| This article summarises the 3 main types of shots | | | | through practice and experience. That said, however, |
| associated with golf. My previous article (The ultimate | | | | the bunker shot is the most common "hazard" of the |
| 101 guide to beginner golf) talks about the basics in | | | | lot and senior practitioners now teach and conduct |
| relation to getting started and should be a good | | | | full lessons to others regarding how to hit golf balls |
| prelude primer to this. | | | | embedded in bunkers and to make those shots |
| The Drive or the Tee-Shot is the inaugural shot one | | | | count. Making good bunker and hazard shots is as |
| engages on each hole. Each golf course has its own | | | | much integral to the golf game as the sense of |
| set of pre-set pars or maximum shots per hole. On a | | | | accomplishment one gets when the escape is good. |
| standard 18-hole golf course, there are 18 pars | | | | Chipping and Pitching |
| comprising of 4 par 3's, 10 par 4's and 4 par 5's. | | | | Post Tee or drive, one will normally end up a short |
| Evidently, the main aim of the game is to guide the | | | | distance (about 30 meters) from the hole on the |
| golf ball into any given par in the least number of | | | | green. A Chip or pitch would then be enlisted in |
| strokes. On Par 3 for example, one would tee in a | | | | technical terms so the shot takes the ball to within |
| way such that the shot drives as far as possible onto | | | | putting range. Chips are short proximity shots |
| the green and for pros a straight sink into the hole (a | | | | whereas pitches achieve slightly longer distances with |
| hole-in-one). On pars 4 and 5, the objective would | | | | less lofted clubs like the 5 or 7 iron. Below are the |
| then be to create as much distance as possible on | | | | two general chip/pitch shots. |
| each drive without the ball veering into trees or | | | | - Bump and Run |
| ponds. A powerful and accurate shot would leave | | | | This is intended to cause the golf ball to be hit flat in |
| one with a simple pitch or possibly even a light chip | | | | a less convex path, be bumped on the green and |
| onto the green. The Drive or Tee-shot is initiated | | | | hopefully roll smoothly into the hole. This type of |
| from something called a Tee-box of a par 4 or 5 | | | | shots are most commonly and effectively made with |
| shot; on 3 the term used is a Tee-Shot. The club | | | | even less lofted irons like the 6-8. |
| used for these shots is called the driver (aka 1 | | | | - Flop Shot |
| wood). | | | | One can also call this the "SOS" shot because the |
| Bunker (sometimes also known as the emergency | | | | impartation to the ball as a consequence of this shot |
| shot) | | | | is that of a very high trajectory. There is a need for |
| The greatest obstacle in golf is the propensity of the | | | | this when huge obstacles are in the way for instance |
| ball to go wayward and land in a pool of water, | | | | when navigating a water, tree or sand hazard. The |
| under a tree, sand or divot. These are unfortunate | | | | secret is in opening up the club face to prop the ball |
| and incidental events which one can extricate out of | | | | up to gain vertical elevation. |