Finally: The course
This is all you need
If you are lucky, your golf pro will take the time to show you what to pack in your golf bag - and maybe where to store it. In case this is not so, let me tell you what I carry.
Let us start at the top of the golf trolley, where I can attach:
- 1 pencil
- 1 score card
- 2 balls and tees
Within the golf bag itself I have my clubs, a practice stick and a ball retriever. The "practice stick" is a cylinder used to store and pick up balls on the driving range. Sometimes I need the extra balls to replace those I loose during a tournament. The "ball retriever" is useful if my balls end up in the water or in the bushes.
My golf bag has 2 or 3 large pockets. I use these to store at least 2 liters of water and something to eat (not chocolate which gives you short time energy that only lasts a hole or two, but rather müsli-bars, nuts or energy food like bananas). I also have warm clothes and rain covers for the bag and myself. Along the side of the bag I have strapped my big golf umbrella. During the summer I include sun tan lotion ? specially for the areas that are usually not exposed to thesun - like the back of your legs!
In the small pockets of the bag I keep extra pencils, the rule book, at least one extra pitch fork (because I may not be allowed on to the golf course without one and might forget the one I should have had in my pocket). I have several markers and extra tees and tokens for the driving range balls. When I play a tournament, I use new, white balls that do not make me wonder if the nick on the side of a well-used ball would influence the flight or the roll over the green. (It is important not to get distracted!)
Since the time when my shoelaces tore at hole 3 during a tournament, I have tucked away an extra pair just in case it happens again. I have some extra spikes and a spike-wrench. (If you have to, you can also use the pitch-fork to tighten most spikes). You can walk a whole course with 3 or 4 spikes missing, but it might be uncomfortable and take away your concentration.
Tied to the golf bag is my green fee card and club membership card. To clean the clubs I have a towel and a brush with metal on one side and a softer brush on the other.
Click here to see the complete check list for your bag
And what do you carry in your pockets?
Left pocket (if you are right handed):
- Coins
(maybe you can buy something to drink or eat during the round or you can use them as ball markers if you loose the other ones) - One additional ball
(Having lost both your regular ball and the provisional,
you may find yourself at the next tee off without a ball, so keep a third one in your pocket) - Handkerchief
to wipe your hands and face if it is warm or dirty
Right pocket (easy to get to without having to take of your glove):
(when you do, then add a new one to your pocket from the golf bag)
(or use the one on your glove)
In your hand:
Carry the club that you are about to use. As the others are playing you should determine which club you will need for your shot. Grab the selected club out of the bag and carry it as you approach your ball. It is important to be sure about the club - this makes you swing with confidence. If the ball is lying on the other side of the green and you are not sure which club to use, then bring 2, 3 or 4 of them with you.
If you are playing the ball out of the green bunker, carry the putter as well as your sand wedge so that you do not have to return to the bag before you enter the green.
