Note: Parts I & II of this column ran on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, respectively. Those entries can also be found online.

I must admit, I’ve had mixed reactions to this project so far. I’ve had non-golfers tell me that the information I’m passing along has been helpful and has piqued their interest in trying the sport. I’ve also had die-hard golfers tell me that they’re hoping for something with more “substance” out of my articles.

Well, I’m already up to my elbows in this introduction to golf, so we’re going to continue down that path. Sorry, die-hards.

As with the first two parts of the column, these questions came directly from Lori, who expressed her uneasiness in jumping into golf by herself even though she absolutely loved her one round with me in late 2018.

What is a basic set-up for different shots? Do you look at the ball or the target? What do open and closed face mean?

Whew! I’m starting this round of questions out with a doozy. In some respects, proper set-up is even more important than the actual swing. You could be setting yourself up for failure and not even know it. Here’s a basic rule of thumb: the farther you want to hit the ball, the further up in your stance the ball should be. What does that mean, you’re probably asking. With your driver, the ball should be closer to your left instep (assuming you’re a right-handed golfer). Whereas with a lob wedge, the ball should be closer to your right foot. This is because with a driver you want to be starting your upswing when you make contact while with a wedge you want to hit the ball on your downswing (Side note: Wedges are meant to hit the ball in the air. Don’t try to “help” the ball off the ground).

As for where you should be looking, I tell newbies to do nothing but keep their eye on the spot where their ball is sitting through their entire swing. Don’t worry about rearing up and watching the ball in the air. I’ll track it for you. Another pair of eyes on it isn’t going to change where it lands. Looking up is only going to make you lift your head, turn your shoulders too early, stand up straight or any number of other things that are going to negatively impact your contact with the ball. Just hit the ball. Good things will happen.

Open and closed club faces are different ways of hitting the same club. An open club means increasing the angle of the face upon impact, thus hitting the ball higher. The reverse is obviously true of a closed club face. Personally, this is a trick I use with my pitching wedge more than any other club. If I’m using it to chip a short distance, I’ll open the face up.

How and where does someone practice?

The somewhat obvious answer to this question is the driving range, but even that is a somewhat loaded answer. I actually don’t get a lot of value out of the driving range. I tend to zone out and just keep repeating mistakes over and over. I end up frustrated and anxious to just get out and play real golf. Of course, if you have the right mindset, the driving range is absolutely the place to be. You have to treat every shot like it’s real though. Don’t just pull out your driver and hit 50 consecutive bombs. Pick out a target and try to hit it. Most driving ranges will have flagsticks that are 50, 100 and 150 yards away. Some even have fun targets like old cars. As a new golfer, the driver range is probably the place to be. Just concentrate on developing a repeatable swing and making good contact with all of your clubs.

It’s hard to simulate the real thing though, so get out there and golf, golf, golf!

How do you keep score and when should a beginner even worry about that?

I’m going to answer the second question first. There are probably varying schools of thought on this topic, but I can only give my own opinion, right? I say go ahead and keep score right from the start. One of my absolute favorite aspects of golf is the competition with myself. I don’t really care how well I do compared to the other people in my group, I just want to keep improving. There’s no more concrete way of showing improvement than with a scorecard. Will it hurt to write some high numbers down on paper? You bet. But I guarantee it’ll feel all the sweeter when you realize you shaved six strokes off your career best.

The question of HOW to keep score is actually subjective, too. First off, every hit of the ball counts as a stroke. There are people that play everything by the book. There are others that will say “par” even when you can count at least seven strokes for them. There are people that will play with mulligans. There are people who think mulligans are the sole reason that there are starving children in Africa. Weirdly, I’m more apt to count penalty strokes, etc. if I’m playing well. If I’m going to shoot an all-time low score, I want to really earn it. Otherwise, I give myself one mulligan per nine holes. I’ll do things like give myself a better lie if my great drive somehow finds a dead patch in the middle of the fairway.

It comes down to this: Golf is all about having fun. If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. Find the right combination of rules, competitiveness and playing partners that maximizes your fun. Anything else is just a waste of time.

As always, golf is great. Go get some.