A Wise Athlete Sport and education. Both.
Get the app

A park or a ground with a grown-up

Golf at home

Putting and chipping games in a garden or park with soft balls; the full swing at a range or course.

4 cards at home 4 for a park or court 2 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?
Who is playing?

Start a session

New to golf? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.
The game in short

A player hits a small ball with a club from a starting area, the tee, toward a hole on a smooth patch of short grass, the green, and tries to get it in the hole in as few hits, called strokes, as possible. A course has 18 holes, or 9 on a short course.

How a game is won

Each stroke counts 1, and the scores for all the holes are added up. The lowest total wins. Each hole has a par, the number of strokes a good player is expected to need: usually 3, 4 or 5.

Rules children break first
  • Stand still and quiet, behind the player, while anyone swings.
  • Never stand in front of the ball or walk toward someone swinging.
  • Shout "fore!" if a ball heads toward anyone.
  • Never throw a club.
  • Play the ball where it lies; do not move it to a better spot.
At home you play with soft balls

Putting to a mug on the floor, rolling and aiming games, a slow swing with a plastic club, chipping to hoops, and the etiquette and scoring. Real balls and clubs are for a range or course.

Words you will hear (33, in plain language)
Club
The stick used to hit the ball. A set has clubs of different lengths and angles.
Putter
The flat-faced club used on the green to roll the ball into the hole.
Clubface
The flat part of the club that hits the ball.
Loft
How much the clubface leans back. More loft sends the ball higher and shorter.
Grip
How the hands hold the club; also the rubber handle.
Lead hand
For a right-handed player, the left hand is the lead hand (higher on the club) and the right hand is the trail hand.
Interlocking grip
The little finger of the trail hand hooked between the first two fingers of the lead hand.
Stance
How the feet stand before the swing.
Tee
The starting area of each hole; also the small peg the ball can sit on there.
Fairway
The strip of short grass between the tee and the green.
Green
The smooth, very short grass round the hole, where players putt.
Hole
The hole in the green, with a flag standing in it.
Stroke
Each hit of the ball. Each one counts 1.
Par
The number of strokes a good player needs for a hole.
Putt
A gentle stroke that rolls the ball along the green.
Tick-tock
A putting stroke that swings back and through evenly, like a clock's pendulum.
Chip
A short shot that flies low a little way and then rolls.
Pitch
A short shot that flies higher and rolls less than a chip.
Carry
How far the ball flies in the air, and how far it rolls after it lands.
Landing spot
Where you want the ball to land before it rolls.
Backswing
The club going back, the club swinging on past the ball, and the balanced pose at the end.
Pre-shot routine
The same small steps a player does before every shot.
Alignment
Pointing the clubface, feet and body at the target.
Bunker
A hollow filled with sand on the course.
Divot
A piece of turf cut out by a swing; it is put back and pressed down.
Lie
Where and how the ball is resting: flat, uphill, downhill or on a side slope.
Fore!
The warning shout when a ball is flying toward people.
Etiquette
The manners of golf: quiet, safety, care of the course and keeping up.
Score card
The card where each player's strokes are written for every hole.
Jack
A small target ball used in rolling games.
Fade
A shot that curves gently one way or the other on purpose.
Punch shot
A low shot that stays under branches or wind.
Range
A practice ground for full swings.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.
A suggested first ten sessions (optional)
  1. b1 · Putting grip and tick-tock
  2. b2 · Roll and aim games
  3. b3 · Swing and finish in balance
  4. b4 · Etiquette and scoring

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.
Basic 4 cards · show· hide The child holds the club with two hands close together, stands correctly, finishes in balance, putts with a tick-tock swing and plays short, safe games. Grip, stance, balance and swing come first, learned by copying.

Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 and b2 and can keep a score.

Intermediate 4 cards · show· hide A pre-shot routine, alignment, chipping, pitching and putting (the angle of the club, loft, and roll versus carry) at about 8 to 12, with much more practice than competition, then putting detail and ball position.

Move on when the player has a routine and can chip to a target.

Advanced 2 cards · show· hide Bunkers, sloping lies, escape and trouble shots, a full swing with good rhythm and balance, and more competition alongside training.

Teaching this at home

More space and a second person. A grown-up can run every card.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.

Read next