1) Break 100
For a beginner, breaking 100 is a big deal and a target in most golfers’ early days.
2) Join a golf club
Joining a golf club is always a big step for a golfer. It’s a commitment to your golf game and also a chance to meet new friends, get a handicap and play in roll ups and competitions.
3) Get a handicap
An official handicap will allow you to play most of the top clubs around the country and world. It measures your true playing ability and is a benchmark for your golf each season – can you get it lower?
4) Complete a round with the same ball you started with
Not to be scoffed at as even professionals still lose golf balls. Beginning and starting the round with the same golf ball is always a bonus, it means you’ve at least played half decent!
5) Make a par
A big moment for beginners. Keep playing and many more pars will come!
6) Break 90
Breaking 90 means you’ve played to around an 18 handicap which means decent golf!
7) Get your handicap cut
A handicap cut is pure joy, seeing your name near the top of a leaderboard in a proper club competition and getting a cut is rewarding and shows you that you’ve played well under pressure.
8) Make a birdie
A birdie is a brilliant moment for all abilities of golfer. Beating the par of the hole briefly makes you feel like a pro.
9) Represent your golf club in a match
Golf is an individual sport so getting the chance to play in a team is always an honour and great fun. Representing your club against another local one is a proud moment.
10) Hit a par 5 green in two
Golfers love to feel like they hit the ball a long way and finding a par 5 green in two is some serious bragging rights, just don’t three-putt!
11) Win a club competition
Similar to getting your handicap cut, seeing your name on top of a leaderboard is a proud moment and usually means you’ll earn some sort of prize, whether it be a trophy or cash.
12) Drive a par 4 green in one
Similar to hitting a par 5 in two, driving a par 4 in one shot to give yourself an eagle putt is pure bliss and is a great story to tell your pals after your round. And just like number 9, don’t three putt!
13) Play a round with no double bogeys or worse
Double bogeys or worse are the card wreckers and so easy to make. 18 holes without one means you’ve played some solid stuff and will likely compile a low score.
14) Hit all the fairways in one round
This usually means 14 fairways which is some very accurate driving!
15) Break 80
Many golfers will never break 80 in their lives so a score in the 70s in something to be proud of. It usually means you’ve played to a single figure handicap and compiled 18 solidly-played holes.
16) Play nine holes in level par or better
The next best thing to playing a level par round is playing nine holes in par or better. If you only played nine, who knows, you might’ve been able to finish it off! Nine holes in level par or better means you played some very good stuff.
17) Make an eagle
Shooting two under on a single hole is very rare and something that won’t happen very often for amateur players. Savour the moment!
18) Make back-to-back birdies
One birdie gives you something to smile about but two in a row? That’s a memory you can cherish.
19) Make a 2 on a par 4
Did you drive the green and hole the eagle putt? Or did you hole an iron shot?
20) Get your handicap into single figures
One of the holy grails of golf is becoming a single figure handicapper and is a goal of many players with higher handicaps. 9 just sounds better than 10 doesn’t it?
21) Get your handicap to 4 or below
Did you know you can take your PGA training if you have a handicap of 4 or below? This is definitely something to brag about with your mates.
22) Win an Open
No, not The Open. Many clubs run Opens throughout the season that club members can sign up to play in to experience a new course whilst in competition. An Open win is something to savour and the trophy can proudly sit on your mantelpiece reminding you of the day you conquered the field.
23) Break 75
Shooting 75 or better means you’re getting very close to a level par round. Golf is a seriously tough game so keeping your ball under control and putting well to shoot low 70s is impressive stuff that many will never be able to do.
24) Break 70
Just like the above, savour the moment if you ever shoot in the 60s! Most players will never have the luxury of being able to say they’ve broken 70 because it essentially means you’ve played like a pro for a round.
25) Get your handicap to scratch
If you’ve done this then you can rightly say that you’ve mastered the game of golf. Okay, the game can never officially be mastered but being a scratch player shows you know your way around the links and have put in hours and hours of practice through the years. A proud moment for the very few players that achieve it.
26) Play a bogey-free round
Something most golfers will never do and thanks to the handicap system a round without any net bogeys is still a great achievement. A bogey-free round is something found more regularly on the pro tours so any amateur players who achieve that have had a sensational round.
27) Win your club championship
When it comes to club golf, the club championship is the equivalent of The Masters or The Open. Winning it (I’d imagine) feels like you’re a major champion.
28) Hit all 18 greens in regulation in one round
Even professionals very rarely do this but perhaps at some less difficult courses that we amateurs play it is possible if our swing is firing on all cylinders. All 18 greens in reg is laser-like golf!
29) Make an albatross
An albatross (or double eagle for our American friends) means you’ll have made a hole-in-one on a par 4 or a two on a par 5! Basically, you’ve holed it from miles and miles out. They’re very rare and most golfers will never get one in their lives.
30) Make a hole-in-one
The real holy grail of golf. Nothing comes close to making a hole-in-one. Probably 50% of golfers have had made an ace in their lives – have you?
Source: Golf Monthly
31) Be a member of European Golf Society
Be a part of the largest online golf club in Europe and get invitations and wild cards for meny prestigious challanges.
Get a lots of discounts at many hotels and courses.
