Golf standard definition: Golf is an outdoor sport. Individual or team members strike a small hard ball into a series of small holes in the ground by using different kinds of golf clubs. Most of the courses have 18 holes, and the person who hits the ball the least number of times wins.
PAR
Every hole has a par, and it means the distance between the place you start to play and the hole. There are three kinds of par. Short distance hole is par three, middle distance is par four, and long distance is par five. Par also means the number of times a player should hit the ball to get it into the hole. That is, if you are playing a par three hole, you should hit three times to get the ball into the hole (Actually it is a harsh requirement, more details in the following).
Once you understand the concept of par, we can see that the real meaningful result is the number of times you hit the ball to get it into the hole minus par. Score = number of strokes-Par. If you get a negative score, that means you hit less strokes than par, which is very good.
Score |
Term |
Definition |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
Hole in one or HIO |
Hitting the ball into the cup with one shot |
life goal, very rare |
|
-3 |
Albatross or Double-Eagle |
three strokes under par |
rare |
-2 |
Eagle |
two strokes under par |
good play, plus luck |
-1 |
Birdie |
one stroke under par |
good play, plus luck |
0 |
Par |
the same as standard |
satisfying for new players |
1 |
Bogey |
one stroke over par |
good play |
2 |
Double Bogey |
two strokes over par |
normal play |
So every time you finish a hole, you have a score. It can be -1 (birdie) or +2 (Double Bogey) or Par, etc. At the end, the scores for all 18 holes are added together for the final score. For example, if you get bogey for each hole, your final score would be 18. Another example, 3 holes have three strokes over par(+3), two holes are double bogey(+2), one hole is birdie(-1), all other holes are par. Total score would be 3*3+2*2-1=12.
Handicap Concept
High handicap: Handicap number is above 25, beginners or players who don't play a lot usually belong to this group
Medium handicap: Handicap number is between 10 to 25, most golf amateurs belong to this group
Low handicap: Handicap number is between 0 to 10, usually only golf trainers or professional players have a low handicap
Single handicap: Handicap number is between 0 to 9, belongs in low handicap group
Negative handicap: Handicap number is negative, which means players need to get a lot of birdies or eagles. Top players such as Eldrick Tont Woods, Philip Alfred Mickelson and Sergio Garcia have negative handicaps.