Beach golf is a variation of golf mainly played on sandy beaches. It was devised with the aim of a simplified and more accessible version of golf.
The game is played along a distance of about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) on which the players, two per team, with as few strokes as possible, have to reach the final hole, hitting a soft polyurethane ball with a classic golf club.
Beach golf was created in Pescara, Italy in 1999 by Mauro De Marco. [1] It was designed to be played on crowded beaches during the summer. Objects on the beach are incorporated into the game. Beach umbrellas, bathing people and other objects are turned into obstacles of the game. The rules allow the audience to interact with participants.
The game, developed by BGSA (Beach Golf Sport Association), has been recognized by the Centro Sportivo Educativo Nazionale (National Educational Sports Centre) and by the Italian National Olympic Committee.
In the summer of 2014, in Montesilvano, was organized the first edition of the European Beach Golf Contest, [2] an international event which was attended by 90 athletes representing 18 European nations. [3] The 7 days of competition [4] have seen the triumph of the Irish Robert Cast, who took home the first continental title.
Notable competitions have included the Jeckerson Cup 2005 held in the Piazza del Campo, Siena. The competition was held between 40 teams from different nations. Teams competed in the streets in a “We Golf” race (variant of Beach golf on the street) and were followed by a crowd of 80000 people. [5]
In the following years tours were conducted during the summer on the beaches of the Italian coast.
Beach golf has been discussed on an Italian national television network [9] and on Radio Kiss Kiss. [10] Space was also given to Beach golf in the Rimini Wellness Fair, [11] and Sports Day.
Regulations have been created for the Beach Golf Event, aiming to anticipate various kinds of situations. The main rule states that people and things constitute natural obstacles on the path.
The game takes place along a path of 2 km of sandy coastline on the beach, where 40 teams of two players each (a pro and a beginner), challenge each other to arrive at the final hole with the fewest possible strokes. The game-track is not bounded by any type of border and is punctuated by beach umbrellas and bathers that become natural obstacles throughout the competition.
Because of the crowded place where the event takes place, the ball used is made of soft polyurethane foam to prevent injury to anyone who is accidentally hit during the game. The route is accompanied throughout its track by music and entertainment that involve, in an original way, the audience that becomes active in the field of play. The range of the golfer beach is bordered by a protection zone of about 5 meters, supported by three girls on the way to accompany throughout the game.
Each team is composed of two players, a low-handicap player and a high-handicap one. The sum of the two handicaps split approximately to the next lower (e.g.: mean 17.5, the team is hcp 17) and that is the team's handicap that show how many improvements can benefit the team. The game is played with only one beaten ball each turn. It is admitted that the one it replaces the other, in case you lose stroke and distance. Penalty: loss of stroke and distance.
The scorecard is a table which shows the data about the team and the history of the game. It consists of nine items:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
| Team | Name of the team as well as the sponsor. |
| Player 1 | Name, surname and handicap of the player with the lowest handicap in the team. |
| Player 2 | Name, surname and handicap of the player with the highest handicap in the team. |
| Team Handicap | Average handicap of the team. |
| Score | All strokes played during the round. |
| Drop | All drops that took place during the round. |
| Penalty | All penalties that was incurred during the round. |
| Handicap | Strokes that can be deducted from the score. |
| Scorer | The name of the caddie girl that recorded the score. |
It is a stroke-game competition held in two rounds. Two types of balls are used: a soft rubber, totally harmless ( 69 mm in diameter ) which is used along the track and a regular one on the green. There is no time limit. Players have the opportunity to stop to have a lunch break, however, teams must respect the assigned starting time.
This goes along the shore of any beach. When the Beach Golf is held in Pescara, we start from Paolucci Square and arrive at Stadium of the Sea, close to Cascella's Ship. The track has a length of 1600 meters and a width that take the whole beach.
The starting area is located where the first ball is hit. The area consists of a synthetic rug 1.50x1.50 m2. The ball is placed on the appropriate tee and both players choose a tee shot, placing the balls in the best possible way. The honor is given (noblesse oblige) to the lower handicap player. Any missed shot or barely touched balls are considered as a shot along the path. If the ball is dropped from the tee without being touched can be repositioned to make the shot. Each team starts three minutes after the previous one. The delay allowed is ten minutes after the departure of the next team. The laggard team start for last with a penalty of five shots.
The equipment used consist in a classic golf club, expanded foam balls and a protection belt.
Preferably sand or wedge type.
The ball is made of polyurethane foam with a diameter of 7 cm and a weigh of 35g approximately. Its composition makes them harmless, allowing to play anywhere.
This is held by the Caddy Girls and has a very important function which is to guarantee the safety of bathers, the players and anyone who is on the game-track. This is what makes the Beach Golf the only sport in the world where viewers are on the pitch and involved as active part in the game.
Caddy Girls act both as game-judges and hostesses during the event. Their role is to ensure that the game takes place in a proper and safe way. The Caddy Girls support a protection belt around the area of action, aiming to allow the golfer to play in peace among the bathers, beach chairs and umbrellas.
The BGSA has planned a special calendar, featuring the Beach golf Caddy Girls. [12]
Croquet is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded in a grass playing court.
Dodgeball is a team sport in which players on two teams try to throw balls and hit opponents while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, catching a ball thrown by an opponent, or inducing an opponent to commit a violation, such as stepping outside the court.
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The cup holds a flagstick, known as a "pin". A standard round of golf consists of 18 holes, and as such most courses contain 18 distinct holes; however, there are many 9-hole courses and some that have holes with shared fairways or greens. There are also courses with a non-standard number of holes, such as 12 or 14.
A tee is a stand used in sport to support and elevate a stationary ball prior to striking with a foot, club or bat. Tees are used extensively in golf, tee-ball, baseball, American football, and rugby.
The following is a glossary of the terminology currently used in the sport of golf. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Old names for clubs can be found at Obsolete golf clubs.
Pebble Beach Golf Links is a public golf course on the west coast of the United States, located in Pebble Beach, California.
Stableford is a scoring system used in the sport of golf. Rather than counting the total number of strokes taken, as in stroke play, it involves scoring points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole. Unlike traditional scoring methods, where the aim is to have the lowest score, under Stableford rules, the objective is to have the highest score.
The following is a glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: carom billiards referring to the various carom games played on a billiard table without pockets; pool, which denotes a host of games played on a table with six pockets; and snooker, played on a large pocket table, and which has a sport culture unto itself distinct from pool. There are also games such as English billiards that include aspects of multiple disciplines.
A hazard is an area of a golf course in the sport of golf which provides a difficult obstacle, which may be of two types: (1) water hazards such as lakes and rivers; and (2) man-made hazards such as bunkers. The governing body for the game of golf outside the US and Canada, The R&A, say that A "hazard" is any bunker or water hazard. Special rules apply to play balls that fall in a hazard. For example, a player may not touch the ground with their club before playing a ball, not even for a practice swing. A ball in any hazard may be played as it lies without penalty. If it cannot be played from the hazard, the ball may be hit from another location, generally with a penalty of one stroke. The Rules of Golf govern exactly from where the ball may be played outside a hazard. Bunkers are shallow pits filled with sand and generally incorporating a raised lip or barrier, from which the ball is more difficult to play than from grass.
In golf, par is the predetermined number of strokes that a proficient golfer should require to complete a hole, a round, or a tournament. For scoring purposes, a golfer's number of strokes is compared with the par score to determine how much the golfer was either "over par", "under par", or was "even with/equal to par".
The rules of golf consist of a standard set of regulations and procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and administered by The R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA). The R&A is the governing body of golf worldwide except in the United States and Mexico, which are the responsibility of the USGA. The rule book, entitled Rules of Golf, is updated and published on a regular basis and also includes rules governing amateur status.
Golf etiquette refers to a set of rules and practices designed to make the game of golf safer and more enjoyable for golfers and to minimize possible damage to golf equipment and courses. Although many of these practices are not part of the formal rules of golf, golfers are customarily expected to observe them. The R&A rule book states that "[t]he overriding principle is that consideration should be shown to others on the course at all times."
Three-ball is a folk game of pool played with any three standard pool object balls and cue ball. The game is frequently gambled upon. The goal is to pocket the three object balls in as few shots as possible. The game involves a somewhat more significant amount of luck than either nine-ball or eight-ball, because of the disproportionate value of pocketing balls on the break shot and increased difficulty of doing so. In some areas and subcultures, such as the Asian-American youth-dominated pool hall scene of San Francisco, California, three-ball is a popular local tournament game.
The Lexus Cup was an annual golf tournament played between 2005 and 2008 for professional women golfers contested by a team representing Asia and an international team representing the rest of the world. It was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, but any winnings were unofficial and were not included in the LPGA money list standings.
Golf equipment encompasses the various items that are used to play the sport of golf. Types of equipment include the golf ball, golf clubs, and devices that aid in the sport.
In the sport of golf, a penalty or penalty stroke is an additional stroke or strokes added to a player's score for an infraction of the rules. In match play, rather than adding strokes, the usual penalty is loss of the hole except for penalties assessed for relief from a hazard or a lost ball.
Foursomes, also known as alternate shot, is a pairs playing format in the sport of golf.
Variations of golf include methods of scoring, starting procedures, playing formats, golf games, and activities based on or similar to the sport of golf which involve golf-like skills or goals.
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to golf:
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| Governing organizations | |||||||||
| Majors (Grand Slam, Triple Crown) |
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| International events |
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| Rankings | |||||||||
| Golfers | |||||||||
| Lists of golf courses |
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