The sun is shining on your shoulders as you step out onto the course, feeling the spongy grass soft under your spikes. Morning birds sing a song as you hoist your bag higher on your shoulder and you take a minute to enjoy the serenity of the early morning. You don’t need to consider the generations before you who have done the same thing, but you do anyway. After all: golf is deep in tradition.

Since the Scots began organizing the 18-hole game more than 500 years ago, there have been few changes. While the fashion has changed (even though you can still find players in kilts on a lucky day), the main items of golf equipment needed to play the game have not changed.

Golf clubs are the most important pieces of equipment. Despite their intended purpose to project a ball close to the hole, each club is different to carry out specific types of hits. For example, there are three major clubs: woods, irons and putters. Woods, or drivers, are heavy clubs intended to hit the ball far down the fairway; players often begin each hole with these clubs The face of these clubs is round with a flattened sole so it doesn’t dig into the ground during a swing. Drivers also have longer shafts to provide more power, although shorter woods do exist. The name of these clubs comes from their solid, wooden composition, which was standard until the late 1980s. Since then drivers have been made from steel, titanium and, recently, carbon fibers.

Once the ball is on the fairway, players use irons to maneuver it through obstacles like sand traps, rough, through, and trees. Irons come in sizes according to their length; 1-4 irons are considered long irons, which provide more power. 5-7 are mid-irons, and 8-plus are short-irons. Also, the faces of irons are slanted at different angles to accommodate different terrain. For example, sand wedges have an angle of 54-58 degrees.

Because of their specific purpose, putters are a golfer’s best friends. After the ball has made its way from the fairway to the green, it is the putter’s job to ease it toward the hole. Because this moment proves so crucial during a game, players put a huge amount of emphasis on the quality of these clubs. These clubs have a flat face which provides smooth stroke, good glide, and bounceless topspin.

Golf bags are especially valuable for a player to transport their clubs. New bags come with wheels that make them easy to pull, but traditional golfers carry them. Pockets on the side also make it easy to store and transport items like extra balls, gloves and towels.

Golf shoes are another important type of golf equipment. These shoes have small spikes on the sole to help stabilize a player on wet grass. The spikes used to be made of metal, but replaceable soft spikes are becoming more common today. Actually, soft spikes are often required by golf courses because the cause less damage to the physical course.

Being Healthy Because of the Golf Course

“Playing golf is not only physically good for you, it also releases powerful, natural, mood enhancing drugs called endorphins into your bloodstream. As long as you don’t strive to play with Tiger Woods-like perfection, just having a stroll in the open air and enjoying a round of golf with your friends helps to make you feel better. If the sun is shining – even better!”

– Play Golf – It’s Good For You, Birmingham web site, July 2006

Though most people do not think of it that way, golf is actually a physical exercise. There’s a lot of walking in golf – usually between four and eight miles. The swinging of your clubs uses different muscles, muscles that don’t normally see activity in the course of a normal day. Your arm, shoulder, back, and leg muscles all get used quite a bit during a single game of golf.

Golf also reduces stress and cholesterol, two things that everyone needs to reduce. A single game of golf can burn up to a thousand calories, which is a great way to stay in shape and burn off excess fat. A game of golf gets the blood flowing and increases your heart rate, making golf a wonderful cardio-vascular exercise.

“Golf is a good walk spoiled.”

– Mark Twain

The Health Benefits of a Regular Golf Game

“If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf.”

– Bob Hope

Playing golf regularly not only helps you improve your score on the links, but it’s also a great way to get the regular exercise that all adults need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We all know that regular exercise is important – but who has time? A regular round of golf is a great way to stay in shape and work out your muscles on a constant basis.

Playing golf once a week means that you’re walking between four and eight miles regularly once a week, which is great for the heart and lungs. You’re reducing your stress levels and suddenly, exercising is fun. Playing eighteen holes of golf is a whole lot better than sitting on a stationary bike in the gym.

If possible, try to engage in a regular golf game. Play once a week and you’ll start to notice a difference in your stamina and in your waistline. True, you won’t burn a lot of fat or calories by playing one game of golf a week, but it’s a great way to get some regular, healthy exercise and to help you stay in shape.

Playing golf is a way to stay healthy, get exercise, and have fun all at the same time. The best part of golfing is, you get to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Strolling around the links is a lot better than working out on equipment in a closed-off room, and on the golf course you can work on strength, stamina, and burning calories. Playing golf is good for you, and it’s a lot of fun. You may not make the PGA Tour, but you may loose that extra weight around the middle.