts, starting with this one, that will teach you what you need to know about how to play golf.
With this post, I am going to provide a pretty lengthy overview of the typical golf course. Learning about the typical design will give you a better understanding of how to play golf when you are ready to tee it up for the first time.
Let’s get to it!
The Golf Course
The typical golf course consists of 18 holes and is typically set on a parcel of land containing 100 to 200 acres. These 18 holes are divided into two sets of nine holes…the front, or outward nine, and the back, or inward nine.
The front nine is sometimes referred to as the outward nine, as in many of the original layouts in Scotland, the front nine would work away from the clubhouse. The back nine would then work its way back in toward the clubhouse, and is thus referred to as the inward nine.
Occasionally, when you watch a golf tournament on TV, the announcer may indicate that a golfer “went out in 32, and came back in 36” to describe the golfer’s score on the front nine and back nine.
Most traditional golf courses have a par ranging from 70 to 72. This is usually impacted by how much acreage the course is situated upon, which determines the number of the longer par 5 holes are included among the 18 holes.
The most common layout consists of a par 72 course, with 10 par 4s, four par 3s and four par 5s.
A par 3 hole is designed to be short enough in length where the golfer should be able to reach the green on their first shot. A par 4 then typically requires two shots to reach the green, and a par 5 generally requires three shots to reach the green.
If a player scores one under par on a hole, such as a 3 on a par 4, that is called a birdie. If they score two under par on a hole, that is called an eagle. And, in the rare instance that they score three under par on a hole, that is referred to as a double eagle, or albatross.
If a player score one over par on a hole, such as a 5 on a par 4, that is called a bogey. Two over is a double bogey, three over is a triple bogey, etc.
Up until the advent of metal drivers, and golf balls that flew further off of these metal drivers and woods, the maximum length of a golf course typically topped out at about 7,200 yards. Now, they are pushing 8,000 yards.
Most golf courses range in length from about 6,000 to 6,800 yards. These shorter courses are no longer capable of hosting a professional event due to how far these golfers can hit a golf ball.
Each hole consists of a tee box and a green. Par 4s and 5s will also have a fairway leading from the tee to the green. Some par 3s do as well, but since the idea is to reach the green of a par 3 with the tee shot, a fairway may not be included, except on longer par 3s of 175 yards or more.
The tee box
Most traditional golf courses offer two or three separate tee boxes per hole, or one very long tee box so that a set of tees is available for women golfers (red tee markers), average men golfers (white tee markers) and your better golfers (blue tee markers).
More modern golf courses will have another set for senior men (gold tee markers) and tournament play (black tee markers).
The grass on the tee is typically cut to a length that is shorter than the grass in the fairway, but not as short as the grass on the greens.
The short length of the grass on the tees allows for greater potential control of the all important first shot on each hole.
The Fairway
As mentioned, fairways are the short grass typically found on par 4s and par 5s between the tee and the green. The goal of the tee shot on these holes is to find the fairway to allow for an easier approach shot into the green.
Fairways are typically laid out with a little bit of a bend to them. This allows for some risk and reward on the tee shot. A hole with a fairway that bends significantly is often referred to as a dogleg.
A dogleg to the right will force a golfer to work the tee shot in the air from left to right to find the fairway. A dogleg to the left will force a golfer to work the tee shot from right to left.
Golfers who are able to hit a ball a long way in the air may be able to hit the tee shot over any hazards that may be found where the fairway bends.
Hazards and penalties
The fairways are bordered by higher grass areas called “the rough.” It is more difficult to control the distance and direction of a golf shot played from the rough than it is the fairway.
This is due to the fact that the longer grass in the rough will often come between the ball and the club at impact. This affects how much spin the golfer can create with the shot, which affects direction and distance.
Golf hole with water hazard
A golf course designer will also include some other “hazards” in the design of a golf course. Trees are the most natural of these hazards, along with natural water ways that may run through or adjacent to the golf course.
Man made hazards can come in the form of ponds and bunkers filled with sand. Other natural hazards may come in the form of shrubbery and longer types of grasses.
Hazards are strategically placed to provide a golfer with a variety of choices for each shot played, depending upon their skill level. Risk and reward are a major part of playing golf.
The different hazards included in a golf course can result in different types of “penalties” to a golfer.
The rough simply results in the golfer not being able to control distance and direction as well as from the fairway. The same can sometimes be said about sand bunkers also have this type of penalty.
Water hazards will result in a penalty shot that must be added to the score of golfer hits a ball into such a hazard, and it cannot be played. There are two types of water hazards… a lateral water hazard denoted by red stakes, and a water hazard denoted by yellow stakes. Both present different options for where the next shot may be played, but both result in a one shot penalty.
The unplayable lie also results in a one shot penalty. This type of penalty typically results from a player hitting a golf ball into a bush or another position from which the ball cannot be played.
The last type of penalty resulting from a hazard is the out-of-bounds penalty. This occurs when the golfer hits a shot that results in the ball going beyond the boundaries of the golf course. The boundaries are typically marked by white stakes or a fence of some kind.
The out-of-bounds penalty results in a stroke and distance penalty, often thought of as a two stroke penalty. In this case, the golfer must replay the shot from where he/she just hit the ball out of bounds.
This most often occurs on a tee shot, where the golfer hits a shot out of bounds, and must hit another tee shot from the tee box. Once this next shot is played, the golfer is now lying 3, instead of 1.
A similar type of penalty will also occur if the golfer loses a golf ball from a stray shot, where they are unable to find their ball.
For instance, if a golfer hits a ball into a wooded area and is unable to find their ball, they must walk back to the spot where they played the shot into the woods, and hit another ball. Again, this is a stroke and distance penalty similar to the out-of-bounds penalty.
The Greens
The greens of a golf course are the most costly portion of the course to design and build. Great care is taken into the design of greens, since most of the shots are intended to be played on the greens compared to any other area of the golf course.
The grass on the greens is mowed very short, and they are smoothed over with machines akin to a mini-steam roller. This allows the balls to roll quickly and smoothly.
Greens will come in many shapes and sizes, all very much depending upon the length of the hole and the overall design of the golf course.
Smaller greens (4,000 square feet or less) will usually be found on shorter par 3s and par 4s, as well as par 5s that are reachable in two shots.
Larger greens (over 5,000 square feet) will typically be found on longer par 3s and par 4s where a golfer is forced to hit a longer club into the green.
The greens are designed with varying slopes and shapes, and are guarded by sand bunkers, rough, shrubbery, trees and even water hazards.
Because the greens are often guarded by these hazards, it is imperative that a golfer place their tee shots and layup shots on par 4s and 5s in the fairway. This allows them the best opportunity to reach the green on the approach shot.
The greens are designed to reward good approach shots and occasionally, penalize a poor approach shot. Hole placements on the greens themselves can be positioned in such a way that a slope on the green can penalize a poor approach shot, even if the ball remains on the green after the approach.
Par 3 Holes
Classic Par 3
Par 3 holes will range in length from about 100 yards to 250 yards on a typical golf course, with most ranging between 150 and 200 yards.
Par 3 holes are typically designed to test a golfer’s ability with their control with a variety of clubs in the bag, from the wedges on up to a 3 wood (3 metal).
Par 3s are often designed with a couple different goals in mind. First, a shorter par 3 may be placed after, or between a few difficult par 4s as a bit of a relief.
On the other hand, a longer par 3 may be placed at a point on the course to provide a difficult test. It is not unusual to find a difficult par 3 among the last few holes on a golf course.
However, some short par 3s can also provide a severe test if they are guarded by a significant hazard. The island green 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass course that hosts the PGA Tour’s Tournament Players Championship is an excellent example, as is the 12th at Augusta National, host of The Masters.
Par 4 Holes
Par 4s will typically range from 300 yards to 450 yards on the traditional golf course, and to slightly over 500 yards on more modern courses. Par 4 holes are usually designed for the golfer to hit their tee shot with a driver.
Par 4s are where many golf course architects tend to be most creative, particularly with shorter holes. It is these shorter holes where the designer brings risk and reward most into play.
On many classic designs, a designer will develop a short par 4 that forces a golfer to make a risk and reward decision to try and drive the green, or layup with a shorter club.
The guarding of the green with hazards such as water and bunkers is what forces the golfer into this decision. The 17th hole at Oakmont is a great example. At 300 yards in length, the green is small, and heavily guarded by deep bunkers and deep rough.
Kingsmill, Williamsburg, VA 18th hole
Most classic, championship golf courses tend to finish with a difficult par 4 to put as much stress on the golfer as possible.
As a result, these are often very long holes with difficult tee shots to well guarded fairways.
The 18th hole at Oakmont, which is a regular host of the U.S. Open, is one such example. The 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass is another, with water hugging the fairway up the entire left side of the hole.
Par 5 Holes
Par 5 holes are generally designed to provide the opportunity for a golfer to make a birdie (1 under par). As a result, it is the par 5 holes where designers tend to bring risk and reward into play the most, as they will tempt the golfer to try and make an eagle by bringing in the option of trying to hit the green in two shots.
On the traditional golf course, par 5 holes range in length from 475 to 550 yards. On modern golf courses, they are usually 550 to 600 yards long. These holes are usually designed for the golfer to hit their first shot with a driver.
For many golfers and designers, finishing a round of golf on a par 5 that produces such risk and reward is very popular.
Some of the great tests of golf finish on such holes, such as Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines South, both of which have hosted multiple U.S. Open championships.
Both of these par 5 holes are can be reached in two very good shots to set up a potential eagle try. But, in both cases, danger lurks in the form of a water.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it… a pretty solid description of what you’ll find at a typical golf course.
In my upcoming posts, I’ll provide you with a description of today’s golf clubs and how to use them as you play a round of golf. I am also going to cover some of the important rules, as well as etiquette.
Once you are through these posts, you will have a much better idea of how to play golf. Then it will be time to actually learn how to play!
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send them.
