Golf Merit Badge

A Happy Shredder Production

What is Golf?

• “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” • Mark Twain

• “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening and it is without doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.”

• Arnold Palmer

A Lifetime Sport

• A game you can play your entire life, regardless of age, health, fitness or disability.

• “Golf is so popular simply because it is the best game in the world at which to be bad.”

• A.A. Milne

Safety First

• 1.Discuss safety on the golf course. Show that you know first aid for injuries

or illnesses that could occur while golfing, including: • Heat stress: cool off immediately (a/c, ice & 911)• Heat exhaustion: lie down, cool off in shade or with wet towels; drink H20 w/NaCl• Dehydration: prevent by drinking water before becoming thirsty• Blisters: cover with moleskin to cushion & reduce pressure• Sprains: retain shoe and support; later RICE• Strains: RICE

• Safety: Beware of flying golf balls from behind or either side;– Use the “blood circle” concept, with two club lengths around the player hitting the ball

THE RULES

• Study the USGA Rules of Golf now in use. – a. Tell about the three categories of golf

etiquette. – b. Show that you know about the definitions of

golf terms. – c. Show that you understand the "Rules of

Amateur Status."

Three categories of golf etiquette.

• Etiquette: behavior on the course; knowing what to do & when to do it.

• 1) Safety

• 2) Consideration for other players

• 3) Care of the course

Golf Safety

• Avoid swinging the club when others are nearby;

• Don’t hit the ball until players in the group ahead are out of range– Clear of the green on par 3;– Finished with their 2d shot and moving

on Par 4s and 5s• If a shot is headed toward someone,

warn them by yelling, “Fore!”

Consideration

• Avoid unnecessary noise, talking or movement while others are hitting the ball;

• Turn off phones;• Don’t drive carts close to where others are

playing;• Avoid standing in the line of the shot

– Standing facing the person’s back while he’s preparing to play the shot or putt;

– Avoid stepping on the line of the putt or casting a shadow over it or over the hole;

Consideration

• Pace of play; do not rush, but move fast enough to keep up with the group ahead;– If the hole ahead is open and a faster group is behind

you, allow them to “play through” (stand aside and let them complete the hole you’re playing.

– Be ready to play: the player with the lowest score from the preceding hole has “the honor” and tees off 1st on the next hole;

• Once all tee shots have been played, the ball that is farthest from the hole is played first

– Before putting, leave carts and bags close to where you’ll go to get to the next hole.

Care of the Course

• Like “Leave No Trace”• Repair divots

– Replace the dirt and grass you knock away when hitting a shot;

• Repair ball marks and avoid standing too close to the hole– A ball landing on the green can leave a dent; keep a

tee or tool in your pocket to repair your marks and others you find

– Keep carts, bags and extra clubs off the green

Golf terms• Hole: the cup in the green or the entire golf hole, from the tee box

to the green;• Green: the putting surface, short grass around the hole;• Bunker (aka sand trap) a hazard which is a depression in the

ground, usually filled with sand;• Water hazard: any pond, creek, lake or stream on the course• Round: a game, usually 18 holes; a round can be 9 holes;• Match play: a game won by winning more holes than the opponent;

a hole is won by finishing the hole in less strokes than the opponent• Medal or stroke play: a game played against all other opponents,

using the total score for the round;• Penalty: usually adding a stroke or stroke and distance for violating

a rule or hitting the ball into a water hazard from which it can’t be played.

• Ground under repair: where someone is repairing ground, the ball can be lifted and placed outside the GUR, no closer to the hole.

Terms

• Away: a player is away if his ball is farthest from the hole among his group; the player who is away plays the next shot on the hole;

• Front nine/Back nine; the first and second set of holes on an 18 hole course;

• Chip: a shot that is normally played from just off the green.

Amateur Status

• The US Golf Association establishes rules distinguishing between amateur and professional golfers

• Amateurs play with no intention of earning prizes or pay from competition or teaching.

• Keeping amateur status allows you to compete in tournaments reserved for amateurs.

The USGA system of handicapping

• Handicapping is a system of adjusting scores to allow players of different skill levels to compete with each other without the better players dominating the game.

• Handicapping is most often used in club and league tournaments that are open to anyone who wishes to enter. It is not used in professional tournaments.

• In competition, the golfers with lower handicaps “give” strokes and higher handicaps “get” strokes, adjusting their final score.

• A golfer’s handicap is determined by his average score over several rounds, the difficulty rating of the course or courses where he plays, and which tees he plays from at his home course.

The early history of golf

• Scotland!

• It has been suggested that bored shepherds tending flocks of sheep near St. Andrews became

adept at hitting rounded stones into rabbits holes with their wooden crooks.

A country game that became popular with all classes.

Golf & Law• “Once upon a time (in 1457) in old Scotland, golf became so popular that the

country’s leaders feared that the men were playing golf instead of practicing archery. Since the bow and arrow was the basic defense of the land, the Scottish Parliament undertook to enact laws against golf.”

• King James IV of Scotland (1473-1513) was a man of many talents. He inherited the Scottish throne at the age of fifteen and unified the outlying areas of his kingdom by force of arms. … His most lasting legacy is probably that in 1502, he decided that the threat of war with England had receded sufficiently to lift the longstanding ban on golf, futilely imposed to encourage archery practice. He bought his first clubs from a Perth bow maker.

Increased popularity in Georgian and Victorian England1750-1900

Edinburgh golfers in 1744 formed a club called the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. At this time, the first rules of golf, 13 in all, were drawn up for an annual competition between sportsmen from any part of Great Britain and Ireland.

A few years later the Society of St Andrews Golfers was formed and in 1834, when King William IV became the Society's patron, the title was changed to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

Professional Golfers

19th Century Technical Advances• Golf professionals were originally club and ball makers. It took years of practice to make a round ball out of

boiled goose feathers and leather. Clubs were made entirely out of wood.• Invention of the gutta percha ball, made of vulcanized rubber, made playing less expensive and made use of

metal club heads practical.

• Old Tom Morris & • Young Tom Morris

• British Open Champions

• In 1875, Young Tom Morris, age 17, won the first of four successive Open Championships. His streak would include an 11-stroke victory in 1869 and a 12-stroke victory in 1870 (in a 36-hole format). His 149 in the 1870 Open over 36 holes is a stroke average that would not be equalled until the invention of the rubber-cored ball. He died at age 24.

Golf in the USA• The 1st permanent golf club in North America, Canada’s Royal

Montreal Club, was founded in 1873. • The 1st 18 hole course in the United States was the Chicago Golf

Club that was founded near Wheaton, Ill., in 1893.• The governing body for current golf tournaments is the United

States Golf Association (USGA) and it was founded in 1894. • The Professional Golf Association of America (PGA) was founded in

1916. • Both Amateurs and Professionals can play in any golf tournament

that is called an Open tournament. • Examples are the U.S. Open and the British Open. • Beginning in 1981, the name of the pro circuit was officially changed

to the Tournament Players Association (TPA) Tour. • Tournament golf had became a well established spectator sport in

the United States by the 1920s and has been gaining popularity ever since.

Tom Watson

• Tom Watson Career Accomplishments | TomWatson.com

Bobby Jones

Arnold Palmer

Jack Nicklaus

Lee Trevino

Byron Nelson & Ben Hogan

Francis OuimetWon the US Open at 20 y.o.; 1st American Captain of the R & A Golf Club at St. Andrews; the “Father of US Golf”

Gene Sarazenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2kDdTDM2kg

Golf Jobs!

• Golf Professional– Teaches;– Runs tournaments and course operations– Manages pro shops

• Course Superintendents– Oversees course operation & maintenance

• Golf Course Architects– Designs and oversees golf course

construction and reconstruction

Golf & Health

• Walk; it’s cardio (skip the cart)– Carry a light bag and less than 14 clubs

• Stress relief: leave it at home– Focus and feedback

Golf Exercises• A sound swing relies as much on the torso and legs as the arms and shoulders.

http://www.menshealth.com/golf/index.php

The Fundamentals (there is no fun without them)

• Show the following: – a. The proper grip, stance, posture, and key

fundamentals of a good swing. – b. The full wood shot, played from a tee. – c. The fairway wood shot. – d. The long iron shot. – e. The short iron shot. – f. The approach, chip-and-run, and pitch shots. – g. The sand iron shot, bunker, or heavy rough

recovery shots.

– h. A sound putting stroke

Grip it (Don’t rip it)

Stance; keep on track

•

• A square setup will encourage a square impact. A square stance means the feet are parallel to the target line. Imagine railroad tracks. Your feet are touching one rail and the ball is on the other rail.

                

       

The Full Swing

• http://youtube.com/watch?v=9D5oDen_qHM

Pitching

• Use between 50 to 100 yds from the hole

• Swing as hard as needed to throw a ball underhanded to the target

• Use a lofted club: pitching wedge, sand wedge or approach wedge

Chipping

• Use inside 50 yards

• Use a wedge or less lofted club

• Use a putting stroke

• Hit the ball in the air one-half to one-third the distance to the hole

• Let the ball roll the rest of the way

Putting

• The most important stroke in golf• Pick your line (direction) & speed (how hard to

hit);• Pick a spot on the back of the ball to aim the

putter at;• The line should be left or right of the hole,

depending on “break,” the slope of the green;• Distance control; the longer the backstroke, the

harder you’ll hit the ball.• Swing like a pendulum, from the shoulders.

Sand: Bunker shots

• Practice!

• Aim to the left of the hole

• Open the club face

• Strike the sand one to two inches behind the ball

• Explode the sand under the ball out of the bunker

• Lessons!

Not as Expensive as You Think

• http://www.knightsplay.com/rates.html

• (Juniors, 15 & under, and Seniors, over 55, $2.00 discount)

St. Andrews

No More Power Point; Time to Play

Three Stations

• Putting

• Chipping

• Full Swing