Golfing Hazards

There is more to golfing than knowing how to stand and swing properly. The aspect of golf that gets ignored the most is probably the golf course itself.

First of all, every course is unique in the way it is laid out. The curves and the direction change with every new location. One can't simply show up and play expecting a good outcome without taking the environment into consideration. Professionals spend quite a lot of time getting to know the course on which they will be competing. Perhaps that is one of the fundamentals that make them "pros".

There are other areas of the course to consider as well: trees, roughs, bunkers and water. These are the areas of the course to be avoided, yet even the experts find themselves hitting from the base of a tree, swinging in the long grass or the sand and guessing at where the ball went into the water.

Trees and Shrubs

If your ball ends up in a wooded area, it is tricky to hit the ball without hitting a tree, causing the ball to veer off course and possibly end up in a worse position than the first outcome.

The Rough

Longer grass or "rough" makes it difficult to hit the ball properly. The ball is surrounded by grass and is quite possibly on an incline that is unfavorable to the player.

Bunkers

Bunkers are the sand pits. When the golf ball lands in a sand pit, the ball can be buried a little or a lot. It is against the rules to touch the ground, so the club has to go through the sand before contacting the ball. The sand also affects how the ball leaves the pit. A good golf game can go bad because of one bunker.

The Drink

Water hazards, often referred to as "the drink", will swallow up your golf ball. When this happens, the ball is usually unplayable and you have to place a ball at the spot the ball went in and try again, still losing an entire stroke. Many times the lie of the ball on the edge of the drink causes a reoccurrence of the first splash. If it happens twice, your chances of winning the hole are not good. The tricky thing about water hazards is that they are often between you and the hole. You have to hit the ball over it to get there.

The best strategy for avoiding hazards while golfing is to plan your hits accordingly. Sometimes it is better to hit the ball a shorter distance to avoid a hazard and get par than it is to risk it for a birdie and end up with a bogey. Understand the course's topography and hazards. Your golf game depends on it.