Golf Courses
How to Read Golf Course Layout Yardage Charts
Yardage books compiled by players or their caddies offer details about a golf course that go far beyond the numbers you’ll find on a scorecard or a sprinkler head. Basic charts may assist a casual player, while the most advanced charts are designed to help professional golfers choose clubs and develop playing strategies on the course.
The Difference Between Yellow & Red Stakes in Golf
Stakes may be used throughout a golf course to indicate the status of certain areas, such as ground under repair or out of bounds areas. Some stakes are white, but stakes -- or lines drawn on the ground – that mark the boundaries of water hazards must be either red or yellow, according to the United States Golf Association’s Rules of Golf.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Living on a Golf Course
For some homeowners, the serenity of living on a golf course may be interrupted by the sound of a golf ball crashing through a window. Possible damage from errant tee shots is one of the biggest disadvantages of living on a golf course, but there are also some advantages.
Golf Outing Check List
Golf outings may require months of careful planning with highly detailed checklists. Many golf outings are fundraising events for charity, and are played on golf courses ranging from city-owned facilities open to the general public to private country clubs allowing a limited number of public outings. A comprehensive checklist should include expenses and promotion.
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The Effect of Golf Courses on Global Warming
The idea that humans contribute to global warming, also known as climate change, is based on "strong observational evidence and results from modeling studies," according to the American Meteorological Society. The question of whether golf courses help or harm the effort to slow global warming has no easy answer, because different courses affect the environment in different ways. Built and maintained properly, however, golf courses can be environmentally friendly.
Rules on Setting Up Designated Drop Zones Near Water Hazards for Golf Courses
When a golfer hits a ball into a water hazard he typically proceeds under Rule 26-1 of the U.S. Golf Association’s Rules of Golf. The player drops a ball behind the hazard, no closer to the hole, keeping the point at which the ball entered the hazard between the drop area and the hole. In some cases, dropping a ball in the usual manner isn’t practicable, so designated drop zones may be established.
The Average Cost for a Round of Golf
According to a Golf Channel survey, about 30,000 rounds of golf are played at a typical American golf course each year. The price each golfer pays for a round depends on tee time, day of the week, the course’s age and whether it is a public or private course.
How to Qualify a Hole-In-One
The process of qualifying a hole-in-one is much simpler than achieving the rare feat. With odds of roughly 1 in 33,000, most players will never experience the rush of scoring a hole-in-one in their careers. If you're lucky enough to manage this memorable shot, registering it helps immortalize your accomplishment in U.S. golfing history, and there are a number of organizations that maintain registries.
USGA Grants
Golf and charity go hand in hand in the United States, where every major PGA and LPGA tour event raises money for charitable causes. The United States Golf Association maintains that philanthropic philosophy through its Good of the Game grant programs. Some of the grants go to charitable groups, while many are designed to build the game of golf in the United States.
What Is Natalie Gulbis' Home Golf Course?
Natalie Gulbis’ home town is Sacramento, California, where her father taught her to play golf on local public courses. She eventually moved to Las Vegas where she took up residence next to the Jack Nicklaus-designed Reflection Bay Golf Club. As of the date of publication, her home course is Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada.
What Golf Items Does Ben Crenshaw Collect?
PGA Tour pro Ben Crenshaw is one of the best-known names in golf. Some remember him as the two-time Masters champion, others as a United States Ryder Cup player and captain. He’s also been a golf commentator and a respected course architect. Those involved with golf memorabilia may also be aware of Crenshaw’s extensive collection.
What Do Groundskeepers Do for Golf Courses?
When a typical golfer steps up to his ball, chances are he's thinking about the configuration of the fairway ahead of him, or how far he is from the green, or where the pin has been placed that day. He may never even consider the people who maintain the green and fairway, or who move the hole to different locations on the green. But good golf course managers undoubtedly respect the work that groundskeepers do to maintain their courses in peak playing condition.
What Is the Most Prestigious Golf Course?
Prestige is, obviously, in the eye of the beholder. But some golf courses have clearly raised themselves above the pack based on their histories, the challenges they present, and the quality of golfers who’ve competed on each course over the decades -- or even the centuries.
Should You Lose to Your Boss in Golf?
Playing golf with your boss can be an important professional bonding experience. A casual game allows you the opportunity to interact with your boss outside the workplace, especially if it is just the two of you playing. However, you can also waste the opportunity for friendly chit-chat if the game turns into a heated battle. There simply are no hard and fast rules about losing to your boss in golf. The issue is not covered by the rules of golf etiquette, and every situation is different. How competitive to be is colored by a number of factors, including your boss’ personality.
Can You Get Married on a Golf Course?
Numerous golf courses are parts of country clubs, and the typical country club contains facilities for a variety of social events, including weddings. Even those who aren’t regular golfers may choose a golf club for a wedding site because of the club’s facilities or scenic view, while avid golfers may wish their weddings to take place on the course.
List of PGA Incomes
Golf is a lucrative industry in which the top earners are the best and most well-known players. Professional golfers with the highest incomes earn most of their money via endorsements. But numerous people also make a good living in a variety of golf industry jobs, particularly those associated in some capacity with the PGA Tour, which reported revenue of $954.5 million in 2009, with $337.9 million of it distributed to players, according to “Golf Digest.”
PGA Groundskeeper Training
Groundskeepers serve a valuable role for golf courses by performing a variety of important tasks that go beyond cutting grass. A high school diploma may be all that’s necessary to gain a job as an assistant groundskeeper at many courses, but prospective groundskeepers also can receive extensive PGA-approved training at a number of U.S. colleges and universities.
What Is the Shortest Hole in the PGA?
When you think about PGA Tour golfers you probably picture long hitters sending 300-plus-yard drives soaring through the air. Many holes on the tour, however, require finesse and a much shorter shot. Any par-3 hole is designed so the player can reach the green in one shot, but the tour’s shortest par-3 holes typically feature special hazards that challenge even the best pro golfers.
What Is a Golf Purse?
Some retailers might be happy to sell you a woman’s purse (or a “man bag” for male golfers) -- perhaps with special compartments for tees or ball markers -- and call it a “golf purse.” But the term actually refers to the pool of prize money available to golfers in a professional tournament. In North America, you’ll find the largest available purses on the PGA Tour.
Restrictions in Using Range Finders in College Golf
Although golf is often slow to embrace new technology, rangefinders -- instruments that use laser or GPS technology to measure distance -- have been given a stamp of approval by the United States Golf Association. However, the approval is limited to measuring distance, and rangefinders that offer additional information to players are illegal. Accordingly, the NCAA, which regulates college golf and follows USGA rules, has embraced the limited use of rangefinders in its competitions. So, college golfers no longer have to pace off yardage from 150-yard markers, but they still have to toss blades of grass into the air to determine wind direction.
Handicap Standards
The United States Golf Association, the governing body for golf in the United States and Canada, goes to elaborate lengths to ensure that handicaps for golfers are based on authentic standards. Every golfer who complies with the rules and submits scores for the requisite number of rounds is given a handicap, or -- more formally -- a handicap index. Based on the best 10 scores from your last 20 rounds, the handicap index is said to be a measure of your "potential ability." The handicap system is designed to enable people of different skill levels to use their handicap indexes to create a fair match, with the superior player giving the inferior player a sufficient number of strokes to make the contest an equitable one.
How to Calculate Course & Slope Rating
Course and slope ratings are calculated by the United States Golf Association. In fact, the USGA trademarks and licenses its USGA Course Rating and USGA Course Slope Rating to the Royal Canadian Golf Association -- countries other than America and Canada are unlikely to have Slope Ratings. A Course Rating measures the difficulty of a golf course and is a crucial component in determining a player's handicap. The Slope Rating measures the difficulty of a golf course for a bogey golfer. The Course Rating and the Slope Rating typically are printed on the scorecard for a golf course.
Golf Course Policies & Procedures
Each golf course has its own rules, whether it’s a posh country club or the neighborhood course where you can pop in anytime to play nine holes. Some policies, such as those that discourage slow and unsafe play, are universal. Only private clubs have membership requirements, and private clubs' rules generally are more expansive than those of a public course. For example, the semi-private Holiday Hills Country Club in Mineral Wells, Texas, has an 18-page “Polices and Procedures Manual.” In contrast, the City of Bloomington, Illinois, has a single page of polices and procedures on its parks and recreation website.
How to Get PGA Certified
The Professional Golfers Association of America began its PGA Certified Professional Program (CPP) in 2004. This online education program is for PGA pros “who are committed to continuously enhancing their golf management skills,” according to PGA.com. The program offers courses in numerous career avenues, including instruction, general management, golf operations, turfgrass management and customer relations. You must be a PGA member before you may enroll in the program, which began upgrading to CPP 2.0 in early 2012.
Use of Flags in Golf
Flags, the objects on top of the sticks used to mark each hole on a golf course, were first mentioned in 1875, although golf historians believe they were used before that date. The USGA doesn't require flags to be attached to flagsticks -- some courses top the sticks with other adornments -- but the vast majority of courses maintain the tradition by using cloth or nylon flags. The size of flags varies by course. The flagstick itself, however, is regulated by the USGA. The stick must be circular in cross-section and no more than 3/4 inch in circumference to allow enough room for the ball to drop into the cup. Also, it can't be padded or covered with absorbent material that can influence the reaction of a ball that hits it.
How to Calculate Slope Rating
The Slope Rating reflects the relative difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers in comparison to scratch golfers. Golfers use the Slope Rating, a trademark of the United States Golf Association, to calculate handicap differentials. The rating falls between 55 and 155; the higher the number, the more challenging the course. Bunkers, obstacles on the course, water hazards and trees are among the factors that can influence a Slope Rating. Golfers typically don't have access to the information used to calculate the Slope Rating, but understanding the formula makes the rating less confusing.
Jack Nicklaus-designed Golf Courses
Although Jack Nicklaus will never achieve the recognition as a course designer he did as player -- he has won a record 18 major tournaments -- his design achievements are notable. The Nicklaus Design firm has built approximately 350 golf courses around the world, as of the publication date. There are Nicklaus courses in 34 countries and 39 states. Another 40 are under construction. His courses often are tied in with luxury housing and resort developments.
