Practice golf at driving ranges

Golf is played in three places: at public facilities, at private clubs, and on resort courses. In this chapter, I tell you the basics about all three, from the scuzziest range to the fanciest country club. I also share tips on how to fit in wherever you play — how to walk, talk, tip, practice and accessorize like a real golfer. I even tell you how to make the best of a round with a jerk. There aren't many jerks in golf, but you've gotta be ready for anything.

Let's start with the basics: Where in the world can you play this game?

Some courses have only 9 holes, while a few resorts offer half a dozen 18-hole courses, or even more. At the famous Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, you'll find eight great 18-hole layouts — that's 144 chances to drive yourself nuts!

You can also hit balls at driving ranges, which is where you should start. If you rush to the nearest course for your first try at golf, tee off, and then spend most of the next few hours missing the ball, you won't be very popular with your fellow golfers. Believe me, instead of watching you move large clumps of earth with every swing, they'd prefer to enjoy a cool beverage in the clubhouse.

Driving ranges are fun. You can make all the mistakes you want. You can miss the ball, slice it, duff it, top it — do anything. The only people who'll know are the ones next to you, and they're probably making the same mistakes.

Driving ranges are basically large fields, stretching as far as 500 yards in length — which means, of course, that even long hitters like Tiger Woods and John Daly can "let the shaft out" and swing for the fences. But you don't have to hit your driver. Any good driving range will have signs marking off 50 yards, 100 yards, 150 yards, and so on. You can practice hitting to these targets with any club.

Some driving ranges will lend or rent you clubs, but most expect you to bring your own. As for balls, you purchase bucketsful for a few dollars — how many dollars depends on where you are. In some parts of the United States, you can still hit a nice big bucket of balls for a dollar. But on weekends at Chelsea Piers Golf Club in New York City, it's a lot more: up to 20 times as much.