The goal of golf is simple: you must use a club to hit the ball until you get it in a pre-established hole. From this basic principle, you go to the general and basic rules of gameplay.
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- Reach your goal in the smallest number of strokes possible.
- The player can’t move the ball to a better place, although new rules in 2019 allow players to remove stones, leaves and other obstacles near it. Sand in bunkers should not be touched, though.
- One-touch, only. You can practise a swing, but scooping is not allowed.
<l
i>A maximum of 14 clubs is allowed. Anyway, you can check with your club if this rule is being applied. If you’re a beginner, you probably won’t need 14 clubs anyway.
- If you lose the ball into a lake or a similar hazard (which should be outlined by yellow lines), you can put a ball in line with the place where your ball crossed into the hazard (and with the hole) and try from there. Or you could just receive a penalty shot and restart from where you played the last shot.
- If the ball stops at the very edge of the hole, you can wait ten seconds. After that, you can try again.