Golf is a game 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. Tapestries have been found in China showing the game being played that are over 600 years old. 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 have been played in the British Isles and the low-co
untries 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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
If one wishes to play on a golf course, one has to pay a certain fee. There are two different fees: the range fee, which is for the practice range; and the green fee, which allows play on the golf course itself. The green fee may vary from the equivalent of a few U.S. dollars for communal courses in many countries up to that of several hundred dollars for elite private clubs. Discounts on fees may be offered for players starting their round late in the day. If the course has golf carts, there may also be a fee to use them, even if a member of your group is not actively playing. This fee is usually combined with the green fee.
Types of shots
A tee shot is the first shot played from a teeing ground. It is often made with a driver off a tee for long holes, or with an iron on shorter holes. Ideally, tee shots on long holes have a rather shallow flight and long roll of the ball, while tee shots on short holes are flighted higher and are expected to stop quickly.
A fairway shot is similar to a drive when done with a fairway wood. However, a tee may not be used once the ball has been brought into play; therefore, playing from the fairway may be more difficult depending on how the ball lies. If precision is more important than length (typically, when playing on narrow fairways or approaching a green), irons are usually played from the fairway. Irons or wedges are also often used when playing from the rough.
A bunker shot is played when the ball is in a bunker (sand trap). It resembles a pitch and is played with a "sand wedge." The sand wedge is designed with a wider base allowing the club to skid in the sand. The bunker shot differs from other golf shots in that the ball is not touched by the clubhead, but is lifted together with an amount of sand.
Punch/Knockdown: a low shot that carries through the air in order to clear a low hanging tree branch or sometimes high winds.
On the green, a putter is used to 'putt' the ball. The ball rolls on the ground, never becoming air-borne.
An approach shot is played into the green from outside the green, usually over an intermediate or short distance.
Types of approach shots are:
Pitch: a high approach shot that makes the ball fly high and roll very little, stopping more or less where it hits the ground. Pitches are usually done with a wedge.
Flop: an even higher approach shot that stops shortly after it hits the ground. It is used when a player must play over an obstacle to the green. It is usually played with a sand wedge or a lob wedge.
Chip: a low approach shot where the ball makes a shallow flight and then rolls out on the green. Chips are made with a less lofted club than the "pitch" shot or "lob" shot in order to produce the desired flatter trajectory.
Physics of a golf shot :
A golf ball acquires spin when it is hit. Backspin is imparted in almost every shot due to the golf club's loft. A spinning ball deforms the flow of air around it and thereby acts in a similar way to an aeroplane wing; a back-spinning ball therefore experiences an upward force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin would.
The amount of backspin also influences the behaviour of a ball when it hits the ground. A ball with little backspin will usually roll out for a considerable distance while a ball with much backspin may not roll at all or in some cases even roll backwards. Sidespin occurs when the clubface is not aligned perpendicularly to the plane of swing. Sidespin makes the ball curve to the left or right: when controlled by stance and swing, a curve to the left is a draw, and to the right a fade; this effect can be made use of to steer it around obstacles or towards the safe side of a difficult fairway. However, it is difficult to control the amount of sidespin, and many poor shots result from uncontrolled or excessive spin that makes the ball curve sharply. Uncontrolled sidespin shots are a hook to the left, or slice to the right, for a right-handed player.
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Golf is a game 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."