Golf For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Even if you’re new to the game, you can still look and act like a real golfer. Having the right equipment in your bag and making smart decisions about which club to use can get you off to a great start. Offer to keep score or propose a couple of fun bets and you can really impress your fellow golfers.

Knowing which club to use for which shot

The sheer variety of golf clubs you need can be overwhelming. After you have all the clubs you need and you’re on the golf course, how do you know which club to use for each shot? The following table gives you a quick guide to the kinds of clubs in your bag and the shots you take with them.

Deciding when to use various clubs

Once you have all the clubs you need, how do you know which oneto use for each shot? Here’s a table showing how far typical golfers hit each club.

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Essential items you need in your golf bag

Golf bags aren’t just for holding clubs. They’re full of other essential gear and helpful items that make a good game even better. Here are the essentials:

• Half a dozen balls
• A few wooden tees
• A couple of gloves
• A rain suit
• A spare towel
• A pitch-mark repair tool
• A small coin or token to mark your ball on the green
• Two or three pencils
• A small pouch for your wallet, money clip, car keys, rings, and phone (which is turned off)
• Sunscreen!

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Understanding golf scoring language

Golf has its own language — golfspeak. If it seems like a foreign language at first, start with the basics as shown in the following table.

How to score golf penalty shots

Penalties (and their effects on the score and your psyche) are an unfortunate reality. Scoring golf penalty shots can be confusing. The following table shows how it works.

Gambling on golf: Making typical golf bets

Betting is a part of most golfers’ typical outings. The extra competitive spirit can make golf that much more fun. Here are some bets you typically see on the course.

Remember: Never bet more than you can afford to lose.

• A Nassau is a three-part bet with the same stake wagered on the first nine holes, the second nine, and the total for the round. If you’re playing a $5 Nassau and you win all three parts, you’re up $15.
• ‍Skins is a format in which each hole is worth a certain amount — but if two players tie, all tie, and the money goes into the pot for the next hole (and sometimes the next and the next).
• To play wolf, one player takes on everyone else in the group. For a set price, the lone wolf can choose to partner with another player.
• ‍Snake is a side bet: The first player to three-putt a hole gets stuck with a “snake” that costs a predetermined sum. That player keeps the snake until someone else three-putts and inherits it. Whoever has the dreaded snake at the end of the round pays the other players.
• In Bingo Bango Bongo, the first player on the green earns a point (bingo), as does the one closest to the hole when everybody’s safely on (bango), and the first to hole a putt (bongo).