As troy mentioned, you have to go to System Preferences and pick the method you'd like to use for double-click. I, myself, prefer the double-tap method. That is, you tap on the pad twice with your finger. My husband prefers to click twice on the click bar beneath the pad.
It's all up to you--and either way, it takes a little practice. Most of us get the hang of it--but if you really find you don't like it, you can always hook up a portable mouse.