A round of golf asks for four to six hours of low-intensity walking punctuated by dozens of moments of fine motor control. So the sensible shape is a moderate, mostly carbohydrate meal a couple of hours before you tee off, small snacks every few holes rather than one...
Golf Masters Blog
How to Play a Course You’ve Never Played
Playing a new golf course well is mostly preparation. Spend twenty minutes with the course website, the scorecard and a satellite view before you leave home, ask two or three specific questions in the pro shop, then apply conservative defaults on every hole you cannot...
Playing Golf in Hot Weather: Strategy and Safety
Hot-weather golf has two jobs, in that order: don't hurt yourself, then score. That means an early or late tee time, drinking steadily rather than panic-gulping at the turn, taking every patch of shade you can find, and accepting a trade — the ball flies slightly...
Playing Golf in the Rain: Strategy and Technique
Rain changes the arithmetic of a golf course more than it changes your swing. Expect a little less carry, almost no run-out when the ball lands, sharply less spin off a wet face, and greens soft enough to hold almost anything you throw at them. So the adjustments are...
How to Book a Tee Time
Booking a tee time means reserving a starting slot on the first tee for your group. At most public courses you do it one of two ways: phone the pro shop, or use the course's own online booking page, typically a few days to a couple of weeks ahead. You give the date,...
Starting Golf After 50: A Practical Guide
Starting golf after 50 works: you can take up the game in your 50s, 60s or later and become a genuinely competent player. Golf rewards timing, judgement and short-game touch far more than raw athleticism, which is why it is one of the very few sports you can start...
Junior Golf: How to Get Kids Started
Most kids can start swinging at a ball for fun around age three or four, with a plastic set and no instruction whatsoever. Short, game-based coaching tends to work from roughly five to seven. Fitted junior clubs and rounds on a short course fit around eight to twelve,...
Golf for Women Beginners: How to Get Started
Start at a driving range or in a group beginner clinic rather than on a busy 18-hole course, get club length and lie angle checked before you buy anything, and play your first rounds over 9 holes or a par-3 layout. The two things that genuinely differ for women taking...
Your First Round of Golf: What to Expect
Your first round of golf is mostly logistics and etiquette, not golf. Expect to arrive 30 to 45 minutes early, check in at the pro shop, hit a few warm-up shots, meet a starter at the first tee, then spend roughly four hours walking or riding between shots. You will...
How to Keep Score in Golf
Keeping score in golf comes down to one habit: count every swing you make at the ball, add any penalty strokes you picked up, and write that single number in the box for the hole. Compare it to the hole's par to see whether you made a birdie, a par or a bogey. Add the...