Although the official rules of golf are included in the rule book of The Royal Spanish Golf Federation, there are 8 basic fundamentals that any beginner must know to play a round correctly.

These are the basic rules, norms and fundamentals that every beginner should master:

8 Basic rules of golf:

1. Local rules

The local rules are those determined by the own golf course with the course committee and the competition committee and which, based on the RFEG rule book, will determine some specifications of that golf course. Each golf course in Murcia will have its own local rules where they will decide which areas are considered out of bounds, ground under repair, how to proceed if a light cable is struck, etc …

2. Maximum number of clubs

Although there are countless clubs, in a round we can not carry more than 14 in the golf bag. Carrying more than 14 clubs may incur loss of holes or disqualification. Each club confers a different shot, strength and precision so that in each shot you will be better with one model or another. As you know the basic fundamentals of golf, you will know how to choose the club you need at all times.

3. Custom balls

Each player must play with their own ball, to differentiate it sometimes it is enough knowing the brand and number but we recommend marking it in some other way with a colored marker and a distinctive sign. Remember that hitting an opponent’s ball or a ball that is not yours is a penalty. 

4. Care of the course

One of the most important rules when playing golf. The course should be the same or even better than when you arrived so repair the divots in the fairways, rake the bunkers, fix the pikes on the green and do not hit the green with the club or with the flag when you are on it.

5. Air shots

According to golf rules, if you hit the air with the intention of playing the ball, it will be counted as a shot. You have to differentiate this from when doing a practice swing before hitting the ball, in this case it is usually done with enough distance to the ball so that there is no confusion.

6. Who hits first?

Until a few months ago, the player furthest from the hole always hit the ball but now to accelerate the game the player who first comes to it and is ready to hit the ball always plays the ball. 

7. Quick game

Each golf course has its difficulty and its pace of play but the player always has the duty to play as quickly as possible so as not to interfere with the following rounds. In the event that too might restrict the next game it is advisable to give way and wait for the next group to continue to finish the hole behind them. In case that the delay time is excessive the Marshall of the course could force you to advance a hole without playing or even ask you to leave the game.

8. Basic etiquette rules

There are basic rules in golf that while not penalized are not well seen. Some of these examples are throwing the clubs to the ground when we hit the ball or looking for a lost ball for more than 5 minutes, thus hindering the play of our partners. The basic unwritten rules are easy to intuit since they are mainly about maintaining respect for partners and for the course.

As you just saw the rules and basic fundamentals of golf are very simple. Now it’s just a matter of practicing to improve your swing and enjoy the games, more and more.