Do you and your friends find yourself bored? Looking for some fun? I have the perfect activity for you and three friends. You and your friends need to start golfing. I will tell you how exactly to get started with your new hobby. I will give you the Why? How? Where? to make sure you know what you’re doing.

Why?
Golf is the ideal setting for you and your friends to come together and have a fun time. The game combines competition, fun, and spending hours outdoors. It isn’t the stuffy game you may think it is. It is 2-4 hours spent with 3 of your friends, and has the advantage of being a slow paced game which leaves plenty of time for talking and having fun. My personal favorite part is after 9 holes you can stop and get a snack or a drink. I always get a hot dog and personally, I don’t even like hotdogs, but there’s something different about golf course hot dogs. Everything is a little bit better when you’re out there with your friends doing something fun.

How: The Basics
Before hitting the golf course, you will need to familiarize yourself with the basics. Watching YouTube will be the easiest way to do this but a lot is self explanatory. The easiest thing to do and what you should do first is understand the different golf clubs and their purposes, all the way from the driver to the putter. Most likely you will need to be wearing a certain outfit to play: a collared shirt, khaki or golf shorts, and some athletic shoes. You don’t need golf shoes right away and a hat is optional. You will need to bring important equipment like balls (a lot, you will lose them), tees, and a divot repair tool to ensure you’re prepared. Golf is unique in the fact that it also has some unwritten rules: etiquette. Etiquette is crucial and the biggest things to have good etiquette is to maintain a good pace of play, take care of the course (fix divots), and don’t be really loud. You can further it by knowing basic rules, such as drops, penalty strokes, and different game formats like stroke play and match play but these aren’t super vital when you begin. Booking tee times in advance and arriving early for warm-up contributes to a smooth experience, you want to be there around 20-30 minutes before you play. Learn common golf terms, scoring methods, and, most importantly, focus on enjoying the social and outdoor aspects of this sport while trying to get better. All these things can be easily explained on YouTube.

Where?

Charleston is considered by many as a Mecca for golf in South Carolina, so you’re in a great place to be. Any of the courses that you pick around here will not be a bad choice. My recommendation for beginners is going to be the Charleston Municipal Course. It is going to be your cheapest option both to play and practice at. Juniors are able to play for completely free during certain times of the day and are under 20 dollars at almost all times. The overall vibe is very chill here as well, welcoming to newbies. There is no strict dress code and the rules are relatively lackadaisical compared to private courses.
My second recommendation is Charleston National. I would advise this if you have decided that you like to golf and will be sticking with playing for fun. To make this affordable and easy, purchase the Junior VIP Membership (if you are 17 or under). It is just $75 and you can play for the entire year for under $20 at any time. It is a nice course and this membership gives you access for a cheap rate. It is well worth it. However do not go to the range here, it is expensive, crowded, and ran down. There are better options for cheaper.
A couple other decent places to go are Dunes West (Mount Pleasant), Shadowmoss (West Ashley), or Wescott Plantation (North Charleston). These are not my top recommendations but are good if you live close to any.

Some Drawbacks
There is with no doubt a learning curve in the sport, which will ultimately require you to dedicate more time than you may prefer to getting better. In honesty, playing can only be so fun when you’re really awful. This initial frustration needs not to be a reason to quit but a reason to rise to the challenge. Spend some time working at it and it will get more fun exponentially; there may not be the instant gratification that you hope for.
Golf is well-known to be expensive. Just to get into the game you need hundreds of dollars worth of equipment but there are some loopholes. Likely your grandpa or dad may have an old set of clubs sitting around, collecting dust.

Grab those and use them until you’re ready to make a purchase of anything new. Facebook Marketplace is also a great way to find clubs or other gear you may need at a discounted price.
Finally, there are definitely some old snobs in the game that might cause problems. For some reason these people don’t like seeing younger people playing the game. Luckily, I can give you some signs of how to spot and avoid these confrontations. The first telltale sign is if the person is dressed like they were in the 1960’s: wearing dress pants, a sweater vest, and a weird hat (reference the photo on the right). Think about what you picture on the Arnold Palmer Tea can and this what I am relatively talking about. The second sign to be on your best behavior is if it is a group of four elderly women, they can be the Karens of the course. While there is no need to stereotype, it is safe to be on your best behavior.

If you are looking for a good pastime with your friends this upcoming spring or summer, you now have the basics of how to start with golf.