Did You Know? Each year The First Tee provides the opportunity for dozens of students to play Pebble Beach. This competition is reserved for the best of the best - not just in terms of golf skills. Criteria include academics, volunteer/charity work, essays, and more. Check out this year's field of 81 players.
My favorite lesson in The First Tee is "Respecting The Rules." I love the rules of golf because they can seem complex, but they make a lot of sense when you think about them.
For example: When taking a drop, you are given one club length of relief if the drop is free, and two club lengths if the drop costs you a stroke. Free relief is given if the ball is on or near a man-made object (like a cart path). All other relief costs a stroke.
Another great example are hazards. The rules give the player many different options, all of which he/she needs to know in order to "play smart."
Those who do not Respect The Rules break them intentionally, but those players are not actually playing Golf - they are playing a game of their own creation.
26-1. Relief for Ball in Water Hazard
If a ball is found in a water hazard or if it is known or virtually certain that a ball that has not been found is in the water hazard (whether the ball lies in water or not), the player may under penalty of one stroke:
a. Proceed under the stroke and distance provision of Rule 27-1 by playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or
b. Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped; or
c. As additional options available only if the ball last crossed the margin of a lateral water hazard, drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or (ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole.
WHO IS YOUR PICK FOR THE GREATEST GOLFER OF ALL TIME?
Controlling your distance is difficult in golf. Tour players factor in a number of circumstances for each shot. These may include:
Total Yardage
Elevation Change
Wind
Slopes
Firmness of the Green
Spin rate
While we don't expect our students to calculate all of these and hit the perfect shot, over time and with experience they too must begin to consider these elements before selecting a club and a shot type. We recommend the purchase of a laser range-finder - a great resource for finding yardage and learning your own club distances.
