In the summer months the parks and lakes can be filled with families and friends. We love the summer so much that we plan a year in advance for all the family gatherings and outings.

One of the things you need to consider when out in the summer heat is dehydration. The emergency rooms see many people each day in the summer that have become dehydrated. We need a lot more water when we are hot, so drink up!

When we are involved in many activities outside in the summer we sweat more and we need more water to regulate our body temperature. Therefore we need to keep our bodies well hydrated through out the day.

Another safety hazard in the summer is heat exhaustion. Heat exhaustion is even known to claim some lives in the summer months. When it is possible during the hottest parts of the days we should keep our activities to a minimum.

You can be so involved in summer activity that you do not notice the signs of heat exhaustion until it is too late. We could collapse without even noticing we had become overheated.

Since one in every 5 people will get skin cancer in their lifetime it is important to protect yourself from the sun when outside. A sunburn can easily become very bad. To the point we need medical attention.

These factors make it very important to use a good sunscreen and reapply through out the day, especially if swimming or sweating a lot. Wear protective clothing as needed. A hat to shade the face and cover ups to go over swim wear when not swimming.

Last, but not least we love the water in the summer. It is cool and refreshing. Be sure to use good water safety. It is never a good idea to swim alone. Always use a floatation device if you are not a good swimmer or will be on watercraft.

Golf has long been looked at as an elitist sport – something not everyone can enjoy. However, it is fast becoming popular and more and more people are taking this up as a sport. The increasing number of golf clubs, golf accessories, and learning instructions for those who wish to learn this sport only make it easier for anyone who desires to learn.

Golf is also often seen as a mundane sport – compared to other ball sports, that is. There is very little tension, no thumping heart, no BP rising or other such phenomena that seem to occur with sports such as baseball, basketball or football. As such, not many non-players will avidly watch the game. Nevertheless, understanding the terminology of the game, its rules and regulations and maybe trying it out once in a while will help one get an idea of what kind of a game it is.

Golf essentially is a game of stroke. The player uses a golf club made of iron, wood or steel to play the ball into any one of the (usually) eighteen holes on a ‘golf course’. In this sense, golf is different from all other ball games since its area is not determined. The golf course is usually spread over many acres and the design of each one is quite different. Often a large effort, planning and money is put into designing and maintaining golf courses and most of them are also becoming tourist attractions and places of leisure and relaxation.

Golf courses can have nine or eighteen holes, spread over a large area, as per its design. The player has to play the ball into each of the holes one by one, depending on the layout of the golf course. In a nine-hole course, the player has to play all the holes twice. The player starts with the first hole of the course and then proceeds to the next only after he’s played the hole successfully. It is essential that the ball be played only by striking it with the club and cannot be moved from a position that it is lying in. If you miss a hole and the ball ends up, for example, behind a bush, you have to play it from there (although bushes are very rare on a golf course).

The important aspect of golf is the swing, or the stroke. It might seem like a ridiculous idea for a game to some – keep hitting a ball until it drops into a hole – however, this is where players like Tiger Woods have made it big and popularized the game to the extent it is today. Because oftentimes the player can’t even see the hole, and only knows what area it might be in – one has to be very careful with their aim and swinging technique. Also, the vastness of a golf course makes it very difficult to estimate how much force one will really have to use. Golf can be thought of as carom in many ways; however due to having no contact with the ball, it is often difficult to determine how much force, applied in which direction will yield what kind of results on the ball. Even aspects like posture and the hand being used to tee-off matter a lot in getting a swing right.