The Golf Course: Your Play or Practice Field
In golf every hole has different boundaries and each course is made up of either 9 or 18 holes. All are designed differently; however, every hole does have things in common:
- Starts from a tee (a raised area of grass to begin play)
- Finishes on a green (a closely mowed area that contains a cup and a flagstick)
- The closely mowed grass lying between the tee and the green is called the fairway.
Holes can range anywhere from under 100 to over 500 yards in length and each hole has certain obstacles, such as trees and two kinds of
hazards: water and
bunkers (some have sand). The recommended hole yardage for each level of the competition is covered in
Article IX, Special Olympics Golf in the
Special Olympics Summer Sports Rules.
Your athletes will need to develop several skills in order to make the different kinds of shots necessary to
score well and have fun on the course. As athletes develop these basic skills, they will become better golfers and take fewer strokes to play each hole.
When assessing or selecting a golf course for your Special Olympics Golf program the total yardage, tee to green accessibility, course rating, slope, location of inclement weather shelters and restroom facilities should also be recognized factors.
