Golf is a brand new game.

We have drivers made out of any material imaginable that send the golf ball longer distances than ever.

We have golf balls made in multiple layers with mantles and inner cores and outer cores and covers made out of materials whose names are sometimes unpronounceable.

We have golf courses that are longer yardage-wise, but that still do not tame the animal within the golfer who has to reach the 650-yard par five in two shots with a driver then a seven iron.

Add to the list golfers who are tremendously new to the game. Neophyte golfers who swing for the fences without a hint as to what it is they are doing.

We have physical golfer blowout in an effort to gain an extra ten yards off the tee. It is not about how good you swing, it is all about how hard you swing.

How far can you hit it? How far does the ball go off line? Golf injuries are rampant. Knees, backs, and rotator cuffs are blown out every day. It is a whole new medical cottage industry.

Rules are going by the wayside. There is still a book called “The Rules of Golf” although it is in a constant state of review and change.

There is a neverending battle between the history of the game and the need to make the game and its guidelines more understandable and user friendly. It's funny though how when you print up 100 rule sheets for 100 players, there are usually about 40 or so left on the table - 40 players don't even know what they are doing that day on the golf course.

The one thing that hasn't changed is the spirit of the game and the fact that playing is more fun than practicing. Fun and playing is what the whole thing is all about. It doesn't matter how you swing or how many times you hit it, all that matters is that you try.

The unbridled enthusiasm of 6- and 7-year-olds as they come to the course to learn will put a smile on anyone's face.

The good shots far outweigh the bad shots in importance and memory. The putt you make on the 18th hole always keeps you coming back.

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Results from the Dutch Hollow 40th Anniversary Scramble last Sunday in the Open Division: 1. Edmunds, Stith, Lorey, Hamilton with 58. 2. Parker, Nation, Garrigan and Garrigan with 61. 3. Donato, Kehoskie, Sharp and Wisniewski with 62. 4. Eckhardt, Butch Mazzeo, Siracusa, and Costello with 62, and 5. Taylor, Taylor, Nosko, and King Shaffer with 64.

Mixed Division results: 1. Galloway, Galloway, Furst, Lombardo (61). 2. Brigandi, Brigandi, Colling, Colling (62). 3. Locastro, Locastro, Locastro, Kober (63). 4. Dunster, Green, Cooper, Murphy (68).

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Here is a synopsis of a few rules for better golf that are floating around the Internet.

Relax, take deep breaths, stay in the moment, don't think (positively or negatively, that takes you out of the moment), swing the way you swing, don't try just do (trying takes you out of the moment), visualize the shot and the outcome then go back into the moment, practice good habits, change your grips often, learn to use a sand wedge, get some hybrids to take the place of long irons, swing shafts that allow maximum ball performance, and enjoy yourself.

See you on the links!

Lombardo, a PGA professional at Dutch Hollow Country Club, can be reached at lombo@pga.com