What 'Local Knowledge' Means in Golf

We often hear the term "local knowledge" used in golf, whether by players discussing their games and their favorite courses, or by journalists and broadcasters. Local knowledge is something that's good to have, and it can help a player who has it gain an advantage over one who doesn't.

"Local knowledge" simply means familiarity with the golf course being played. In his instructional book for beginners, Golf for Dummies (affiliate link), Gary McCord defined local knowledge as "what the members know and you don't."

Think of the course that you play most often, the one you might refer to as your home course. You know all the little nooks and crannies, all the weird angles and bounces, all the hidden hazards and penalty areas, all the hard-to-see breaks on the greens, and so on. You've learned about all those things through playing the course many times.

Let's say you invite a friend who is visiting from out-of-town to play that golf course with you. You have all that local knowledge, your friend doesn't. In theory, that gives you an advantage over your buddy.

It's a term that has been in use among golfers for a very long time. A 1920 issue of the American publication Golfers Magazine included a hole-by-hole look at Royal Cinque Ports, the site of that year's Open Championship. The author urged any American golfers planning to play to get there early enough to soak up as much local knowledge as they can: "It is important that invaders should go over early enough to look over the battleground as they will require all the local knowledge and practice possible."

The famous golf writer Bernard Darwin, in his 1910 book, The Golf Courses of the British Isles (affiliate link), described a blind tee shot on a par-3 and wrote that, "Even those who are steeped to the eyes in local knowledge are never quite certain if their ball will be lying close to the flag or thirty yards away."

It is not difficult to find uses of "local knowledge" in golf publications from the 1800s, both British and American.

How important is having "local knowledge"? It's still a great thing to have, and definitely helps a golfer feel confident as she plays her way around a golf course. But it's probably not as big an advantage as it once was, thanks to all the new technologies in the game. Things like rangefinders, hole diagrams and GPS screens in golf carts (not to mention old-school yardage books and pin sheets — and caddies), GPS watches (affiliate links) and other devices, all today help a golfer who has never played a specific golf course before better compete against one who does have local knowledge.

Related articles:

• What is a 'member's bounce'?
• Do golfers need a yardage book?
• The fivesome, and why some courses don't allow them

Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Darwin, Bernard. The Golf Courses of the British Isles, 1910, Duckworth & Co., London.
McCord, Gary. Golf for Dummies, "Double the chip, double the trouble," Wiley Publishing Inc., 2011
Turnbull, George C. "Deal, Where the British Open Will Be Played," Golfers Magazine, May 1920.