Golf (gowf in Scots) is a sport where individual players or teams hit a ball into a hole using various clubs, and is one of the few ball games that does not use a fixed standard playing area. It is defined in the Rules of Golf as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules."



Golf originated in Scotland and has been played for at least five centuries in the British Isles. The oldest course in the world is The Old Links at Musselburgh. Golf, in essentially the form we know it today, has been played on Scotland's Musselburgh Links since 1672, and earlier versions of the game had been played in the British Isles and the low-countries of Northern Europe for several centuries before that. Although often viewed as an elite pastime, golf is an increasingly popular sport that can be played for one's entire life.

Anatomy of a golf course

Golf is played on a tract of land designated as the course. The course consists of a series of holes. A hole means both the hole in the ground into which the ball is played (also called the cup), as well as the total distance from the tee (a pre-determined area from where a ball is first hit) to the green (the area surrounding the actual hole in the ground). Most golf courses consist of 9 or 18 holes. (The "nineteenth hole" is the colloquial term for the bar/grill at a club house).

The first stroke on each hole is done from the Tee (officially, teeing ground), where the grass is well tended to facilitate the tee shot. After teeing off, a player strokes the ball again from the position at which it came to rest, either from the fairway (where the grass is cut so low that most balls can be easily played) or from the rough (grass cut much longer than fairway grass, or which may be uncut) until the ball comes to rest in the cup. Many holes include hazards, which may be of two types: water hazards (lakes, rivers, etc.) and bunkers. Special rules apply to playing balls that come to rest in a hazard, which make it undesirable to play a ball into one. For example, in a hazard, a player must not touch the ground with his club prior to playing a ball, not even for a practice swing. A ball in any type of hazard may be played as it lies without penalty. If it cannot be played from the hazard for any reason, it may be removed by hand and dropped outside the hazard within two club lengths and a penalty of two strokes. If a ball in a hazard cannot be found, it may be replaced by dropping another ball outside the hazard, with one stroke penalty. Exactly where a ball may be dropped outside a hazard is governed by strict rules. Bunkers (or sand traps) are hazards from which the ball is more difficult to play than from grass. As in a water hazard, a ball in a sand trap must be played without previously touching the sand with one's club.

The grass of the putting green (or more commonly the green) is cut very short so that a ball can roll easily over distances of several yards. To putt means to play a stroke, usually but not always on the green, wherein the ball does not leave the ground. The direction of growth of individual blades of grass often affects the roll of a golf ball and is called the grain. The slope of the green, called the break, can also affect the roll of the ball. The cup is always found within the green, and must have a diameter of 108 mm (4.25 in.) and a depth of at least 100 mm (3.94 in.). Its position on the green is not static and may be changed from day to day. The cup usually has a flag on a pole positioned in it so that it may be seen from some distance, but not necessarily from the tee. This flag and pole combination is often called the pin.

Putting greens are not of all the same quality. Generally, the finest quality greens are well kept so that a ball will roll smoothly over the closely mowed grass. Golfers describe a green as being "fast" if a light stroke of the ball allows it to roll a long distance. Conversely, a green is termed "slow" if a stronger stroke is required to roll the ball the required distance.

The borders of a course are marked as such, and beyond them is out of bounds, that is, ground from which a ball must not be played. Some areas on the course may be designated as ground under repair, meaning that a ball coming to rest in them may be lifted and then played from outside such ground without penalty. Certain man-made objects on the course are defined as obstructions, and specific rules determine how a golfer may proceed when the play is impeded by these.

Practice range with 43 tees (20 covered)At most golf courses there are additional facilities that are not part of the course itself. Often there is a practice range, usually with practice greens, bunkers and driving areas (where long shots can be practiced). There may even be a practice course (which is often easier to play or shorter than other golf courses). A golf school is often associated with a course or club.

Par

A hole is classified by its par. Par is the number of strokes that a skilled golfer should require to complete the hole. A skilled golfer expects to reach the green in two strokes under par (in regulation) and then use two putts to get the ball into the hole. For example, a skilled golfer expects to reach the green on a par four hole in two strokes, one from the tee (his "drive"), another to the green (his "approach"), and then roll the ball into the hole with two putts. Traditionally, a golf hole is either a par three, four, or five, although due to the distance obtained off the tee by many of todays professional golfers a few par 6 holes now exist.

The par of a hole is primarily, but not exclusively, determined by the distance from tee to green. A typical length for a par three hole is anywhere between 91 to 224 m (100 to 250 yds.), for a par four, between 225 to 434 m (251 to 475 yds.). Par five holes are typically at between 435 m (476 yds.) and 630 m (690 yds.) and par six holes are anything longer than that. It should be noted however that these distances are not absolute hard and fast rules, it is possible that a hole of length 500 yrds. could be classed as a par four. This is because the par for a hole is determined by its 'effective playing length', so if tee to green on a hole is predominantly downhill it will play shorter than it's physical length and may be given a lower par.

Many 18-hole courses have approximately four par-three, ten par-four, and four par-five holes. The total par of a regulation course is 72. In many countries, courses are classified by a course rating in addition to the course's par. This rating describes the difficulty of a course and may be used to calculate a golfer's playing handicap for that individual course.

Play of the game

Every game of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A round typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two successive nine-hole rounds. A hole of golf consists of hitting a ball from a tee on the teeing ground (a marked area designated for the first shot of a hole), and, once the ball comes to rest, striking it again, and repeating this process until the ball at last comes to rest in the cup. Once the ball is on the green (an area of finely cut grass) the ball is usually putted (hit along the ground) into the hole. The aim of holing the ball in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by various hazards, such as bunkers and water hazards.

Players walk (or in some countries, often drive in motorized electric carts) over the course, either singly or in groups of two, three, or four, sometimes accompanied by caddies who carry and manage the players' equipment and give them advice. Each player plays a ball from the tee to the hole, except that in the mode of play called foursomes, two teams of two players compete, and the members of each team alternate shots using only one ball, until the ball is holed out. When all individual players or teams have brought a ball into play, the player or team whose ball is the farthest from the hole is next to play. In some team events, a player whose ball is farther from the hole may ask his partner to play first. When all players of a group have completed the hole, the player or team with the best score on that hole has the honor, that is, the right to play first on the next tee.

Each player acts as marker for one other player in the group, that is, he or she records the score on a score card. In stroke play (see below), the score consists of the number of strokes played plus any penalty strokes incurred. Penalty strokes are not actually strokes but penalty points that are added to the score for violations of rules or for making use of relief procedures in certain situations.