Sometimes going to the gym can just get plain old. Not boring—I have come to believe that you do not ever need to be bored working out—but still old. You need a change of pace, or new motivation. That’s where sports can come in.
My in-laws will probably not believe I’m saying this, much less writing it for others to read. I am very much not a sports fan. I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and the World Series for love of my baseball-fanatic husband. I played tee-ball all of about three times, kickball half a dozen, and soccer twice.
All that to say, I’m not an athlete. But when it became a choice of stay home alone or go golfing, no way was I going to be left behind. And thanks to this spontaneous outing I realized I didn’t have to be a good athlete to still enjoy the game and get some good activity. My normal hobbies are not very physically demanding, but if I decide that playing a sport is fun and relaxing, suddenly I’m outside, moving, and improving instead of spending more time in a chair.
Golf turned out to be a shoulder and back workout and a good mile and a half of outdoor walking. Not to mention carrying the clubs: I pulled mine on a small cart, but every little bit counts.
Lake Ridge Park has a nice 9-hole, par-3 course that was perfect for a beginner and much less expensive than a full course. It also only took about an hour and a half to complete.
My husband/instructor/playing partner taught me the basics and gave me some practice at the driving range (where you stand at a tee and just hit the ball over and over into a net so you can get the feel for it before every stroke counts). Then we rented some clubs and a pull-cart for me (for a total of $8), got us both a round on the course (for a total of $30), and started out.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t as impossible to get the ball across to the hole as I had originally feared. Of course this was mostly thanks to my patient and encouraging instructor. So for those of you who aren’t experts already, here are some basics I learned from my first couple outings (yes, I have now gone twice!) that really made it an enjoyable experience:
Googling “golf terms” can quickly get overwhelming because there are a lot of them. But for a simple beginner game, there are really only few you need to learn:
Par: The number of strokes an experienced player should make on a hole (i.e. for Lake Ridge Park’s par-3, a good player should get the ball into the hole in three strokes). The green: The low-cut grassy area where the hole is located. Names of some of the clubs and what situations they are good for: irons hit farther, the lower the number the farther the ball should go; the pitching wedge is to pop the ball a short way onto the green; and the putter is for once you are on the green to actually knock the ball into the hole.
Of course there are many, many other terms to learn to be proficient in the game, but I got through just fine with these. A few others came up here and there throughout the game—bogey, birdie, chip, hook—but they were easily explained as we went and, frankly, did not change my playing abilities.
I think this is even more important than learning the rules and terms. The rules are fairly basic and you can pick them up more as you go along and encounter various situations (like what does a “drop” mean?). But learning some basic etiquette can make all the difference for your fellow players’ enjoyment and a good all-around experience.
Quiet: Just about everyone knows this rule. Don’t make noise when someone else is hitting their ball. Give up lost balls: If you lose your ball, you can look for a couple minutes, but take a penalty rather than keep everyone waiting on you. Rake sand bunkers: There are rakes in the sandtrap bunkers that you should use to smooth out the sand and erase your footsteps and ball marks once you get out. Fix ball marks: These are dents on the green made by your ball and can damage the course or hamper others' putting. It takes just a couple seconds to fix, but make sure you understand how so you don’t cause more damage. Green rules: Don’t walk across a player’s putting line, i.e. between their ball and the hole. Step over or walk around it, so your footprints don’t change the green’s surface. Carts: Be mindful where you leave them and never take them on the green.
Seriously, don’t worry about your score or “winning” at the start. Go with someone who is willing to show you how to grip the clubs, which clubs to use when, give you tips on your stance, and is even willing to give you a freebie do-over shot (apparently called a "mulligan") here and there when the ball goes all of two inches. You want to be learning, but don’t worry about being competitive.
Lake Ridge’s course has a great scoring cap rule: you can’t score worse than a six on any one hole, you stop counting after that. So don’t worry about it and have fun. Just try to do a little better than your last time. I was happy to not hit into a single sand bunker the second time I was out there, and I didn’t lose a single ball. I also never quite made par on any hole, but I got close once and the rest of the time was still steady improvement over my first game.
There are many ways to get basic golf instruction, even if you don’t have a friend/spouse willing and able to teach you the ropes. Of course you can always take a lesson, but there are also golf leagues where the more experienced golfers help newer players improve. Lake Ridge Park has a ladies’ golf league that meets weekly and consists of players who are just starting all the way through the well-experienced. This league offers a “Big Sister” program where you can team up with a more experienced golfer for several games in a row before you are set loose.
Ok, no I didn’t wear a golf hat, polo, and khaki shorts. But you should have comfortable, loose clothing. It gets hot out there walking the holes. I was pretty distraught the first time when my husband told me that I couldn’t wear sandals, but I ended up being glad for my tennis shoes when I had to walk up some hills. Some courses might not even allow tennis shoes, instead requiring actual golf shoes, depending on how hoity-toity they are. Regardless, never wear cleats!
Also make sure you bring a water bottle. Lake Ridge Park’s course graciously stationed water dispensers at the fourth and seventh holes, but I can’t speak for other courses.
Relax and have fun!
This ought to be obvious with any sport, but golf does have a reputation of being frustrating if you aren’t going into it with the right attitude. One of the great things about golf, however, is that the more relaxed you are, the better you will perform. This was evident even with my two times out on the course: if I tried really hard to hit the ball, I missed, sent half the ground with it, or watched it roll a mere few feet. But, on the other hand, if I just relaxed and let myself swing through, not only was it more fun, but more productive.
So of course this is not a complete, all-you-need-to-know synopsis on the game. But it was enough to get me started and out in the fresh air and sunshine, moving, walking, and having fun doing it.
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