Left-hand low, guys teach girls wrong, and other stuff I'm learning in my golf lessons

I am taking golf lessons as part of my 40 by 40 goal to play a 100 game on a par 72 18-hole course. I've never kept score on a game before, so I have no idea how close – or likely how far – I am to reaching that goal. Regardless, this class has taught me that I certainly have a lot to learn. I've never learned the fundamentals of golf before. And some of them have taken me by surprise.

A few of those:

• Apparently there's something called a left-hand low grip when you putt. Who knew? I learned this in my first class. It is when you grip the club opposite how you normally would when putting. I tried it, and I love it. My arms stay straight and the ball goes where it is supposed to (most of the time – it's all relative). Here's what I mean when I say left-hand low for those of you who are like me and had never heard of it before.
• I spent the first part of my class tonight on chipping doing it wrong. The teacher came over, watched me chip, and promptly moved my arms further to my left until I felt more than awkward. After that, I did it perfectly two times in a row. I guess my new standard for chipping is if I don't feel awkward enough, I'm not in the right position!
• You can use the 5, 7 or 9 irons to chip a ball onto the green. You just use the same short stroke that you would use when chipping with a wedge. Here's an analogy for the other writing nerds out there. It's like learning that you don't have to use a period. You could use a colon, semicolon or even a comma to separate two independent clauses, and each would say it in a different way. I know, super-nerdy. Same thing with using 5, 7 and 9 irons to chip. Use 5 when you are aiming for the other side of the green ("5 for far"), and 9 for a closer hit ("9 for near"). And of course the 7 is for the middle. The key is using the same stroke you would if you were using a wedge.
• Finally, I was informed tonight that the common grip I was taught by a guy friend was not used by most women. My teacher said that many women learn the grip from their boyfriends or husbands. But in fact 90 percent of the women on the professional tour do not use the grip, in which two fingers overlap (aka the interlocking grip). Instead, most use the baseball grip – which is easier for women given the size of their hands. I'm sticking with the interlocking for now. My hands are large for a woman, and I'm able to do the interlocking grip without uncovering my left hand's thumb. She said that was the most important thing. We'll see! Maybe I'll find the other grip makes me a more consistent golfer. It would not surprise me at all.

Next week, I learn how to pitch and hit with my irons.