The Game of Golf—7^th Grade

The object of the game of golf is to hit a small, hard ball—the golf ball—as few times as is necessary for it to travel from its starting point, a tee, into the hole located on each green. Each player must hit his or her ball in the desired direction using one of a variety of clubs called woods or irons. Each attempt to strike the ball is called a stroke. Your score for a hole is the total number of strokes it takes you to hit the ball from the tee into the hole.

Each hole on the golf course has 3 main parts: the tee box (where you start the hole), the green (where the hole is), and the fairway (the short grass between the tee box and the green.

Use golf clubs to hit the golf ball. Hold the club at the grip. The long part below the grip is called the shaft. The big thing at the bottom is the head of the club. The part that hits the ball is the face and the sole of the club sits on the ground behind the ball.

As you get ready to swing, check your GPA – grip, posture, and alignment.

Grip – palms face each other, thumbs point down to the ground.

Posture – knees slightly bent, butt out.

Alignment – feet about shoulder width apart, square stance.

We play golf in a variety of ways:

Stroke play – count all the swings (strokes) you play on each hole. Add up the total of all the holes to get your final score.

Match play – get 1 point for every “hole” you win. Low score wins the hole.

If you win the hole, you have “honors” and get to go first on the next hole.

If you hit the ball out of bounds or in the water, you have to add a penalty stroke to your score.