What is GOLF?

Golf is an easy game - 'It's just hard to play'
There has probably never been a truer word spoken. In principle the game is about striking a small ball with a stick with a heavy end some distance into a little hole. Then repeating the exercise 17 more times over holes of different lengths and degree of difficulty. The golfer is equipped with a set of clubs (maximum 14 in total) of varying length, clubhead density and loft of face, which hit the ball different lengths and heights, and a putter for use on the greens. Most amateurs play the game over 18 holes (a round), using any of a number of game formats. The professional game normally consists of Strokeplay, with most events played over 4 rounds (72 holes and 4 days). The winner, quite simply, is the player who plays the 72 holes in the fewest shots or strokes. It's that simple. A Golf Course In the past, golf courses (or 'links' as they are often known - although this word has become more frequently attached to seaside courses) consisted of any number of holes - depending on the lie of the land and the amount of space available. Nowadays, courses are almost invariably 18 holes long, although a sizeable number of 9 hole courses remain. These are always played twice around, often using different teeing areas on the second occasion. The holes consist of a combination of different pars, mostly pars 3, 4 and 5, depending on the length, and very occasionally the degree of difficulty. The par is reckoned to be the number of shots a scratch golfer would take to get the ball from tee to hole, as illustrated below. The total of the individual hole pars makes up the par of the overall course, normally between 70 & 72.

Most courses have 3 lots of Tees:

White markers - Mens' medal tees

Yellow markers - Mens' standard tees

Red markers - Ladies' standard tees

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